"Brace Yourself"?
Discussion
Howaboutthis said:
So, say you were a passenger or driver in a car that was going to crash, how best to brace yourself? Feet against the firewall or tucked back, hands and arms against your chest maybe? Of course, in Oz there is the "Crikey Bar" on the passenger dashboard. Anyway, just wondering. Not long ago I was a passenger in a left hand drive vintage car with no seatbelt or head restraint, so I just held on with my buttocks.
Open door, exit and parachute roll. If possible end up in a pressup position.Research on aircraft crashes (especially from the crash of the M1 near Kenworth), loose limbs are the big danger in high impact events. They must be kept as close to the torso as possible. Passengers who do so have much higher survival rates and lower injury. So let go of the wheel and get your feet away from the pedals.
For the driver at least, in a modern car tested to Euro NCAP standards, Sitting in driving position is surely the best bet?
Gives you something to hold onto; Protection is "Calibrated" for that position, and you can try for grim death to regain control until the last moments.
Having gone sideways into Armco at ~40, I was surprised by how comfortable the side airbag was - Didn't really "feel" the impact, It was like jumping onto a sofa - I'd do it again if it wasn't so fiscally damaging.
Gives you something to hold onto; Protection is "Calibrated" for that position, and you can try for grim death to regain control until the last moments.
Having gone sideways into Armco at ~40, I was surprised by how comfortable the side airbag was - Didn't really "feel" the impact, It was like jumping onto a sofa - I'd do it again if it wasn't so fiscally damaging.
Id suggest that you take whatever position you like, it’s pure luck that nothing comes through the window/vehicle and takes you out. Or you can’t get out and the vehicle is on fire etc....
If it’s a lower speed bump then why bother, the seatbelt and airbags if they go off will protect you.
If it’s a lower speed bump then why bother, the seatbelt and airbags if they go off will protect you.
Rotary Potato said:
My thought process through this was:
"He's brave, kicking the back end out at that sort of speed"
"S**t! That's not deliberate"
"We're going to crash - there's a junction up ahead"
"There's a lot of exposed metal in here"
I pulled my legs up to my chest (i.e. front of thigh to chest, feet on thigh support of seat - by my bum), wrapped my arms round my legs, and pushed my head between my knees.
Funny how time appears to slow down in an incident and gives you tons of time to think, all after it is too late - I was out with a friend in pre-race test/practice after he'd rebuilt his racing kneeler (sidecar). "He's brave, kicking the back end out at that sort of speed"
"S**t! That's not deliberate"
"We're going to crash - there's a junction up ahead"
"There's a lot of exposed metal in here"
I pulled my legs up to my chest (i.e. front of thigh to chest, feet on thigh support of seat - by my bum), wrapped my arms round my legs, and pushed my head between my knees.
I'd never been a passenger but had watched him at the Isle of Man TT so clearly I was well qualified. Also being the early 80s the best place to test such a monster was on the streets of a city West of London, very early one Sunday morning, plus those dual carriageways and roundabouts were made for the job.
Yes those bloody roundabouts, after constantly moving my body/ballast around to provide traction or counterweight, the 10th roundabout was a quick 90 followed by massive acceleration and my weedy arms gave out. I was sliding feet first, dead straight down the road, luckily not even getting sexually assaulted by the cats eyes, with enough time to roll from my back to one side and then the other side as the heat built up through my leathers.
In fact whilst slowing (I'd stab at 120-140 from my own motorcycle a CBX1000 experience) I planned my story for the pointy heads, scoped out a new RS1600i in a garage and I'm fairly sure I would have had time to write war and peace.
J__Wood said:
Funny how time appears to slow down in an incident and gives you tons of time to think, all after it is too late - I was out with a friend in pre-race test/practice after he'd rebuilt his racing kneeler (sidecar).
I'd never been a passenger but had watched him at the Isle of Man TT so clearly I was well qualified. Also being the early 80s the best place to test such a monster was on the streets of a city West of London, very early one Sunday morning, plus those dual carriageways and roundabouts were made for the job.
