Friendly advice RE: Car Accident

[medicnick83]

Hi guys,

I know this will sound daft, but I think I just need to mention it...

If you're ever involved in a car accident and have passengers, depending on the situation, please do not let anyone get out of the car unless you are 100% sure that it will not cause ANOTHER accident - put hazards on, flash your head lights, roll down the windows, wave your hands - let people know, wait till onlookers come to your aid (if no one is around, look for head lights or cars that are in the distance, wait till they pass etc)

I know it sounds daft but it happens way too often.

Example: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Two-women-killed-in-crash-20100904

I can't even explain how horrible this accident was and everyone would've been okay, but the 2 people that were killed got out of the car (probably to look at the damage) and then were hit by another vehicle.

 

[noxibox]

But is staying in the vehicle universally the safer option?

 

[Lupus]

Happened to a colleague of mine, there was a massive fire across the highway causing smoke to bellow out of the highway, a BMW didn't see him and rode into the back of the car he was in, everyone was okay but he climbed out the car and as he did so another car rode straight into him :-(. Rather stay in the vehicle if it is safe to do so.

 

[Supine]

Good advice, although what possessed them to get out without looking? I am guessing that the shock of having a crash caused them to be distracted or something.

Something else - if you have a flat on a highway and put up warning triangles to change your wheel use the following as a guide:
at 100 km/h a car is traveling 28 meters per second
at 120 km/h a car is traveling 33 meters per second

Now assuming you need 3 seconds warning, you need to place your first warning triangle about 90 meters from the car to give approaching cars enough warning. I have NEVER seen this done - people put them like 10 meters from the car thinking this it is enough of a warning.

 

[Shake&Bake]

Good advice, although what possessed them to get out without looking? I am guessing that the shock of having a crash caused them to be distracted or something.

Something else - if you have a flat on a highway and put up warning triangles to change your wheel use the following as a guide:
at 100 km/h a car is traveling 28 meters per second
at 120 km/h a car is traveling 33 meters per second

Now assuming you need 3 seconds warning, you need to place your first warning triangle about 90 meters from the car to give approaching cars enough warning. I have NEVER seen this done - people put them like 10 meters from the car thinking this it is enough of a warning.

Sound advice from gdiza and so is this Russell.
I've never actually contemplated the matter in that regard and if I ever get stuck - will certainly follow that advice.
On a lighter (my kinda weird/lighter) note - pacing out the 90 metres or so could have oncoming traffic not seeing you and knocking the be-jesus out of you Triangle to be held up then as you walk back?

 

[mak2000]

Good advice, although what possessed them to get out without looking? I am guessing that the shock of having a crash caused them to be distracted or something.

Something else - if you have a flat on a highway and put up warning triangles to change your wheel use the following as a guide:
at 100 km/h a car is traveling 28 meters per second
at 120 km/h a car is traveling 33 meters per second

Now assuming you need 3 seconds warning, you need to place your first warning triangle about 90 meters from the car to give approaching cars enough warning. I have NEVER seen this done - people put them like 10 meters from the car thinking this it is enough of a warning.

+1000000

This is definitely very good advice, normally you see the triangle only about 10 -15 m from the breakdown which is too late for anyone travelling at speed. Wonder if this is part of the Licensing test? I dont recall.

 

[Budza]

Good advice, although what possessed them to get out without looking? I am guessing that the shock of having a crash caused them to be distracted or something.

Something else - if you have a flat on a highway and put up warning triangles to change your wheel use the following as a guide:
at 100 km/h a car is traveling 28 meters per second
at 120 km/h a car is traveling 33 meters per second

Now assuming you need 3 seconds warning, you need to place your first warning triangle about 90 meters from the car to give approaching cars enough warning. I have NEVER seen this done - people put them like 10 meters from the car thinking this it is enough of a warning.

Or the municipality has one of those slow ass street sweepers. DeWaal drive in cape town, you come round the corner at 100km/h, and there it is. Just chilling, no warnings...

 

[noxibox]

Happened to a colleague of mine, there was a massive fire across the highway causing smoke to bellow out of the highway, a BMW didn't see him and rode into the back of the car he was in, everyone was okay but he climbed out the car and as he did so another car rode straight into him :-(. Rather stay in the vehicle if it is safe to do so.

How do you know for sure it is safe to stay in the vehicle? What if the person above had stayed in their vehicle and it had been hit by a truck or several vehicles?

Certainly if your damaged vehicle is in the road, then it is probably not safe to get out and wonder around it, but nor is it necessarily safe to stay in the vehicle. You can get hit, trapped and hence killed.

 

[medicnick83]

The whole thing is that when a accident occurs, the first thing people do is want to make sure everyone is okay and that's all they think about, they don't think about everything else (other traffic etc) so the best thing to do is just mention this to husband or wife or brothers or sisters so if it ever happens, they know what to do incase other people don't.

 

[Lupus]

How do you know for sure it is safe to stay in the vehicle? What if the person above had stayed in their vehicle and it had been hit by a truck or several vehicles?

Certainly if your damaged vehicle is in the road, then it is probably not safe to get out and wonder around it, but nor is it necessarily safe to stay in the vehicle. You can get hit, trapped and hence killed.

If the car is not in the middle of the road, dangling over a cliff, on fire, or about to be crushed by a semi then it is probably safe, you can also risk further injury by climbing out of the car etc... If it is safe to do so you could climb out the car too, I think it would probably be best to suss the situation out.

 

[Voicy]

Yep, always safer inside the vehicle unless it's on fire or some such.

Even if you get struck by a truck or the likes (As I've been from a stationary position), there's a lot more safety offered inside the car than standing next to it. Also, people see a car more clearly than they see you.

Russel is quite right about the warning triangle. I'm a bit of a safety nazi. I carry a 1st aid kit & reflective jacket in my car at all times. It's helped me on more than one occasion as well. One of the best tools to keep in the 1st aid kit is a flashlight. People respond to it much quicker than anything else, I've found.

 

[noxibox]

Ultimately telling someone they should check that it is safe to do so before exiting a vehicle after an accident is like telling them they should check it is safe to cross before walking out into the road.

If the car is not in the middle of the road, dangling over a cliff, on fire, or about to be crushed by a semi then it is probably safe, you can also risk further injury by climbing out of the car etc... If it is safe to do so you could climb out the car too, I think it would probably be best to suss the situation out.

Having seen how quickly a car can go from appearing not to be on fire to being engulfed in flames I'd rather be sure I can exit the vehicle before I start seeing smoke and flames. And what about when that truck comes barrelling down the road, is that the time to discover your door is stuck? The first thing I'm going to do is check I can get out of the vehicle. If it's off the road, then I'll get out, check the situation out and maybe return to sit in the vehicle while waiting for tow trucks etc. If the vehicle is in the road I am definitely going to get out of there and out of the road as quickly as possible.

 

[Malasius]

But also remember that after a car accident you are in shock and will not be thinking clearly at all. This can easily happen...

 

[Kornhub]

Reminds me of a person I knew who went to help someone else acroos the road...the driver hit him. Was a drunk arsehole!!! Police didn't take blood tests