Modern vehicle safety standards sometimes beggar belief. Last year, we saw how the Genesis GV80 saved the life of Tiger Woods in a crash that could've been so much worse in an older car. More recently, a badly mangled Ford Bronco Sport rolled 400 feet down a mountain but its driver somehow survived. Sometimes, it's not just a safe car but also a stroke of luck that enters the equation. Only that can explain how a driver and passenger in a Lotus Exige escaped a shocking crash in Hong Kong with little more than chest and back pains. The video below demonstrates how lucky both occupants were.

According to The Sun Daily, the Lotus crash took place in January in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. The Lotus was clearly driving at high speed when it swerved suddenly, hit a roadside planter, left the road, and struck a lamp post. The impact was so severe that the roof was torn off and the car was virtually split in two - no surprise when you consider that this car is composed of fiberglass body panels. Mercifully, the lamp post appeared to have made contact with the car just aft of the passenger compartment. A few inches in the wrong direction, and this incident could have ended far more tragically than it did. The occupants were aged 28 and 42, and both were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The accident took place alongside a bicycle lane, and the car landed directly in the lane. Even more remarkably, no other cars, bicyclists, or pedestrians were close enough to have been affected by the crash. While the crash is still under investigation, police reported that both the driver and passenger were sober. As you can see from the pictures, the Exige's mechanicals and engine are fully exposed at the back since the rear bodywork was separated from the rest of the car. A combination of the car's strong structure, the angle of impact, and the fact that the occupants were wearing their seat belts made all the difference in this accident. If finances allow, we'd replace the sketchy Exige with the new Lotus Emira, where you have more than just anti-lock brakes and airbags as your standard safety features.