Surviving a road accident

A road accident is as unpredictable as a dream. Passengers should be in a defensive travelling mode just as drivers are taught defensive driving. Anything can cause a road accident ranging from human error, a type puncture or malfunctioning brakes as well as sheer carelessness caused by other drivers. What would you do if an accident seems inevitable? Should one attempt to jump over the window? Or lie low on the vehicles deck? Any contributions are welcome.

 

All I know to do about driving is to do it carefully, as you say, defensive driving. As much as possible, drive at less busy times of day, take alternative less busy routes. If you are sleepy, pull over and take a quick nap. A 20 minute nap can help a lot when it is truly needed. If an accident is inevitable, I suppose you would have to rely on your fast reflexes. But a lot can be done to prevent accidents just by exercising caution.

 

Well I suffered a serious car accident, and I can attest that safety belts are truly life savers. As far as I remember was dazed and covered by blood, It was so sudden and rough. A car crashed us by front, precipitated like a damn torpedo towards the car. I ended up with several cuts and physical traumas, but me and everybody recovered successfully in the hospital. It was of course, an unpleasant experience that happened almost like 18 years ago and I have forgotten most of it.

 

Choose the right type of vehicle to be in
Keep your vehicle in good condition.
Keep a firm grip on the steering wheel
Stay Awake
Belt up
Keep your eyes on the road
Do not tailgate
And leave that damned phone alone!

Learn how to progressively apply your brakes
Do not swerve to avoid things just brake progressively, hard and straight

To many times have I seen drivers swerve to avoid a dog but then roll the vehicle with family inside
Or a tyre blowout followed by a heavy foot on the brakes quickly followed by a crash

Learning and then remembering and applying the basics is a good first step in vehicle safety

What to do with a front tyre blowout is one of the most important!

Hopefully you have avoided most accidents and when you cant have a first aid kit handy as within reach of the seat you are in!
One of those rescue tools is handy as well! first aid kit should have a tourniquet for each seat and bandages, I have in each door
of my vehicle a trauma pack vacuum sealed with a tourniquet, two number 15 bandages and two pairs of gloves. very basic I know but it covers the essentials to buy time!

And it might seem a little paranoid but head trauma from your noggin bashing the hard insides of the vehicle is a real problem even in minor crash's!
a lightweight cyclists helmet might look goofy but in a dangerous driving situation like getting the hell out of dodge during the apocalypse may well be the difference in getting out of the vehicle in a decent condition and staying that way or going all limp and floppy or collapsing a little later with developing head trauma!

 

I don't think you should try to do all those movements. I think you should make sure you where your seat belt and that your vehicle has air bags. I was in a accident many years ago and it was the fault of someone else, airbags saved both of our lives. Trying to jump over the window sounds like a bad idea, you might end up going out the window if you try that.

 

Not keen on airbags!
They deploy only once as in first impact, What about a second impact.
Lost a school friend that way, airbags went of when his car hit a small steer but were useless when he hit the bridge support after!

Ex girlfriend got t-boned in the drivers door but not real hard! head bounced of door pillar, not a scratch on her but collapsed a few minutes later
with a brain bleed, fifteen years later she can hardly talk or walk still and has tried to off herself a few times!
Soft head on hard pillar! lightweight cycle helmet would have prevented that!

 

Well, I think accidents happen too quickly to really prepare yourself. All you can do is wear your seatbelt and follow traffic laws, always drive defensively.

 

Yes but do you know what to do in a front tyre blowout?

 

I was in a wreck 20 years ago. If my head had landed an inch lower, I would have had a closed head injury and would be functioning entirely different than I am today.

There are so many things that can cause an accident that it is hard to prepare for every scenario. However, I do believe in owning the device that allows me to cut my seat belt and knock out a window if I need to. I also believe in having my cell phone in a shirt or pants pocket while I am driving. (If I end up somewhere other than behind the wheel, it increases the chance that my cell phone is with me and I can call for help.) Lastly, I walk around my car to give the tires a look and make sure they are in good shape. We can't prepare for every scenario, but I feel better knowing I have my phone, I can break out a car window if I need to, and my car is in decent running condition.

 

I've been in several wrecks. Its sad to say they changed my life forever. Ive turned into such a cautious driver. I actually don't even like driving in big towns. Its hard to be scared of other people's driving. All my wrecks were the others fault. My best tip is don't hesitate to slow down if you feel in danger, and always watch your surroundings.

