by Doug Coulter » Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:37 pm
I have to admit after having been in some crashes, that I'm a huge fan of belts. I lost my teeth in the only one I had that was my fault - lap belts only in a 66 plymouth valiant, 10 mph rear ender. Steering wheels don't taste real good. When shoulder belts came out - and they were nasty-uncomfortable at first - I was in love anyway.
I've heard a couple of stories where people say they'd have been hurt worse with one - but they are either ones I can discount (someone saved by being thrown clear for example, which usually will kill you - and we don't know how he'd have done if he'd stayed with the vehicle either) and stuff like that. You might merely have been pushed over the inside support, and no worse for wear, you never really know. I have seen cars vs poles where yes, essentially the back bumper now touched the front on that side - belt or not - that guy's dead. The trouble with the stories here is that "rebel without a cause" issue - people don't like being told what to do and rationalize the hell out of it - you can't believe their stories. I've either been in or seen (at the track) a lotta wrecks. Give me a belt. The numbers are far better.
When I got thrown clear of my kart, after rolling it, I was fine - till the kart came back out of the sky and landed on me. Had I been wearing its belts - I'd have been mad, but just hanging upside down. I broke 6 ribs in that one. That really hurt. No laughing, coughing, farting - anything, for a couple months without extreme pain.
I have no idea about airbags. I think people just drive stupider as a result, like with ABS brakes, and make up for any extra "safety" they confer. In that Prius - it was the airbag that almost tore the dummy's head off - and had he not been belted, his inertia would have pushed him into it even harder! I have my doubts...but I've never been in a situation where one went off. Had the prius bag gone sooner - he'd have been better off hitting an already inflated bag rather than being launched by the inflation, I think. Hmm.
In a similar accident - we were T boned by a little old lady blowing a stopsign, from the right - my passenger who was alert unbuckled and hopped into my (the drivers) lap and escaped injury. The back seat passenger was not alert, was belted, and when that side of the car got pushed in (about a foot) she got a bruise, but nothing more - there is some give in all that, and if the mount itself is being moved by the wreck, as it did in that case, and almost certainly in yours - it's ok, for the data I have so far. In any case, though both cars were totalled (we were going 50+ and just tore the front half off her car when she hit us) - I drove mine - a pontiac compact - home and to a gig I had that night, with no glass on that side. Pushed in a foot, but still drove fine! Those things are tough. That's one of the things GM gets right, they make them too heavy - but they put the weight where it makes you safer. In a headon with a GM wagon and a Nissan - she died, none of us were even bruised. Guess people shouldn't top blind hills on the wrong side of the road at 70 mph, eh? I hit the ditch - and she hit me head on in the ditch! About 120mph total speed. Now that was one loud bang. Tore the right front wheel off (remember, we drive on the other side here) and I still had velocity. I now know why the last words on all flight recorders are some variation on "oh shit". I've still got 35, and I'm heading towards a very unforgiving dirt bank head on, with only 3 wheels.
Steering doesn't work. Brakes gone. E brake no good (never is) - heck I think I adjusted the radio and tried the lighter - it's like time has really slowed and by god, you try everything. Then we hit the bank at 35. That hurt a lot more than bouncing off a nissan did. Lucky, the friend playing saxophone in the back seat took it out of his mouth first or he'd have been hurt. As it is, he saved the son of the girl who hit us, just before her car went over a cliff - and he's now a neighbour of ours, and a friend.
I've not managed to get this thing sideways yet - I've tried, too. Have to disable the traction control stuff which is pretty awesome in operation, but again, I'm not sure that makes the car safer - people will just drive even dumber. I don't go fast when there's any possibility of ice anyway! (and the damn nanny computer speaks up and tells you when there might be ice - down looking IR thermometer) That might manage it. But in any other circumstance, you're going to hit what you're aimed at - it's phenomenal at that - or be hit by someone. Of course, most people don't drive around with vertical 6" infinitely stiff poles on their cars, but would hit you low with their bumper (hopefully they were braking at the time so the bumper is real low), where the car is obviously very strong.
At any rate, I just found those vids and thought they'd be interesting, nice slow mo of a pretty hard crash. FWIW, a guy on the volt forums did total one into a Corvette - which flew to pieces, little chunks of fiberglass everywhere. No one was hurt, and nothing caught on fire either. There have been to date (that I know of) 6 total loss crashes in these in 25 million car miles "in the real world" and zero fires yet.
They'll be hitting your shores soon as the Ampera (and they're better looking cars).
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.