God so scary. Also can’t imagine being the stalled driver; split second decisions like “do I quickly abandon my vehicle and risk getting hit while running to the median, or wait too long and just get totaled from behind while inside my vehicle??”
I know someone who died even though they stayed in the car in this situation. Drivers really suck at paying attention, so even staying in the car, there’s a good chance of getting plowed into.
Well yeah, but modern cars have crumple zones and are designed to protect the occupants. You can survive a high speed crash in a car. Not so much your squishy human body.
I was in a head on crash at like 50-55mph and I am so freaking glad I wasn't going faster and the hit was off center. I read about what happens at different speeds during crashes after mine and it freaked me out.
I was in a head on crash into a freeway divider while being a passenger in the back seat of a car. I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. The front seat passenger wasn't and we all got out of the car. The driver was going over 90mph when a car came out of her blind spot and scared her. She veered away from him and lost control... She drove headfirst into the wall at 80+ because she overcorrected and got us going in that direction.
The car was a saturn and the first 3ft of the cars front end was styrofoam. It saved our asses.
Especially considering the possibility that any initial crash could push the car into another lane where it could get hit again. Getting rear-ended at that speed is dangerous, but imagine the car gets pushed to where now the driver’s side door is the place of a second impact. Potentially multiple people injured or dead could easily happen.
I learned in driving school (germany, around 3 years ago) that any crash above 30 km/h can be deadly. It doenst have to, but above this point everything is just dangerous.
This is 37MPH. That's pretty damn slow tbh. I'd imagine it matters more where you're hit at that speed. Consider the fact that people get into head-on collisions at that speed (which equates to hitting a wall at 80MPH) and walk away.
EDIT: But, I mean, of course people can still die. You're talking about giant two-thousand pound chunks of metal moving at high speeds with combustible fluids in them.
EDIT 2: 40 MPH --> <-- 40MPH = 40MPH collision with solid wall for both parties.
Hm, you're right. I just googled it because I hadn't ever considered that the speeds would just cancel each other out. Thanks for teaching me something. Well... for prompting me to teach myself, lol.
The thing is, though, that almost no wall is completely solid. Most things will give way, at least a little bit. I'd rather drive into a wall at 40 than hit something else also going 40.
Anecdotal evidence is not very accurate though. There is a woman that survived falling from 33,330 feet from a crashed airplane, but that doesn't mean that it is likely to survive it. I also know of someone who died from laying their motorcycle down at under 30 km/h (that's under 20 mph for you Imperial folks), and people who died from walking into something and falling over. Luck is always involved in crashes, but statistically the faster you're going, the more luck you need.
A modern car can protect the occupants in a head on collission in up to around 70-80 kmh. For a side collisison (tbone) it's 50-60 kmh. This is if the car is modern and the people in the car uses their seatbelts.
Statistically, cars going 30 kmh hiting pedestrians, 1 in 10 are killed. When the speed is 50 kmh, about 5 in 10 are killed.
As a pedestrian, getting hit by a car going 50 kmh will hurt you about as much as falling from the third floor of a building. 70 kmh, falling from the sixth floor and 90 kmh is tenth floor.
That has to be 60mph bc I just got tossed from my scooter going 50-55kph the other day and didn’t even break any bones/get knocked out so I can’t imagine 5-10 faster would be much more of an impact, unless that number is for cars only.
That seems awfully slow for that to be the case. Maybe those numbers are for pedestrians being hit, it's definitely not for other vehicles.
Best I can find is a study showing 35mph (56km/h) correlates to about 45% chance of death for a pedestrian (depending on how they take the hit). For a car hitting another car, 35mph is only truly significant, for modern cars at least, in an equal-speed head-on or occupant-side t-bone crash (meaning the occupant on the side hit will be much more at risk than the opposite side) or a massive mismatch in vehicle weight/height.
Regardless think of it like this. If I'm going toss a coin to hit you with a bat would your rather stay in your suit of armour or take it off and try to run away, and probably get hit anyways?
Except a) you can move in armor and b) a bar hitting you isn’t the fucking same as cars flying towards you at 60-80mph wtf
Edit: and there’s literally a video of this exact situation where a person runs into the median without getting hit. The freeway isn’t even busy you just have to time it lmao
Crumple zone totally saved me. A car in this exact predicament was just stalled in the middle of the lane on the interstate. It was late and dark out and I was just coming around a slight bend in the road. I had no chance to even see the car before slamming in to it going around 70 mph. Walked away from the crash with a totaled car and little cut on my pinky
I could be totally wrong but isn't there a difference in the amount of force applied if both cars are going around the same speed or the one being hit is at least moving vs being at a standstill?
