Zelandeth wrote: There was enough energy involved that I did three complete 360 degree rotations, and the tanker ended up "with a chassis shaped like a banana" as a result of it
It's because you had room to do those spins and dissipate that energy that you didn't get more badly injured.. I suspect if you'd caught it head-on and stopped dead, the results would be somewhat more unpleasant.
My brother hit the back of a 40-tonner in a Renault 18 when he had brake failure at 35mph. He's about Jim's size. He squeezed out uninjured apart from a jarred knee and a bit of whiplash.
The police arrived and wouldn't believe he was the driver, sat uninjured on the wall having a ciggie and had to be convinced. If it was my fat arse, I'd be dead!
I saw a few stats today. The new Ford Mustang scored two stars and the new Ford Ka and Fiat 500 three stars each. So it appears it's not a foregone conclusion that all modern cars are safer.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Dave
2011 Peugeot 3008 1.6hdi Exclusive EGS.
'04 C5 auto estate 2.2 hdi. Gone.
Bx 1.6 TGS Auto 50k A rare beast by all accounts. A bit tired but getting better by the day. Gone.
'96 XM 2.5TD VSX.......Sadly sold. What an idiot! I should have held on to that.
No definitely not a foregone conclusion. And definitely something to look at when buying a new or recent car. Enough new cars these days have good/excellent NCAP ratings that there's really no reason to consider one that doesn't have a good rating, especially if buying new...
Simon
1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White
2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver 1977 G Special 1129cc LHD 1978 CX 2400 1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX 1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
C5 is cheap, tough as old boots and a great DD in diesel. 5 star crash rating. No rust and more room. Starting about £500. £145 road tax. Who needs Xantias?
Citroen C5 1.6 HDI 110bhp Estate 06 plate
French Mistresses gone.
Citroen C5 HDI Mk 1 hatchback
Vel Satis 3.5 v6
ZX 1.9D Est.
ZX 1.9DHatch
Xantia 1.9td est.
Xantia 2.0 hdi Est.
Xantia V6 MK1
Xantia V6 MK 2
If the Xantia is that bad then how did we all survive driving around in the BX, or even the AX both of which were made from the stuff you get a takeaway in.
Homer wrote:If the Xantia is that bad then how did we all survive driving around in the BX, or even the AX both of which were made from the stuff you get a takeaway in.
The Xantia was pretty solid by comparison.
Very true
And going back even further, how did we 'baby boomers' all survive our formative years then? As a baby I travelled on my mother’s lap in an A35 van...
Jim
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Shudder to think how many miles I did perched in the space behind the seats in our neighbour's MGB convertible... Wasn't even a seat much less a seatbelt!
Current fleet:
06 Peugeot Partner Escapade 1.6HDi, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
Homer wrote:If the Xantia is that bad then how did we all survive driving around in the BX, or even the AX both of which were made from the stuff you get a takeaway in.
The Xantia was pretty solid by comparison.
Very true
And going back even further, how did we 'baby boomers' all survive our formative years then? As a baby I travelled on my mother’s lap in an A35 van...
Lap? You were spoilt. I had my pram stuffed in the back of a Viva van. My dad had worked out that if he compressed it on it's springs, and shoved it in, it would jam itself against the roof, and there I was left..
CitroJim wrote:I remember when seatbelts were mere ornaments in a car!
I was once a passenger in an Alfa 33 which ended up on it's side. I was in the front passenger seat which had a broken seat belt, so I wasn't wearing it. (LHD car, in Greece). Amazingly, I only suffered a bumped head where my head hit the B-post. I feel nervous if I even turn the car round on the drive without wearing a belt now!
CitroJim wrote:
And going back even further, how did we 'baby boomers' all survive our formative years then? As a baby I travelled on my mother’s lap in an A35 van...
CitroJim wrote:I remember when seatbelts were mere ornaments in a car!
It's not just baby boomers Jim!
I was born in 1975 and grew up with a 1974 GS as the family car - which had no seat belts in the back...
I've seen pictures of me as a baby stuffed into the depression of a large living room bean bag which itself was wedged into the back seat up against the front seats - that was how I got around as a baby and I'm still alive! Dad wasn't a particularly sedate driver either...
I have strong memories from my childhood in the 5-10 year old range simply sitting in the front passenger seat of the same GS (which fortunately did have seat belts at the front! Although of the manual adjustment and latch design) on a pillow. Child seats were still a thing far in the future...
I'm not saying we should go back to this (the thought of the beanbag horrifies me as a new parent myself now) but its amazing just how well we managed in the days before fancy child seats.
