ADUK Archive

OK, not a very promising recipe for success then. 'Twas just a thought.

StressedDave wrote:

Astraist wrote:Dave, I think Dave ( ) meant that the driver would possibly be able of ducking under the dashboard line to avoid the impact, had he not fastened the seatbelt.

My thinking is that moving the body in such a way cannot go without some movement in the steering, not to mention that the car might as well deviate due to the blow itself.

This in turn might as well lead to an impact with other road users and/or the scenery which, without the seatbelt, would be just as severe...

And I have yet to encounter such a reaction before a collision...

I knew what he meant, but the reality of such a situation is that the lump of cast iron is ejected rearwards shrinking still further the time available to observe, perceive, react and physically move out of the way. In other words you get about as far as 'Wh' in 'What the f$ck' before you redecorate the car interior.

I don't think you've met an old sage quite like 'Qui-Gon Dave' before!!

StressedDave wrote:the reality of such a situation is that the lump of cast iron is ejected rearwards shrinking still further the time available to observe, perceive, react and physically move out of the way. In other words you get about as far as 'Wh' in 'What the f$ck' before you redecorate the car interior.

It is indeed moving backwards, or rather simply thrown upwards as to be picked up by the following driver's windshield?

vonhosen wrote:

StressedDave wrote:

Astraist wrote:Dave, I think Dave ( ) meant that the driver would possibly be able of ducking under the dashboard line to avoid the impact, had he not fastened the seatbelt.

My thinking is that moving the body in such a way cannot go without some movement in the steering, not to mention that the car might as well deviate due to the blow itself.

This in turn might as well lead to an impact with other road users and/or the scenery which, without the seatbelt, would be just as severe...

And I have yet to encounter such a reaction before a collision...

I knew what he meant, but the reality of such a situation is that the lump of cast iron is ejected rearwards shrinking still further the time available to observe, perceive, react and physically move out of the way. In other words you get about as far as 'Wh' in 'What the f$ck' before you redecorate the car interior.

I don't think you've met an old sage quite like 'Qui-Gon Dave' before!!

Oh, is that me: maverick/unconventional? I guess it's not an unfair description.

Astraist wrote:

StressedDave wrote:the reality of such a situation is that the lump of cast iron is ejected rearwards shrinking still further the time available to observe, perceive, react and physically move out of the way. In other words you get about as far as 'Wh' in 'What the f$ck' before you redecorate the car interior.

It is indeed moving backwards, or rather simply thrown upwards as to be picked up by the following driver's windshield?

Yes, I thought the same.

If an object is lying in the road and is then hit by a vehicle, I'd expect it to move a bit, and bounce around somewhat, or be 'squirted' out from under the side of the tyre that hits it, but I wouldn't expect it to acquire much rearwards motion. Could be quite wrong though; as usual.

One thing this does mean though is that a generous following distance is a good thing to have - unless of course you follow so closely that the struck object doesn't have time to gain sufficient elevation to come through your windscreen at you!

I remember a lady I knew about thirty years ago telling me of a freind of hers who was killed by a half brick that had lodged between the double rear wheels of a building contractors truck, being thrown up and through the windscreen of the car she was a front seat passenger in.

So presumably, the ideal solution to avoiding the unwanted issue of a big lump of something or other through your windscreen is to maintain an extremely generous following distance so that any sizeable lump might be thrown up, then fall back down before you reach it, or to position yourself behind the car in front in such a way that your tyre tracks are nowhere near the tyre tracks of the vehicle in front (i.e, drive along in the leftmost possible position in your lane if the car in front is shifted to the right).

Or just drive so closely that any projectiles would hit the radiator grille/underside of the car instead of through the windscreen

TheInsanity1234 wrote:So presumably, the ideal solution to avoiding the unwanted issue of a big lump of something or other through your windscreen is to maintain an extremely generous following distance so that any sizeable lump might be thrown up, then fall back down before you reach it, or to position yourself behind the car in front in such a way that your tyre tracks are nowhere near the tyre tracks of the vehicle in front (i.e, drive along in the leftmost possible position in your lane if the car in front is shifted to the right).

Or just drive so closely that any projectiles would hit the radiator grille/underside of the car instead of through the windscreen

Nope, driving my wife's car in Lincolnshire on Wednesday 6th May, huge winds and rain, A road, low loaders in opposite lane with some sort of machinery on board.
Big bang on roof and stuff on windscreen, at the time no apparent windscreen damage or when at destination roof damage.
Returning home cracks on windscreen appear from big chip at base of windscreen, hidden by parked wiper blade.
This stuff is, unfortunately, a lottery.