Discussion
SOL111 said:
julian64 said:
Might not be relevant to you, but its where I would put my money in that accident. If I can stand on an old car, but on a modern car I cant, then I know which car I'd rather be in when a dirty great wheel hits the top of my car.
If your figures tell you otherwise then good luck to you.
You do realise that the body panels on a car (irrespective of age) serve no other purpose than cosmetic? That's why they're paper thin nowadays, as it's a waste of money having the ability to stand on a bonnet when all the clever engineering needs to be elsewhere.If your figures tell you otherwise then good luck to you.
You're comparing a static load to a dynamic one, which bear no relation to each other. Personally I'd take a modern car over old any day of the week.
Although ultimately the majority of cars are an irrelevance when it comes to this kind of freakish accident as none are designed for random wheel/tyre impacts. It's as random as being hit by a falling branch and pure luck whether you live or die. Thank goodness these people lived as anything slightly different and they might not be.
In this particular scenario, dirty gurt wheel and tyre smacking the roof, I would rather be in a car with a thick roof too.
However, in most cases, a heavy roof skin is hindering more than helping in terms of cost, time, weight distribution, etc. It's not "your figures" telling us this, it's literally everything about car design in the last x years.
Thesprucegoose said:
I've seen a couple of posts of FB, a champagne bottle through a window and a bag of flour. Both caused big damage
It's odd isn't it? These are inanimate and harmless everyday things, and we consider them as such in most situations, but then bullets are just wee bits of metal lying around until they're travelling faster than the speed of sound. Get anything travelling quickly enough whether it's a bag of flour, a bottle, a stone, a goose, it's very, very likely to ruin your day if you encounter it at close quarters!I'm surprised no one's asked (or stated) if / that the wheel was travelling faster than the truck it came from when it hit the Pug...
NoAdverseDevelopments said:
Absolutely nothing you can do in that situation, it would all happen far too quickly for you to react.
You are right....Many years ago on the M25 in Hertfordshire somewhere, I was driving my little MR2 and saw a lorry wheel bouncing down the road towards me - taking huge bounces, but heading my way. By the time I had thought 'what the.....? You are f'ing joking?' the thing had bounced right in front of me and right over me without touching the car.
echazfraz said:
It's odd isn't it? These are inanimate and harmless everyday things, and we consider them as such in most situations, but then bullets are just wee bits of metal lying around until they're travelling faster than the speed of sound. Get anything travelling quickly enough whether it's a bag of flour, a bottle, a stone, a goose, it's very, very likely to ruin your day if you encounter it at close quarters!
I'm surprised no one's asked (or stated) if / that the wheel was travelling faster than the truck it came from when it hit the Pug...
Best not to go down that conveyor belt again I'm surprised no one's asked (or stated) if / that the wheel was travelling faster than the truck it came from when it hit the Pug...
Julian Thompson said:
So you can drove about with a scaffolding tower fastened to your bumper but are not allowed to install a roll cage because of “safety of the other car”?
That is quite simply the craziest law I’ve ever heard!
Also IIRC 4 point racing harnesses are not allowed. The simple lap belt is but.......That is quite simply the craziest law I’ve ever heard!
AussieFozzy said:
I should have mentioned not legal in Australia. The supposed reason for no roll cages is that it makes it less safe for the other car if you have an accident because your car is now significantly stronger. However my thinking is i am not all that bothered about the other car if it means i am safer.
It makes even less sense when you consider you can pay more money and buy a car with a higher safety rating, so why cant i pay more money and make my car safer?
You have got me wondering about how cars fitted with factory roll cages fit into that rule.
I would love to put a cage in my car as it spends loads of time on the track but i also need to drive to work in it every day so i cant.
I used to think the same, and yes aus is shocking for rules. However. A cage is legal if engineered correctly, and you can’t deny the dangers of a poor cage. Scaffolding poles in the car to hit your head on, or in some accidents if they’re sIt makes even less sense when you consider you can pay more money and buy a car with a higher safety rating, so why cant i pay more money and make my car safer?
You have got me wondering about how cars fitted with factory roll cages fit into that rule.
I would love to put a cage in my car as it spends loads of time on the track but i also need to drive to work in it every day so i cant.
t to fold on your head etc. I think that’s the theory.Jasandjules said:
Julian Thompson said:
So you can drove about with a scaffolding tower fastened to your bumper but are not allowed to install a roll cage because of “safety of the other car”?
That is quite simply the craziest law I’ve ever heard!