I've also told the story in another thread how my only serious car accident was in a 1977 GS I was driving when I was about 17, not only did I walk away unscathed apart from a little shock and maybe a sore neck, after bending the front left guard away from the tyre (which it was now squashed up against) I was able to start the car and drive it back home. It needed a new front bumper and undertray, a headlight and quite a bit of panel beating around the front but it got back on the road again with no damage to the engine, suspension or structure of the car. Impact was a head on collision with another car at about 30mph. (The other car had stopped before the impact as it had turned across onto the road in front of me and then stopped dead as I slammed the brakes on from about 50mph)
Last edited by Mandrake on 04 Mar 2017, 12:22, edited 3 times in total.
Simon
1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White
2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver 1977 G Special 1129cc LHD 1978 CX 2400 1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX 1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
My Cars: '95 Xantia 1.9D automatic - 109k one of two remaining '03 206 GTi180 - 97k in pieces being brought back up to snuff '03 206 1.9TD - home-built veg-fuelled B-road bruiser '99 306 SE 2.0i cabriolet - 92k awaiting service work ready for next summer '97 306 XS 1.6i 3 door, Bianca White, from dead 12 years & seized solid to road legal in 7 days
CitroJim wrote:I remember when seatbelts were mere ornaments in a car!
I was once a passenger in an Alfa 33 which ended up on it's side. I was in the front passenger seat which had a broken seat belt, so I wasn't wearing it. (LHD car, in Greece). Amazingly, I only suffered a bumped head where my head hit the B-post. I feel nervous if I even turn the car round on the drive without wearing a belt now!
I too feel "naked" without a seatbelt now, even just shifting cars round the driveway it doesn't feel right... Good thing I suppose
I recall vividly an accident in my younger more reckless years, I was driving a Mk4 Escort "rather fast" down a local A-road with some nice twisties when a rear tyre blew out resulting in a huge slide and near head-on impact into a large lamp post, my estimated impact speed would still be around 65-75mph, which folded into a ramp and flipped the car twice that I know of before landing back on it's remaining 2 wheels. The whole thing was a steaming crumpled mess, some oil I had in the boot came flying between(fortunately) my head and that of my passenger through the screen and the passenger door was missing entirely.
Altogether we were both very lucky to walk away from that one with cuts & bruises, even more so my passenger who had been unbelted at the time yet somehow stayed onboard. I had deep bruises over my shoulder chest and hip from my 'belt, from the gash on his head I'd say it was the A-pillar that saved him from being thrown out...
Since that incident I've always insisted my passengers belt up also, to the point I refuse to drive until they've "clunk-clicked". The thought of what could easily have happened to him in that crash affected me badly for some time afterwards, not as badly though as if I'd actually claimed his life.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 109k
'03 206 GTi180 94k in surgery
'03 206 1.1S XUD9TE/veg project
'99 306 2.0SE cabriolet 95k summer toy
'97 306 XS 1.6i 99k sat 12 years, fixed in 7 days, 150mile maiden voyage
Cars are much faster now, so closing speeds can be much higher. There are more motorways, A roads and fast routes, so more potential for high speed collisions. Then of course, there is the dreaded sandwich multi vehicle pile up scenario, all too common now. Although fatal RTA's are the main focus of safer vehicle design, life changing debilitating injury is something no one wants. and these make up the bulk of serious RTA consequences.
Fortunately, I've only been in one serious RTA, and I walked away without a scratch, mainly due to driving a late 80's Merc 300E at the time.
The offending driver, who caused the accident by doing an illegal right turn on a dual carriageway at an intersection, wasn't so lucky. He was in a Volvo 340, was hospitalised for several weeks, suffered permanent leg injuries and was convicted of driving without due care and attention, and failing to comply with a road sign.
My Father was badly injured in a Ford Corsair which was hit by a another car offside front head on. Although he was wearing the static type seat belt, the steering wheel was pushed into his chest, so he had a fractured sternum, ribs and a punctured lung, his right leg was broken and the knee cap almost removed by and section of unpadded, diecast aluminium lower dash, fractured right wrist, and various cuts and bruises. He was off work for 6 months and his leg was never the same again. In a more modern car he would have walked away from that.
I saw the Corsair in the salvage yard and it was scary, seen at the side of the road anyone would have assumed the passengers would be dead.
Now using '00 Xantia LX HDI, pov spec
My past Citroens :-
'00 Xantia SX HDI, now dead due to accident
'99 Xantia HDI 110 Exclusive, RIP
'97 Xantia TD SX
'96 Xantia TD LX
'96 ZX TD
'89 BX TD
'88 AX GT
'79 CX2400 Pallas (scrapped )
& a couple of Peugeots !