Advocacy & Safety - Cars!

Well I guess this is a little out of place but it is a good safety story (I think at least) anyhow here goes...

Today I get a call from my friend telling me he was in a accident (his jeep flipped 4 times and he was thrown from the vehicle) turns out he was in a coma for two days and just woke up :eek:

Not to worry though he is alright, in fact he escaped with only minor injuries (bruises scrapes and some swelling) no broken bones no surgery. He was driving down a road and lost control which made the car hit a dirt mound near the side of the road.

Today we went to go check out the car at the impound place, the vehicle was almost beyond recognition (I'm surprised he isn't hurt worse) and completly totaled.

Anyhow getting to my point, all this happened right as I'm about to finish my new road bike (which I am going to try to commute with as much as possible) In fact I was just thinking about how dangerous vehicles are in general, and that getting on a bike to go places would be much safer.

I just figured this is a testament to how dangerous cars can be to the people inside, and the pedistrians (and cyclists!) outside.

Originally posted by VegasCyclist
Well I guess this is a little out of place but it is a good safety story (I think at least) anyhow here goes...my friend...he was in a accident (his jeep flipped 4 times and he was thrown from the vehicle) turns out he was in a coma for two days and just woke up :eek:

I just figured this is a testament to how dangerous cars can be to the people inside, and the pedistrians (and cyclists!) outside.
This is what I've been trying to say!

his jeep flipped 4 times and he was thrown from the vehicle

He is very lucky to be alive. To be thrown from the vehicle, is it possible he wasn't wearing a seatbelt?

It would be very rare to be wearing a seat belt and still be thrown from a car, but not impossible if the car rolled 4 times.

Did I mention, he is very lucky to be alive.

CHEERS.

Mark

yeah that is what I said, apparently he was wearing a belt and it broke (rare but can happen) of course this is on his word.. it is possible he wasn't wearing one.

Big thing on TV last night about the Gen 3 seatbelts in Chrysler products, and how, because of its design with a very protruding release latch, it CAN come unfastened during an accident - especially one like a rollover, because of being hit by parts of the body and/or debris - and the person gets thrown out.

The Gen 3 has NOT been recalled.

Other car companies use a much less protruding release which does not come unfastened during tests.

Originally posted by DnvrFox
Big thing on TV last night about the Gen 3 seatbelts in Chrysler products, and how, because of its design with a very protruding release latch, it CAN come unfastened during an accident - especially one like a rollover, because of being hit by parts of the body and/or debris - and the person gets thrown out.

The Gen 3 has NOT been recalled.

Other car companies use a much less protruding release which does not come unfastened during tests.

This design probably resulted from a lazy driver. I can hear it now "Can we make that latch easier to get to? It's such a pain to reach around my stomach to find..." Sorry, that's a bit harsh but I've had a a harsh morning. Good to rant a little. I feel sheepish now... I promise to be more understanding next time.

The original safety research into cars was done by the US airforce, in the 1950s, when they realised that more of their fast-jet pilots were dying and getting injured on the way to work, then during their work activity.
They did live animal crash tests, seat belt research etc. The response of the big motors manufactors was to lobby (successfully) for the closure of the research program.

Originally posted by VegasCyclist
Well I guess this is a little out of place but it is a good safety story (I think at least) anyhow here goes...

Today I get a call from my friend telling me he was in a accident (his jeep flipped 4 times and he was thrown from the vehicle) turns out he was in a coma for two days and just woke up :eek:

Not to worry though he is alright, in fact he escaped with only minor injuries (bruises scrapes and some swelling) no broken bones no surgery. He was driving down a road and lost control which made the car hit a dirt mound near the side of the road.

Today we went to go check out the car at the impound place, the vehicle was almost beyond recognition (I'm surprised he isn't hurt worse) and completly totaled.

Anyhow getting to my point, all this happened right as I'm about to finish my new road bike (which I am going to try to commute with as much as possible) In fact I was just thinking about how dangerous vehicles are in general, and that getting on a bike to go places would be much safer.

I just figured this is a testament to how dangerous cars can be to the people inside, and the pedistrians (and cyclists!) outside.

I'm not sure what you expect, when you get fairly stupid people, or at best careless people, behind a possibly 3 ton piece of metal, capable of putting out forces in 1000s of Newtons