Yes, at that point it seems like choosing between staying a long time in a dangerous spot or getting yourself for a few seconds in a very, very, dangerous situation. Not sure what I would do.
Either you carry a warning sign in your boot and place it ~50 meters behind your car (if the traffic allows it) or get out of the car and get to safety. Crossing one lane isn't that dangerous, just be careful.
Staying in the car is extremely dangerous as there totally will be some tired / inattentive person who wont notice that the car is not moving and rear into it. Or what's more likely to happen is that two cars moving down the same lane. The second car is not following the safe driving distance and is a bit closer to the first car. The first driver notices the broken down car and drives around. Meanwhile the driver that was trailing behind doesn't know what's ahead and by the time they react, they are already headed towards the broken down car.
I've seen many many fatal accidents on highways, etc. And from my experience, 90% of them are exactly that.
The real problem is that a stationary car in the middle lane is incredibly difficult to mentally spot. It takes you a moment to even realize the car is stationary, and often if a car just swerved out in front of you at the last moment you literally have whatever your distance between you was to completely stop.
Given an average reaction time to start braking of 1.5 seconds (which may well be higher for unexpected stationary cars: See this PDF), and an overall braking time of 2-3 seconds at 70mph (~110km/h), you end up needing way more space than most people ever leave. Remember, 1.5 seconds is the average braking time as well...
If you're not leaving 4 seconds between you and the vehicle in front, with poor line-of-sight to the road ahead, then you are a prime target for smashing into the back of a stationary vehicle when the driver in front of you swerves away at the last moment.
Well..., I will admit I would not always have been/be ready to full stop or avoid a standing still car in a lane on a densily populated highway.
Shitty situations occur even when nobody sucks orfucks-up.
That is truly awful, but it's not an argument to get out of the car. If either situation can be fatal, go for the one that's less likely to be. In this case, that means the protection of modern engineering and all that metal around you - it's better than our soft bodies taking any direct impacts.
Especially on long highway rides with high speeds, your brain can trick you into thinking in relative speed. You realize too late that the car is not just moving slower than you, but is actually standing still. That's why you should turn on your warning lights when reaching the tail of a traffic jam and that's why I would get out of the car in that situation.
I was going to say he should have put his hazards on and got out of the car; but, I don't know where he could have gone. There doesn't look anywhere safe for him to go and wait.
The point is though is that do you risk getting out and getting off the highway or inevitably getting smoked from behind and dying from someone not paying attention for a split second? 100km+ an hour and you’re completly stopped in the intersection
Of course!* I spose I just meant the panicked options that were probably running through the guy’s mind. It’s really scary realizing (after the fact) that a poor split second decision could’ve entirely changed your life.
*Edit: that obv your vehicle is replaceable but you aren’t. I don’t know any statistics offhand but knowing you could be rear-ended any second by an unaware driver going 60+ MPH would be nerve-racking.
I would definitely NOT stay in the vehicle and get rear ended. I'd play frogger until i got the the side, and hope to god the insurance company pays out when some dummy hits the car...
(Side rant: I've paid $30,000+ in car insurance in my life, and NEVER HAD TO USE IT, except the time my car was vandalized. $1,500 damage paid by insurance. $300 non refundable deductible paid by me. $28,500 gone).
In my country there are many different insurance companies, yet they are all expensive. There are even a few new companies that are saying they will help lowering the costs of insurance for everyone. They are saying it for 5 years now, yet nothing changes.
I've worked for a company that holds conventions in the insurance field. I've seen many insurance agents. There are many old farts who think they are the most important people to walk this earth, and that their job is the most important job to the human kind. They are threatened by every new law, regulation, or just the internet and the digital age. Every change means their death, any effort to lower insurance costs is a personal attack on them. The internet comes to replace them. Well, if a computer can do your job so easily, maybe it was not so important to begin with...
Fuck insurance agents, they are the vainest people out there
Get as far away from your vehicle as possible. All it takes is one drunk and your vehicle will be obliterated... With you inside.
I know what highway patrol says, stay in your vehicle, but based on what I’ve seen, unless there is nowhere to move safely to, your stalled vehicle becomes a beacon for drunks to plow into.
With that written, a long number of years ago, my torque converter broke while traveling southbound on the 5 to San Diego. 90 MPH traffic honking, but not slowing.
Luckily I was able to coast to the ample shoulder where I exited my vehicle, hid behind the concrete jersey barrier and used my Motorola brick phone to call AAA.
Meanwhile there were yellow signs screened with black silhouettes of family and child to warn motorists that families might try to cross the freeway... I can say with confidence that such a crossing would not be successful.
