what I realised only afterwards was that if we had hit head on at say 110-120kmh, we would have both died instantly, no car can seriously withstand an impact like that, and I don\'t no how much good my air bag would have been. Even an off collision, me hitting the right hand side of his front would have probably been fatal. Also, goodness knows what after impact trajectory our vehicles would have taken, they may have smashed into the traffic on the left hand side, probably so in fact. It could have been a fatal accident involving more than our two deaths.
Like you say, I hope what he had to do was important!
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What a close call, martin. Very unpleasant and traumatic experience to come through, even when you survive unscathed. I've been in a couple of similar situations, so I know how shocked and disconnected you must feel. Funny thing is, when it happened to me I should have been angry, but couldn't be as I was too relieved just still being around. You might find it helps to go out & celebrate being alive!
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Hopefully the other guy will have at the very least lots of trouble cleaning his cloth upholstery....
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A similar thing happened to me in the New Forest.
This sort of thing makes me really angry (and frightened when I am involved). It seems that no matter how many defensive driving techniques you learn, and how careful and observant you are, it is impossible to protect yourself against these idiots.
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Yes, very true, you can't protect yourself against this kind of madness, it's sheer irresponsibility.
Does anybody know the actual statistics for head-on colisions? I wonder how much of it depends on car build, VW, Mercedes as opposed to Ford or Fiat?
Also what about air bags, do they really make a difference in the more serious road accidents, I can't imagine they have that much effect at 100kmh plus impact speeds!
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Haven't got statistics but in the course of my work (now retired after 28 yrs) did see the results at close quarters and had the job of releasing the occupants of many. One or two images relevant to the thread stick - one of a Sierra versus a Volvo (240 shape) head on and the difference between the two had to be seen to be believed (and it wasn't the Sierra you wanted to have been in). And A Carlton versus a Metro. Again, no prizes awarded for which one came off worst. It really does make a difference what you're in and what you hit. The one thing you *really* don't want to do is hit a lampost or tree 'side on' - the penetration in to the cabin is painful to see and even more so if you're in it.
KB.
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that's hartening news KB, all those punds on air bags, impact bars, not for nothing then!
Of course it stands to reason that a Metro versus just about anything else, (hedgehog for example) and your a gonna. In your line of work did you find that air bags really did diminish the risks of serious bodily injury, to the chest/head region in most road accidents of the not too serious kind?
MG
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Your views on the Metro, martin, are spot on. Seen far too many come to grief generally but especially in Metros.
The answer is 'yes' to the airbags - although some speak of the deployment being quite frightening in itself (the noise and drama of this big white *thing* suddenly appearing in front of you) as well as the "smoke" and dust following deployment which can, apparently, shake you up.
It's the absence of seatbelt wearing which continues to amaze and annoy me (well, irritate in the case of adults not using them, but *annoy* in the case of youngsters carried in the car - back or front and occasionally carried in the lap of adult passengers).
I can only speak as find but....... all cars have them yet it seems 'uncool' for several categories of driver to use them. The baseball cap brigade are top of the list - obviously red, lowered Nova's with big bore exhausts have an inherent fault in the belt mechanism which prevents their use - and from what I see, it's them that need them most. Van drivers seem exempt most of the time and, locally, young 'trendy' women in small hatchbacks seem more concerned with having the correct make of sunglasses and the continuation of phone conversations, than with belting up.
However, from what I could see and hear, when the head makes contact with the screen or the(rather sharp) edge of the roof where it meets the screen, it seems that it hurts quite a lot and would tend to make one wish that they *Had* used the belt.
Trouble is, I'm regarded as a do-gooder by one or two here, judging by the bullbar thread - but having seen, at close quarters, the yelling, screaming and (sometimes quite dramatic) results following the things I grizzle about, it gives me something to reflect on.
Veered slightly off course there, martin, sorry about that.
Rgds,
KB.
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"The one thing you *really* don't want to do is hit a lampost or tree 'side on'"
and sometimes, you know KB, its just not the drivers day.
True story follows.
HGV steering link fails; cause lousy design and manufacturing (ref. my acc inv report), driver no longer able to steer all that well, driver unable to stop vehicle before it goes off on the outside of a gentle bend, driver manages to avoid substantial tree but can't manage to stop it hitting lamp post, driver thrown out of windscreen, survived all that to be killed by the falling lamp post.
And they still put lamp posts on the outside of bends.
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Chances of that, FIF, are pretty remote. He must have really upset his maker. There are occasional incidents of 'pure luck' good or bad and that was certainly one of them. Just yesterday, I was helping a tree surgeon in our garden and the (30foot)ladder which was resting against the(80foot)tree got snagged by a heavy branch being lowered by a line. The top of the ladder got pulled off the tree trunk and commenced it's descent on to all sorts of garage/shed/fence based damage/expenditure. It was a million to one chance that the ladder could have its descent halted by the very line that was lowering the branch....but it did and remained upright and just needed lifting away from the line and back over to the trunk. Question is - what did *I* do that pleased *my* maker so much?
Regards,
KB.
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... or shining his chrome Bullbars...? [ouch!]
PS. T'was 26degC here in sunny Shropshire yesterday, and 28degC here today!! (Lot's of hot headed kids in 205's too, sharks fin's and blaring stereo's et al...)
... But so what?... Plus ca change, plus cest la mem chose!!
rgds,
Moz.
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