Bad accident - walked away

[IndyIan]

Considering you drive a Ford Focus, do you consider yourself a "high risk" driver?

Well, certain vehicles attract certain types of drivers, which has an effect for sure.
I try to be a low risk driver, as I know the car isn't going to save me in a head on with most vehicles, so I pay attention far up the road, match my speed to the situation and try to minimize risks as the consequences get larger.
So I don't play games when someone does a poorly thought out pass on the 2 lane highway, and cover the brake through intersections where I'm unsighted for a car turning left in front of me. Basically drive like I'm on a motorcycle. An exciting excursion off the track at 65mph on a track day, makes me not want to have a problem on the road at 80mph, so I don't speed too much or too often.
So far pretty good, over 30 years of driving with only one fender bender when I was 25, and only the one ticket for that.

 

[Best F100]

Wow, I'm wondering about the accidents @OVERKILL writes about above

 

[OVERKILL]

A straight truck, as in a box truck/dump truck?

Large box truck.

 

[wavinwayne]

Because it appeals to fear. Fear is always easiest saw point. That girl in commercial, beautiful hair, going forward, and dad driving a car, sees her being ejected into the windshield. However, if they drove Subaru, it wouldn’t happen.
Considering brakes in Subaru and tires it puts, I would say, opposite is true.

I see it differently and that's OK. I always liked the Subaru "they lived" commercials and that ad campaign was part of the reason I bought a Subaru in 2018.

 

[Shel_B]

I was rather shocked when he told me the RAM took the front end clear off the straight truck as well

What's a straight truck? I not heard that term before.

 

[rijndael]

What's a straight truck? I not heard that term before.

Think big box truck. Cab & bed share the same frame.

This is in comparison to a tractor trailer where the tractor and trailer have different frames.

 

[4WD]

My wife would not be here had she been driving a car instead of my F150. There is a very valid reason to have adequately strong surroundings in your vehicle.

I was pleasantly surprised when a lady hit the back of our 2017 Tahoe driving really fast (my girls inside) … Side curtains deployed in case they were pushed into traffic - seat belts fired and locked down so hard they helped each other release - fuel system shut off followed by engine and electrical system terminated - all in split seconds … OnStar alerted responders
The Tacoma was totaled - insurance fixed the Tahoe …

 

[ARCOgraphite]

** inappropriate comment removed by the author **

 

[ARCOgraphite]

My wife got rear ended by a large box truck at a stoplight light on a 40 mph road leaving work late afternoon. The driver said he was blinded by the sunset.
She was fine but rattled. The car held up well but was totaled: 1996 Subaru Impreza Wagon.

Looking at the extent of the crush, a passenger in the back seat would be O.K. also, except for whiplash possibly. I forget the headrest situation back there.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I was pleasantly surprised when a lady hit the back of our 2017 Tahoe driving really fast (my girls inside) … Side curtains deployed in case they were pushed into traffic - seat belts fired and locked down so hard they helped each other release - fuel system shut off followed by engine and electrical system terminated - all in split seconds … OnStar alerted responders
The Tacoma was totaled - insurance fixed the Tahoe …

I worry about some of that safety stuff interfering in a high speed highway "pinball" pileup accident where you are required to do some more "emergency maneuvering" to get the vehicle to a safe spot after being hit.

Like, move out of the path of that 18-wheeler barreling down at 65 mph right to your driver's side door.

*edited for content and clarity

 

[OVERKILL]

My wife got rear ended by a large box truck at a stoplight light on a 40 mph road leaving work late afternoon. The driver said he was blinded by the sunset.
She was fine but rattled. The car held up well but was totaled: 1996 Subaru Impreza Wagon.

Looking at the extent of the crush, a passenger in the back seat would be O.K. also, except for whiplash possibly. I forget the headrest situation back there.

This was a head-on, combined speed would have been around 120km/h or around 75mph.

 

[OVERKILL]

What's a straight truck? I not heard that term before.

A straight frame, a transport truck without a separate box, they share a frame.

Unfortunately, this is what most of these accidents end up looking like (person died, same highway):

 

[Jetronic]

Wonder what the story is on the dump having no brakes.

that's probably the story.... can't have drivers acknowledge their fault can we?

 

[B6_Dolphin]

And then just yesterday, our local news channel showed a traffic cam captured a pickup running a red light and T-boning a car:

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/cr...ed-meyer-bellevue/4AGPL3CKONEENOSF2S54PG5LOY/

The car took quite a hit, but the driver survived with "non life-threatening injuries". I think the driver was fortunate the pickup hit the front and spun the car around, vs hitting the car farther back and transmitting more impact to the passenger section.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

 

[andrew_j]

Severe accident survivability is a combination of luck, placement, vehicle construction and most importantly wearing a seat belt.

My wife was in 89 Mazda 3 in 1995 that her friend dozed briefly awoke by wife and hit rock throwing car in air . It rolled 5 times however they were okay despite broken glass , debris and and crush slightly of roof beyond front end damage of rock hit.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

This was a head-on, combined speed would have been around 120km/h or around 75mph.

I was responding more to @RhondaHonda post#5.

Agree, 75 mph closing; that is getting to the point you don't walk away without serious injury.

Equivalent to > 35mph into a deformable barrier (for vehicle of similar mass and speed)

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Air brakes work in "reverse" the brakes are always on and if you lose air the turn on.
The brakes always go out of adjustment. It appears that 2 of the compensating mechanism were not functional and ABS system is not functional. Drivers always lame the brakes. They drive those trucks every day for a living and the aught to know better.