: In article <
[email protected]>,
:
[email protected] says...
:> Letter to Volvo:
:>
:> How grateful I feel to be able to write this letter. Four days ago my
:> wife and I walked away from a 50 MPH "sandwich" crash. Bumps and bruises
:> and the knowledge that safety matters are all that remains (besides the
:> empty garage) of this incident.
:>
:> Driving south on the busy 57 freeway at 10:30 AM on a clear day doesn't
:> sound hazardous, but when smoke poured off the tires of a car two cars
:> in front of my wife and I in our 1994 850T the icy realization of danger
:> hit hard and fast. The car in front of us dived in panicked braking, I
:> hit the brakes and heard the reassuring thumping of the ABS as we ground
:> to a halt only a foot or so from the car in front. We were safe=3Fthen the
:> world exploded. The front airbags detonated, billowing powder and gas as
:> the windshield shattered and the both the front and rear of the car
:> crumpled. We had been hit from behind at 50 MPH and driven into the car
:> in front.
:>
:> I looked over to see my wife, her glasses askew on her face, a small cut
:> on her nose and an enormous bag lying on her lap. She was fumbling for
:> the window switch as I asked her if she was alright. She said "I think
:> so" as, at a touch the window rolled down. I shut off the engine and
:> opened my door to clear the dust out of the interior. We both got out
:> and walked carefully to the rear as cars whizzed past both sides of this
:> strange, smoking tableau.
:>
:> The car behind had driven our car in front of us 50 yards down the
:> freeway. Dazed, bruised and confused, everyone was out of their cars and
:> the Highway patrol was on the way.
:>
:> What happened is still unclear, but what is clear are several essential
:> facts: 1) My beloved 850 stopped straight as a string (thank you ABS,
:> for keeping me in my lane) 2) The rear crumple zone did its job and
:> probably saved the life of the young man who drove into us as well 3)
:> The 850 absorbed nearly all the force, but we were protected from
:> serious harm. 4) The combination of the seat backs, headrests, seatbelts
:> and airbags gave protection from the severe whipping that occurred from
:> the double hit (back then front) 5) A Volvo saved the lives of my wife
:> and myself
:>
:> It is also remarkable that the car could even move, but it did, the
:> engine restarted and ran well (after the muffler exploded since the
:> tailpipe had been crushed). The electric windows worked and all the
:> doors opened so we could get out
:>
:> To say this car is a total loss is sad, since it will always be the most
:> precious thing I have ever owned.
:>
:> We still have our 1989 744T, though a car my wife simply will not part
:> with.
:
: Congratulations on your survival.
: However the most important benefit of ABS is that it gives you ability
: to steer the car while undergoing severe near thresh-hold braking.
: Unfortunately, few people have had either the training or otherwise
: acquired the skill needed to execute the brake and turn maneuver that is
: required to save the car in exactly your situation.
: I don't endorse any particular driving school, but all the major
: competition schools offer an accident avoidance training session. It can
: be a one or two day affair, with lots of track time and tons of training
: in various highway driving techniques. These are exactly the same as you
: would use in competetion but practiced at beginner speed: focus, car
: position awareness (relative to other cars), brake and turn, off road
: recovery, thresh-hold braking, car position (placement on the pavement,
: using what you are given), corner entry and exit techniques,
: interpretation of steering inputs, braking inputs and a lot more.
: Now that you've experienced what the car CAN do it's a perfect
: opportunity to garner some more technique and discover what YOU can do.
: The reality is that since you had the time to execute a perfectly
: controlled panic stop to 0 mph without contacting anything, then you
: really did have the time to execute a drive around slowing to maybe as
: little as 25 mph and not hit anything nor be hit from behind.
: If this seems condescending it's not meant to be. It's just that in the
: Americas there is simply no such thing as driver training for the
: masses. Stop on the red go on the green and good luck in between is
: about it. Oh, and always stop for a school bus. If anything arises
: outside of clear, daylit, dry, straight road you're on your own to
: develop successful techniques or strategies. All of which is a hame
: because the techniques and strategies are well known, just not required
: for a general public driving license.
: I'll get off my soapbox now. Once again congratulations on your
: survival. It's a shame about the car.
: Bob
you ARE absolutely right! i've been driving volvos since the early 60s
and while avoiding bad scenes, it is still #1, the tweaking to avoid
potentially bad scenes remains my #2 concern... i've seen, oh so many
rear/front collapsed volvos in junk yards... all ending-well for the
driver, i still remain concerned on how to avoid even these collisions...
so. *where*? can a good, consciencious driver go to learn maximum
avoidance strategies? that should be on all our minds. I remain
in awe, about what-to-do if i see black tire smoke from panic brakes
in front of me... oh, yea, i'll just slow-down to 20mph and swerve
out of the way... nice thought! but it's frightening!!!
: --
: The goal when driving is to miss the maximum number of objects.
--