 

What has kept me safe so far!
Having the seat adjusted properly, many sit too close to the steering wheel!
Seat adjustment! set seat all the way back, move forward a single click at a time until you can push all pedals to the floor, then 1-2 clicks forward!
Adjust height so you can see the dash proper and the top of steering wheel is low enough not to obstruct vision!
Grab top of steering wheel and tilt back of seat forward until it takes the weight off your arms and shoulders contact seat back then one more click forward!
There you go best and safest position!
In the above position there is enough space for a drivers airbag to deploy safely and you make maximum use of crumple zones and least chance of getting stuck in the drivers seat!

 

This is the story of a popular comedian here who figured in a vehicular accident. It was night when their jeep was traveling in the suburban highway. They were not really speeding at 60 kph but the driver lost control when a wayward truck almost blocked their direction. The jeep hit a concrete fence. The comedian ended under the debris of the jeep's roofing and passengers. Fortunately there was no casualty in that accident. The comedian was hurt with a broken rib but what he did was to stay calm until help came. Some other passengers were shouting for help with panic evident in their voices. The comedian said that if you are injured and you panic, your blood pressure will rise even higher and that my cause you to die.

In any disaster, I really think that presence of mind and calm should be exercised. Panic is a silent killer so we should avoid that especially for those with heart ailments for you may suffer cardiac arrest.

 

Your odds of being killed in various types of accidents:

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/visualizing-odds-dying-various-accidents

"Fatal accidents account for a significant number of deaths in the U.S. every year. For example, nearly 43,000 Americans died in traffic accidents in 2021."



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Farming gets a lot of folk injured or killed each year:

"How Common Are Farming Accidents and Injuries?"
Updated June 16, 2022

https://www.wkw.com/farming-accidents/faqs/how-common-are-farming-accidents-and-injuries/

"Globally, at least 170,000 agriculture workers are fatally injured every year.

"Nationally, 60 to 70 per 100,000 farmers are killed annually.

"Nonfatal injuries occur to about 33% of the farming population in the United States, with 3% of accidents resulting in a permanent disability."

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Odds of getting injured

"10 Leading Causes of Nonfatal Emergency Department Visits, United States
2020, All Injuries, Disposition: All Cases, Both Sexes, All Races, All Ages"

https://wisqars.cdc.gov/lcnf/

Age groupings are on the X axis and type of injuries are on the Y axis:



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We've discussed what to have in a first aid kit on this site, but now I'm looking for first aid supplies for burn injuries.

"Burns: First aid"

https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-burns/basics/art-20056649

"Treating major burns"

"Until emergency help arrives:

"Protect the burned person from further harm. If you can do so safely, make sure the person you're helping is not in contact with the source of the burn. For electrical burns, make sure the power source is off before you approach the burned person. Don't try to remove clothing stuck in the burn.
"Make certain that the person burned is breathing. If needed, begin rescue breathing if you know how.
"Remove jewelry, belts and other tight items, especially from the burned area and the neck. Burned areas swell quickly.
"Cover the burn. Loosely cover the area with gauze or a clean cloth.
"Raise the burned area. Lift the wound above heart level if possible.
"Watch for signs of shock. Signs and symptoms include cool, clammy skin, weak pulse and shallow breathing."

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https://www.verywellhealth.com/first-aid-for-burns-5208710

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Burn injury kits currently on the market. Look at the contents of these to see what items you need to keep.

https://www.bing.com/shop?q=burn+injury+kit&FORM=SHOPTB

https://firstaidtrainingcooperative.co.uk/product/burns-first-aid-kit/

 

2020 saw 45,222 gun deaths in the USA
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/

 

The Leftist media throws out the number of deaths wherein a firearm was used as the weapon. What the media does not report is who the people are who are committing these murders.

In urban areas, Black gang members are killing rival Black gang members. Also factor-in Hispanic gang deaths. Blacks compose only 13% of the population, but account for over 50% of the murders. Because these numbers look so bad, the Department of Justice is no longer differentiating between White and Hispanic in their public reports -- i.e. they lump Hispanic offenders in with the White numbers. Hispanic murder rates have held at 2x that of whites, but now it is difficult to dig these numbers out of the "White" government count.

Within the current wave of immigrants into the United States, Central American gangs are embedding their members. Gangs such as MS-13 & Avenue are much more violent than Black gangs such as the Bloods and Crips. Already we are seeing murders by MS-13. This gang likes to use machetes when they kill -- this sets a gory example to anyone who would oppose them. Central American gangs get their assault rifles (full-auto capable) out of warehouses holding leftover military equipment from the civil wars down there such as the Nicaraguan civil war.

European-Americans have the same behavioral patters as European-Europeans. In Sweden the murder rates are going through the roof; however, Swedish-Swedes have NOT gone criminal, it is their immigrants who are shooting and blowing each other to smithereens (with an increasing number of innocent Swedes getting killed in the cross-fire). Swedish gun laws are very strict, but gun laws mean nothing to criminals. If criminal gangs can't acquire weapons where they live, they simply import them. In Sweden, criminal gangs are importing fully automatic rifles and also hand grenades. Maybe Sweden should enact hand-grenade registration then confiscation so that this problem will magically go away.

Emergency services in Sweden are now experiencing what American emergency workers experience when going into minority neighborhoods:

"Swedish Ambulance Workers Threaten to Stop Serving No-Go Zones"
Mon Nov 28 2022

https://www.amren.news/news/2022/11/swedish-ambulance-workers-threaten-to-stop-serving-no-go-zones/

"Violence against medical workers in some areas of Sweden is becoming so commonplace that a 'protection ban' may be instituted on no-go zones of Stockholm featuring large migrant populations hostile to the authorities. In practice, this will mean ambulance drivers will refuse to go to certain addresses without police or rescue services to protect them.

“'For example, we go to places where gun violence occurs, places where there are weapons and narcotics, and places where there are other rules than the rule of law we’re used to, that’s the difference,' said Henrik Johansson, a paramedic since 1990.

"Over the decades he has worked, he says the situation has sharply deteriorated in the last five to 10 years.

“'It’s a balancing act. When we started talking about this issue 10, 15 years ago, when we started discussing this, we were quite often laughed at. We were called nasty things,' said Johannson. The interviewer then asked him: 'Racists?' He responded, 'Yes, among other things.'

"Gordon Trattidge, the chairman of the Ambulance Alarm Group and the paramedics’ trade union, echoed Johannson’s sentiment, saying, 'The incidents are more frequent and the violence is now more brutal. There’s also a more disrespectful attitude towards public services where one doesn’t respect who we are.'”

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Now there's even a Twitter site wherein the rise in violent crimes in Sweden are documented. Both English and Swedish are used as languages. There are photos and videos of the shootings and bombings.

https://twitter.com/crimeswedish

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I've had a couple of very near misses recently. Coming back from visiting my son on Christmas day, a 4WD veered onto my side of the road. It was just pure luck that there was an area of dirt next to the road, which enabled me to get out of his way.

Second incident was two days ago. Exact same scenario, on the exact same road. In this instance, a sedan had veered onto my side of the road. Felt like playing "chicken". On this part of the road, there was nowhere I was able to pull over to get out of his way. The only thing I could do was to honk my horn furiously, which thankfully, alerted the idiot to get back onto his side of the road before we would have undoubtedly collided. The difference on this occasion - there was a cop 4WD vehicle directly behind this idiot, which I didn't see until the vehicle was closer, as there was a crest on the road. Poetic justice - the cop car immediately put his lights and sirens on to pull the fool over. I noticed looking in my mirrors, that the idiot hadn't pulled over at the "request" of the cops, who had to chase him. Not sure what happened after that. But I do hope his licence was taken off him.

Where I live, kangaroos are a major concern. I have them on my property and frequently see them sitting in the middle of the driveway. On several occasions they have been on the road into town. For that reason, I seldom drive, unless I absolutely have to, at dawn or dusk when they are more rampant. I have to continuously scan the side of the road in case one jumps out in front of the car. The problem is they camouflage so well with brown grass on the side of the road, especially at that twilight zone. They sit like statues and can be difficult to spot. Deer are another culprit around here when driving at night. They are in abundance at the moment and are seen on the road all too often. My son nearly had a heart attack driving back to his place one evening. It's very eerie to see one suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere.

 

Has anyone heard of any experiences with Apple iphone's crash detection system?

I was just reading an article the other day whereby the police were informed of a crash and were able to respond to an accident quickly, as they didn't have to wait for a passerby or occupant of the vehicle to notify emergency services. I'd never heard of it, but by all accounts, it seems like a good feature to have.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/iphone-fe...horror-crash-on-aussie-highway-010826799.html

 

It happens in other countries of course, however multi-car pileups here in the States is a royal fright.

We're going to be traveling for the holidays and this is a major concern on interstate highways, especially if weather conditions are bad. When the roads are icy or the pea-soup fog rolls in, drivers DON'T take this seriously enough and so a half-dozen or more people get crushed to death.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=multi-car...xt&atb=v320-1&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

 

Just wow! We don't really have the bad winter weather you have in many places. However, there was a nasty pile-up recently due to fog apparently. Not really that surprising though, as Aussie drivers basically suck.



Bloody idiots.

 

The most dangerous drivers are those who imagine themselves to be the best of drivers.

I've only had two nasty crashes in over 50 years of driving. One wreck involved a guy running a stop sign. A home right at the intersection had a 6 foot fence blocking my view, thus I only saw him after he ran the stop sign, BOOM! The other wreck was during a monsoon rain. I hydroplaned my truck and hit a concrete wall, straight on. Couldn't breathe without pain for 3 months.

I've been driving in the rain, I slow down to the speed limit or even less, then ZOOM! Some idiot passes me at 90+ miles per hour (145 k/hr). I routinely have had that happen on interstate highways -- 3x / month when driving related to work. It is infuriating.
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Ooooh, that sounds painful! Broken ribs?

I'm the same. I do the speed limit or less, depending on the driving conditions. I get really pissed off when some dipstick is right up my arse. I usually have the hound in the car and don't want some drongo smashing into me if I have to stop suddenly to avoid hitting a roo.

I actually hit one a few weeks back. They are bloody everywhere here. We've suffered yet another drought and the roos and other native animals are on the prowl for tucker and water.

I made the mistake of forgetting the hound's food, so had to venture to the shop when it was dark. Unfortunately a roo ran into the front of my car. Lucky I was only doing around 50 kph, otherwise would have sustained some serious damage. To the car as well as to the roo. Just about every time I venture out during the day, there is roadkill on the side of the road, usually roos or wallabies. People round here think they are Jack Brabham, when in reality they can't even manage dodgem cars.

 

Kill the roos to feed the dog. "Killing two birds with one stone."

Here, it's deer. Just day before yesterday, was out running errands. Saw what was left of a deer, post roadkill, post-possums, post-buzzards, post-dogs ... skeletonized. Then saw two or more deer grazing in a pasture.


"The Dangers of Too Many Deer"

https://www.iwla.org/publications/o...ica-2016-issue-1/the-dangers-of-too-many-deer

"Overabundant deer hurt humans, too. Each year, deer-vehicle collisions kill roughly 150 Americans and injure some 10,000 more. In suburbia, deer cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage to gardens and ornamental shrubs. Lyme disease (so named because it was discovered in Lyme, Connecticut — just a few miles east of Lord Creek Farm) is now a pandemic in the East and upper Midwest. It is transmitted by blacklegged ticks, whose abundance varies directly with the abundance of their deer hosts. In fact, evidence suggests that when deer populations are at natural densities, Lyme disease starts to fizzle out. In 2014, there were 33,461 cases of Lyme disease reported across the United States — up from about 1,500 in 1986. But the actual number was no doubt far higher because, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of Lyme disease cases go unreported."

 

We have deer here too. I nearly ran into one in the way to town last week. They are a different colour though. Sort of an orange colour, a dark orangey colour similar to an Orangutans. (Around here. In the bush in NSW they are paler, more Bambi-ish).

The street where I live has the word "deer" in it. There are apparently a bucket load of them just behind my property, as it's all bush. However, since I've been here I've never seen one on my property. Just roos. Talking to locals, they reckon there are heaps of them, but as I said, I've never seen them in my paddocks. I think the hound scares them off, as they seem to be more skittish than roos. Roos don't give a flying f*ck. They are very laid back and in your face, so to speak.

My son said when he drove here to whipper snip, (before I moved here), there was a large deer on the road when he left (it was dark by then.) He reckoned it was like something out of a horror movie, as it was just standing in the middle of the road and was really creepy.

Never seen them as roadkill though. I reckon the locals may exaggerate their numbers.

Lyme disease is a horrid thing. A local caught it when he used to work outdoors not far from here. It's only now starting to come out (we always seem to be behind the US, hahahaha!). It's apparently really screwed with his health - big time. The first I heard of Lyme disease was from an article of a woman some years ago in Tasmania who caught Lyme disease from ticks when she went hiking in the bush there. It had a devastating effect on her health. But back then, it wasn't widely known so she got misdiagnosed on several occasions before a quack worked out she was suffering from Lyme disease.

Ticks are a real problem here, pretty much all year round and especially after rain. It's reasonably common for farmer's dogs to die from either them or snakes, as the farmers generally don't give them a protective pill, or whatever like Bravecto, which I give to my dog every 3 months. You'd think the farmers would want to protect their dogs, as they take a while to train for rustling sheep. I would have thought it would be a good investment. But no. They don't give 2 f*cks.

 

Here in Spain wild boar are an increasing problem all round not just RTA's but garden invasion ruining crops
https://euroweeklynews.com/2023/09/23/spains-growing-road-menace/

 

I had no idea wild boars were such a problem in Spain. We have them here too, but I've never seen one on the road. As detailed previously, kangaroos are the biggest problem on the roads now. Actually, wombats are a problem in some parts, too. When I lived in NSW and went bush bashing, you would see dozens and dozens of them on the side of the freeway, before we even got into the bush.

I've never seen any wombats where I live in Queensland however. Don't know why. People tend to play "squash 'em" with cane toads. In some areas they are so prolific, the roads are full of them at night.

I can't believe the government was stupid enough to deliberately bring cane toads into Aus (at around 1935) - supposedly to rid cane fields of a specific beetle that decimated cane fields. Problem was, cane toads can't climb. They can breed though, I can tell you. Because they are poisonous, they have no known predators. So now the country's full of them. The government's recommended way to kill them, is to collect them and put them in your freezer until they die. Yeah, what a great idea ... NOT. Idiots.

 

Russian boars belong in Russia. Kill them off anywhere else. Kill them all.

Same with all invasive species.

Kudzu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu

 

We've got a similar type of vine, predominately in the warmer climes, such as QLD. Whenever I see them, I pull them down and destroy the cunning little bastards.

 

Your joking right? Improvement in car safety these last 20 years or so have shot through the roof. Better brakes, air bags, seat belts, crumple zones, improved side impact zones et al.

Take a classic car, maybe an old Jaguar or a Cadillac in an impact with a modern car and the new car driver is far more likely to walk away from that RTA.

 

Due to national stupidity here in the States, we haven't gone back to transporting goods and equipment via train. It is nigh unto insane how many trucks are on our highways. The waste of diesel fuel is mind-numbing. A truck represents an engine per trailer. On the rails, one moves a kilometer-long cargo load per trip. Trains have large engines; however, they sure don't waste fuel as do trucks. And every year, Lord only knows how many people in cars get squished dead by these 18-wheelers.

Trucks have not gotten smaller, but cars have.

 

I totally, totally agree 100%

They changed the regs here some years back (quite a few actually but I can't remember how many). Learners had to have a log book and a certain amount of driving hours before the could go for their driver's licence (this is for a car licence, not motor bike). They had to log a number of hours in different driving environments. i.e. in the rain, driving at night etc).

And yet still, Australia have some of the worst drivers on the planet. Go figure!

 

Yeah ... nah. Not necessarily Max. I agree now cars have a lot more safety features. However, if the actual foundation of the vehicle is rubbish, you're still going to get some nasty accidents. It depends an awful lot on what type of chassis - a full chassis/ladder chassis or monocoque. Some vehicle have monocoque with chassis rails (as in monocoque body mounted on a full chassis). One of the major factors regarding the effectiveness of a vehicle when it gets involved in a crash, apart from the chassis/suspension is how the roof pillars and door frames and built. i.e. whether harder steel is used. A lot of modern vehicles now make vehicles like they do washing machines and the like ... not built to last. They build a cheaply as they can, hence pillar frames aren't necessarily going to support in the case of a bad accident.

There are a lot of variants to consider. Another interesting factor to consider, is how drivers think they are "bomb" proof because modern vehicles have so many safety features, airbags, ABS, etc, etc. Most prominently in 4 wheel drives now, there is so much safety built into the vehicle, the driver doesn't have to have good knowledge of 4 wheel driving conditions because the 4 wheel drives are built to take care of everything for the driver. That obviously doesn't apply to all 4 wheel drives. However, it is a consideration.

Likewise, passenger cars now have so many safety features, idiot drivers think the car won't become involved in a serious crash and if it is, they think they will be bullet proof.

Had to take the pooch outside for a piddle and now I've lost my train of thought.

In any case, you get the idea.

 

check out this little beauty:

https://www.coraustralia.com/blog/the-worlds-longest-road-train/

 

They are massive! You sure as hell don't want to try and overtake them!

 

I knew about three-trailer hauls in Australia. But "road trains", this I knew nothing about. Holy sh##!!!!!!!!



Hey Blitz, thanx for posting this info!!!!

 

At a pharmacy today, picking up a prescription. While there, bought more first aid kit supplies.