Also IIRC 4 point racing harnesses are not allowed. The simple lap belt is but.......That is quite simply the craziest law I’ve ever heard!
syl said:
Lucky escape? Buy a lottery ticket?
You must all be firmly glass half full people - I’d call it bloody unlucky myself.
I see lucky as a sliding scale. At one ebd of the scale. You see the wheel.in your review mirror, and on arrival at your destination find out that you won a roll over javkpot of 36 sqillion quids.You must all be firmly glass half full people - I’d call it bloody unlucky myself.
At the other end of the spectrum, the wheel hit a car, but nobody died. But they are all now vegetables and will be wearing nappies and drewling the rest of their lives. Is tjis the worst outcome. Worse than desth? Lets see.. yes. a bit less unlucky was death after 13 hours in an opetating theatre. A bit more lucky again was instant death. And then definately on the more lucky than death was survival and a few scratches from flying glass.
So yeah. Their week was f
ked up. But theyll have a story to tell.thier grand kids..Pit Pony said:
I see lucky as a sliding scale. At one ebd of the scale. You see the wheel.in your review mirror, and on arrival at your destination find out that you won a roll over javkpot of 36 sqillion quids.
At the other end of the spectrum, the wheel hit a car, but nobody died. But they are all now vegetables and will be wearing nappies and drewling the rest of their lives. Is tjis the worst outcome. Worse than desth? Lets see.. yes. a bit less unlucky was death after 13 hours in an opetating theatre. A bit more lucky again was instant death. And then definately on the more lucky than death was survival and a few scratches from flying glass.
So yeah. Their week was fked up. But theyll have a story to tell.thier grand kids..
"Lucky" escape - from whom? At the other end of the spectrum, the wheel hit a car, but nobody died. But they are all now vegetables and will be wearing nappies and drewling the rest of their lives. Is tjis the worst outcome. Worse than desth? Lets see.. yes. a bit less unlucky was death after 13 hours in an opetating theatre. A bit more lucky again was instant death. And then definately on the more lucky than death was survival and a few scratches from flying glass.
So yeah. Their week was f
ked up. But theyll have a story to tell.thier grand kids..Which HGV driving twunt caused this? Have they been identified? Have they been prosecuted? If not, why not?
Condi said:
LeoSayer said:
I wasn’t there so I don’t know any different.
Maybe it could have been avoided, maybe not.
Maybe the wheel had been bouncing down the road for 5 seconds, or maybe it had just flown off.
Maybe the wheel was heading off the carriageway but it hit another car and bounced into the path of the unlucky victim
But you can take some measures to give yourself the best chance of avoiding such a random event.
Before you set out:
Do you know how your car handles extreme steering and braking inputs?
Are your tyres, brakes and suspension in good condition?
Do you have any loose heavy objects in the car?
Whilst driving:
Keep a constant look out close ahead and into the distance
Is traffic ahead is behaving unusually eg. swerving or braking?
Do you have space to swerve into another lane if necessary?
Are you aware of what vehicles are behind and to the side of you?
Are you far enough from the car or lorry in front to see past them?
I can’t think of any scenario where I would prefer to crash a 20 year older version of a car versus its modern day equivalent.
What an odd post. Maybe it could have been avoided, maybe not.
Maybe the wheel had been bouncing down the road for 5 seconds, or maybe it had just flown off.
Maybe the wheel was heading off the carriageway but it hit another car and bounced into the path of the unlucky victim
But you can take some measures to give yourself the best chance of avoiding such a random event.
Before you set out:
Do you know how your car handles extreme steering and braking inputs?
Are your tyres, brakes and suspension in good condition?
Do you have any loose heavy objects in the car?
Whilst driving:
Keep a constant look out close ahead and into the distance
Is traffic ahead is behaving unusually eg. swerving or braking?
Do you have space to swerve into another lane if necessary?
Are you aware of what vehicles are behind and to the side of you?
Are you far enough from the car or lorry in front to see past them?
I can’t think of any scenario where I would prefer to crash a 20 year older version of a car versus its modern day equivalent.
How does not having any loose heavy objects in the car prevent the wheel of a lorry travelling in the opposite direction of a motorway hitting your car?
The closing speed of the 2 objects would be about 130 mph with the tyre coming at an angle. You would barely see it before impact, let alone have time to assess your options and move out the way. By the grace of god and all that.
A mate of mine recalled how his tool box travelled between the 2 front seats and through the front screen when a rear suspension component failed and he left the motorway and came to an abrupt stop embedded in a tree.
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