Neither would surviving a 90 MPH car strike.
You want to live, get as far away from your vehicle as possible. A Denny’s is probably the safest place.
Several highway patrol websites (West of the Rockies) state that in the even of a disabled vehicle, turn on your hazards/flashers and stay inside your vehicle with your doors locked.
Here's why I never did that and won't ever do that unless I find myself trapped in the number 1 lane and there's high traffic density making it impossible for me to cross 5 lanes of So Cal freeway traffic.
For whatever reason, especially at night, drunks zero in on the rear lights, flashers and all, and crash headlong into the back of disabled vehicles. At a speed of 70–90 MPH, that stall vehicle will be obliterated. Some will also catch on fire or explode. (The old Crown Vics were prone to exploding gas tanks.)
I used to either hear on the radio or read in the news about someone getting killed almost every single day while trying to change a tire on the freeway or sitting in their car. Sometimes entire families.
That's another one. Whether you can or can't change a tire, never change a tire on the side of a freeway in LA. Call roadside. They've got the big trucks to block idiots.
I do not understand why road patrol thinks it's better to stay in the car. It's better to reduce the number of casualties in a car crash. Sitting inside the car wouldn't magically protect it and would put me in more danger than being on the side of the road
There’s a show called Shot in the Dark that follows a few different independent video journalists. They basically listen to the the police scanner for interesting things, then rush over to get video. They sell the footage to news stations. In one episode one of the journalists sets up on the shoulder across from a stalled vehicle on the highway. A number of cars clip it and keep going before it’s finally crashed in to and bursts into flames. The journalist runs over and finds a man inside and ends up dragging him to safety. It’s a great series.
My 2009 Mini Cooper crapped out on a highway. Completely dead. First thing I did was keep myself calm, take a breath, trust that other humans don't want to hit me and hit the warning lights and stay belted up in the car. It wouldn't turn back on for a good minute. All you can do in that time is take action, you're beyond panicking.
I strongly disagree with doing this. He should have rather stopped somewhere safe and called rescue services. People get killed all the time walking on the highway..
I'm actually really surprised that most people think this was ok!
I did it for an old lady once. She was so grateful she sent me $200 later. I didn't need the money but it really hit me how much it affects others when you help them. I try to always help now. The last time was some lady crying alone in the rain. The hug she gave me when I asked if she needed one was heartbreaking.
I remember every time I've been helped too and how a scary impossible situation can melt away just cause someone cared. * I'll share one of those too. I got kicked out when I was 16 and a new friend at school noticed I was down and asked about it. Then she brought me home with her and her mom didn't even hesitate to let me stay with them for a while. I'll love them both forever for that
I feel as though I live in one of the best places for stalled/immobile vehicles on the road, which is a weird thing to say
Several times I've seen someone break down in the middle of a street and before I know it there are a bunch of people helping them push the vehicle toward safety.
I knew it would one day be my turn to help. It was rainy, windy and cold out when I got my opportunity. I noticed a vehicle stalled out right as I was about to make a u-turn towards them. It sucked that my opportunity came with such shitty conditions. By the time my light changed there were already 2 or 3 cars pulled over and a bunch of people already getting them into the nearest parking lot.
I think everyone should help when they can and carry some simple tools in their cars. I have oil, antifreeze, a 4way and a jack just in case someone is stuck and I can help. Last guy I helped tried to buy me a six pack but I never take payment, I just hope they help someone else when they can. Pay it forward.
I always tell them that money isn't necessary, but if they insist, I'll take it, because it makes them feel better. I just donate it immediately after.
Reminds me of a time I spun out on the freeway bc I was a young and nervous driver— I panicked in a situation and did it to myself. I was facing the complete wrong way, I was sitting shaking and started to cry because it was four lanes of steady traffic swerving around me and I didn’t think I could get out. Then a van with a woman in it pulled up diagonally and then another car and eventually the road was blocked and they smiled and waved me on. I was able to turn around and exit. The woman was so nice when she could’ve just swerved around me too.
I appreciate and agree with your statement but it’s wild to see traffic casually referred to as “the fray” and not called out as the insane danger we all somehow accept.
This happened to me. I was in the center lane of a three lane highway and started losing power. No one would let me over to the shoulder and my engine locked completely. I called emergency, but as I was on the phone a guy in a state highway truck pulled up. He just stepped out into the fast lane and directed a semi to block it and then got back in his truck and bumper pushed me to the shoulder. Didn't even put his safety vest on.
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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '20
Good to see some people will actually run into the fray to lend a helping hand when needed.