Yes those bloody roundabouts, after constantly moving my body/ballast around to provide traction or counterweight, the 10th roundabout was a quick 90 followed by massive acceleration and my weedy arms gave out. I was sliding feet first, dead straight down the road, luckily not even getting sexually assaulted by the cats eyes, with enough time to roll from my back to one side and then the other side as the heat built up through my leathers.
In fact whilst slowing (I'd stab at 120-140 from my own motorcycle a CBX1000 experience) I planned my story for the pointy heads, scoped out a new RS1600i in a garage and I'm fairly sure I would have had time to write war and peace.
Love it I'd never been a passenger but had watched him at the Isle of Man TT so clearly I was well qualified. Also being the early 80s the best place to test such a monster was on the streets of a city West of London, very early one Sunday morning, plus those dual carriageways and roundabouts were made for the job.
Yes those bloody roundabouts, after constantly moving my body/ballast around to provide traction or counterweight, the 10th roundabout was a quick 90 followed by massive acceleration and my weedy arms gave out. I was sliding feet first, dead straight down the road, luckily not even getting sexually assaulted by the cats eyes, with enough time to roll from my back to one side and then the other side as the heat built up through my leathers.
In fact whilst slowing (I'd stab at 120-140 from my own motorcycle a CBX1000 experience) I planned my story for the pointy heads, scoped out a new RS1600i in a garage and I'm fairly sure I would have had time to write war and peace.
Glad you got away without injury too.
waremark said:
Harness, helmet and HANS?
A more serious observation is if you have any control at all over the car don't give up on looking for the least damaging thing to hit - if at all possible avoid head ons, trees or telegraph posts. That could make much more difference than what you do at the moment of impact.waremark said:
waremark said:
Harness, helmet and HANS?
A more serious observation is if you have any control at all over the car don't give up on looking for the least damaging thing to hit - if at all possible avoid head ons, trees or telegraph posts. That could make much more difference than what you do at the moment of impact.Drumroll said:
waremark said:
waremark said:
Harness, helmet and HANS?
A more serious observation is if you have any control at all over the car don't give up on looking for the least damaging thing to hit - if at all possible avoid head ons, trees or telegraph posts. That could make much more difference than what you do at the moment of impact.Related, I've only set off the airbags once, in a front impact, and unlike the poster above who said their side impact airbag was soft, it was not. It was like being punched hard square in the bridge of the nose, I had a bruise for some time. Luckily I was wearing contacts, so didn't get my glasses smashed into my cheeks.
Flibble said:
Drumroll said:
waremark said:
waremark said:
Harness, helmet and HANS?
A more serious observation is if you have any control at all over the car don't give up on looking for the least damaging thing to hit - if at all possible avoid head ons, trees or telegraph posts. That could make much more difference than what you do at the moment of impact.Related, I've only set off the airbags once, in a front impact, and unlike the poster above who said their side impact airbag was soft, it was not. It was like being punched hard square in the bridge of the nose, I had a bruise for some time. Luckily I was wearing contacts, so didn't get my glasses smashed into my cheeks.
Flibble said:
Drumroll said:
waremark said:
waremark said:
Harness, helmet and HANS?
A more serious observation is if you have any control at all over the car don't give up on looking for the least damaging thing to hit - if at all possible avoid head ons, trees or telegraph posts. That could make much more difference than what you do at the moment of impact.Related, I've only set off the airbags once, in a front impact, and unlike the poster above who said their side impact airbag was soft, it was not. It was like being punched hard square in the bridge of the nose, I had a bruise for some time. Luckily I was wearing contacts, so didn't get my glasses smashed into my cheeks.
Drumroll said:
waremark said:
waremark said:
Harness, helmet and HANS?
A more serious observation is if you have any control at all over the car don't give up on looking for the least damaging thing to hit - if at all possible avoid head ons, trees or telegraph posts. That could make much more difference than what you do at the moment of impact.Not "try and skid a bit more or a bit less so you get T-boned instead of having a head-on".
Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff