Author Topic: An airbag saved my life (Read 17269 times)

JG · « **on:** January 16, 2006, 11:29:21 pm »

At 6:30 this evening I was involved in a near-fatal auto accident. The victim would have been me.

I was on the way home after picking up dinner, in the right hand turn lane of a five lane road; some car in the lane to the immediate left of mine motioned for a pickup truck to turn from the middle turning lane across both our lanes into the parking lot I was passing. (Never understood why people do that when there's more than one lane to cross, nor why anyone actually follows such advice.) I slammed on the brakes, but a mere second and half on wet roads at 40 mph isn't enough time. My car rammed the truck head-on at its rear passanger wheel well at around 30mph, which is often enough to do serious injury to an occupant. My airbag deployed as I was jolted in my seat (and yes I always wear the belt)

Long story short, I'm fine - but my car is beyond repair as its front end lost several inches in length. I'm still a little shaken; I have an airbag burn on my right hand near my wrist, my coat probably saved me from having more along my forearms, and a severly sprained left thumb which will require a cast for a week. Thus, I may not be able to respond as much on the board for a while, but now you guys (and gals) will know why I'm mysteriously silent.

dafirenze · « **Reply #1 on:** January 16, 2006, 11:33:31 pm »

It's a shame how the senseless actions of others can affect our lives so much. Hope you get better soon.

DualSoul · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2006, 12:18:57 am »

Damn... glad to hear you're OK!

I hate it when someone does that. It happens so often now I make it a habit to stop/slow down whenever I see a car in the lane next to me leaving a gap. Unfortunately, the ability to report license plates seems restricted to trucks at the moment...

Hyperguy · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2006, 10:19:53 am »

I'm at a loss for words. It's horrible what happened to your car, but more importantly I'm glad to know you're safe. A broken thumb and air bag burn's a bargain compared to casualty.

Cole Tyger · « **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2006, 11:03:49 am »

sorry bout your wheels, but glad to hear your in one peice

Doctor_Raven · « **Reply #5 on:** January 17, 2006, 12:08:53 pm »

What Matters is that you are alive.

Ellendesu · « **Reply #6 on:** January 17, 2006, 01:31:26 pm »

Damn man, glad to hear you're okay.

You are very fortunate, I'll pray for you to have a good and speedy recovery on what injuries you did get.

Bluelyth · « **Reply #7 on:** January 17, 2006, 04:33:59 pm »

Well, as they say, any crash you can walk away from.... or it landing? Beh, same thing.

Glad to hear your alright mate.

JG · « **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2006, 05:58:47 pm »

Thanks all. And it wasn't broken HG - had it been it wouldnt have been as bad according to the nurse. It would have given way instead of nearly ripping itself out of socket. My neck and shoulders ache as well today, as the soreness starts to catch up with the rest of my body.

And I'm able to type better than I thought - just slower. Probably a good thing as I make too many typos at full speed. I just can't type for long becuase I have to turn my whole arm over instead of just my wrist - its awkward and hurts if I leave it that way for too long.

If I'm not bedridden in pain tomorrow, I'll get over to the towshop and get a few pictures of my busted up vehicle for you fine folks.

Echelon · « **Reply #9 on:** January 18, 2006, 07:11:10 am »

Yeah, glad to hear you're alright.

Just a shame to hear how ignorant people can be and what they can cause. Hopefully this works out well for you.

JG · « **Reply #10 on:** January 18, 2006, 07:17:17 pm »

Here's the pictures for everyone. Weep with me.

This one shows the whole devestation. I couldn't turn either way away from the pickup, so I collided with it almost head-on, hence damage across the entire front end. If you can visualize the hood being straightened out, you can get an idea of how many inches the front end lost in impact.

From the front. Note how badly bowed out the passenger side panel is. The door doesn't open more than a a foot and a half or two, so had anyone been riding with me, they might not have been able to get out easily. Alas, I was alone - one of the few times I can be thankful for that. Check out the exposed frame bar at the bottom. It may be hard to tell but its been rolled downwards a bit - enough, I presume, to be treated as frame damage and to total the car.

Here's one from the side. You can see all the dents and dings a the hood got as it bowed up, why the door can't open well, and how the bumper completely caved in on the passenger side. Bumpers ain't meant for 30+ mph collisions, ya know. (For you non-Americans' benefit, 30 mph is around 50 kph.)

The windshield shattered on the passenger side. Again, lucky there was no other occupant but myself. The force of impact also caused the wipers to cut grooves into the glass. The engine died in impact, which is why the blades are at a mid-swipe level.

Airbag deployment and a big piece of the bumper salvaged and tossed into the front seat. Oops, yours truly got caught in the reflection - will try not to let that happen again.

And finally, my bandaged up hand. I've got to wear this damn thing for a week while my thumb heals up. Fortunately, my other four fingers are ship-shape, so I can type better than I thought at first.

Cole Tyger · « **Reply #11 on:** January 18, 2006, 11:58:56 pm »

i realize you had help, but you sure did a hell of a job breaking it JG

but then again that part of the problem with newer vehicals...........they cant take ANYTHING and then they have to be disposed of

gimme an old land barge.

they scare other people out of your way, and the onth one's not intimidated by them are:

a. stupid people that think thier little half a car could even bend a fender on yours if you ran them over

b. truck drivers, who are the only ones out there that are bigger then you

Hyperguy · « **Reply #12 on:** January 19, 2006, 11:01:14 am »

Quote from: JG00 on January 18, 2006, 07:17:17 pm

Here's the pictures for everyone. Weep with me.

T_T

Yep, I'd say everything above and some below the bumper got trashed really badly. The lights look as though they've been pushed back a good 6 to 5 inches. In damage2.jpg the car reminds me of what Arnold Swarzennager looked like in the last scenes of Terminator 2. Damage3.jpg makes it look almost like you hit two cars, one on the right and one on the left side with the way the hood crumbled up and how the bottom half on one side was torn off. Will your insurance be able to cover the damages?

Also...Even though we can see you in the reflection we still can't see your face. For what it's worth, the picture's got a Big Foot quality to it. =D

Is that a gold chain I see hanging around your neck?

JG · « **Reply #13 on:** January 19, 2006, 09:34:18 pm »

Quote from: Hyperguy on January 19, 2006, 11:01:14 am

Damage3.jpg makes it look almost like you hit two cars

Hit the truck's whell well best we could figure. So the middle hit the tire and the sides of the hood hit either side of his truck's bed area. Not like I had the best point of view to know for sure.

Quote from: Hyperguy on January 19, 2006, 11:01:14 am

the picture's got a Big Foot quality to it. =D

Well... I am rather freakish.

Quote from: Hyperguy on January 19, 2006, 11:01:14 am

Is that a gold chain I see hanging around your neck?

Very observant (and funny), but no. Its merely my work badge tucked into my shirt pocket.

For those of you curious of what the car would have looked like before,

Ellendesu · « **Reply #14 on:** January 20, 2006, 09:56:31 am »

Aww, and here I was thinking/hoping, JG was gonna be sportin' some Bling

STRAIGHT UP OUT

Snorlax.RAYZR · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2006, 09:43:02 pm »

Sorry for the late reply, glad it wasn't that bad.

Hey J, are you Russian?

JG · « **Reply #16 on:** January 24, 2006, 09:43:00 pm »

Quote from: Sorrowful on January 23, 2006, 09:43:02 pm

Hey J, are you Russian?

Me? No. Why?

Cast is off my hand now. Been working on thumb exercises to rebuild strength and work out the pain. Can't bend my thumb backwards as far as I used to yet, but at least I can play games again. Funny story has come out of this light workout:

Not having one myself, I asked around at work for one of those stress balls to work my thumb on Monday. No one had exactly what I had in mind, but one of my cube neighbors did have a Tyson chicken toy made of the same Nerf-y stuff and about the same size, so I used that for a few hours, during meetings and stuff when I didn't have to type. After a while I discovered it was most comfortable and gave my thumb the best workout if I held it a certain way: with the chicken's right side facing my palm and my thumb curling around its neck. I didn’t realize it right away and now have to wonder if there was some underlying Freudian issue involved with me choking my chicken at work.

There. I've done my part to tell a joke. Now I can sit back and relax for the next 11 months or so.

Baka! · « **Reply #17 on:** January 30, 2006, 02:53:13 pm »

mmmmm..chicken...lets fry the sucker....come on... lol.. its good to know that ur doing ok...

Snorlax.RAYZR · « **Reply #18 on:** January 30, 2006, 10:09:35 pm »

Just wondering, haha...

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Author Topic: An airbag saved my life (Read 17269 times)