Abrupt end

[neonjohn]

Well, that was fun while it lasted. Today my "new" RV was totaled in a head-on collision with a woman who had lost control of her car and spun into my lane. She had been forced out of her lane by a large crane truck that I was following and who rounded the curve in the wrong lane and at high speed. Of course, she didn't have any insurance.

This being my first wreck as an adult, I've learned several things already.

* Liability-only insurance does not cover towing. We gotta pay for that.

* Coach-net.com does NOT cover accident towing. So if you have an inexpensive rig like we had and have only liability insurance, be sure you have the resources to have your rig towed if you're in a wreck.

Fortunately neither of us were hurt. Seat belts worked again. Praise the Lord that our MH didn't have air bombs. The woman's car had air bombs that came out from everywhere and beat her up badly enough that she had to go to the hospital.

I've been encouraging people for years to have the air bombs disabled on their vehicles. I've seen so many injuries and one fatality from air bombs. One of my aunts was killed by an air bomb deploying during a relatively minor side impact. The bomb broke her neck. My wife's son recently had an eye blown out in an otherwise minor wreck.

Seat belts save lives; air bombs take them.

Soooo... Until we collect from the crane company's insurance, I'll be on the RV sideline again.

John

[Walaby]

Glad you're okay, and hope she is too.

So did you settle with HER insurance (thought she was uninsured?), or the crane trucks insurance? Just curious... sounds like she had insurance after all.

I'll not join the air bag debate. Just glad you're okay, and hope she is alright too.

Mike

[drsteve]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
An air bag. Everyone should ignore this warning. Yes, sometimes folks get hurt due to an air bag. People also sometimes die while wearing a seat belt but that does not mean you should stop wearing a seat belt and you should never attempt to disable an air bag. You also need to be wearing a seat belt to help ensure your air bag will do what it's designed to do.

X2.

Another thing to consider is, if a collision is so forceful that the seat belt or air bag injures you, what would the steering wheel and windshield have done? Or being throw around inside, or from the vehicle?

[pickjare]

I am sorry for anyone who is killed or injured in an accident that is the fault of an airbag. But I respectfully want to ask you to reconsider what airbags do for occupants. Though their are problems with them, when everything works correctly they can save your life! That is, when seat belt fastened correctly, head rest positioned correctly, and automobile has nothing that will cause airbags to malfunction. Right now many modern vehicles have multiple airbag related recalls from various manufacturers...those must be done too. Many people add on accessories such as seat covers that stop correct deployment, different bumpers that can cause impact sensors to read incorrectly, etc. I read your post and am not arguing anything, but I advise anyone who operates a vehicle with airbags to NOT disable them.

[nineoaks2004]

Boy talk about luck, I am glad ya'll were not hurt, you can replace (easier said than done) equipment but not lives. Hopefully you can get back behind the wheel sooner than later. Good luck an thanks for sharing info. about the insurance companies as most of pay little or no attention to the contents of the policy.

[SidecarFlip]

What is an air bomb? Is that a dog with gas?

[Bill_Satellite]

An air bag. Everyone should ignore this warning. Yes, sometimes folks get hurt due to an air bag. People also sometimes die while wearing a seat belt but that does not mean you should stop wearing a seat belt and you should never attempt to disable an air bag. You also need to be wearing a seat belt to help ensure your air bag will do what it's designed to do.

[joebedford]

What's an "air bomb"?

[drsteve]

down home wrote:

drsteve wrote:

down home wrote:
I am sorry for your misfortune.
You never know what awaits the next mile or day.
I drive little these days but always try to travl the lesser used roads, where trucks etc are not as plentiful and to keep a lot of interval, still see more close or potential situations.
Been a while since, I saw you on usenet.
The seat belt thing and the airbags came about by GM and our Congressman, at the time.
Wife's Grandfather, was in a minor fender bender. The seat belt tore up his pancreas. He thought he was fine, just brusied, and refused treatment. Died an hour later.
There have been a few others in the extended family suffered from the seat belts, in collisions.
Most Police do not use them.
I drive the little AMG pretty rapidly at times but safely. You have to practically pry yourself out of the seats.
Brother In Law and others were hit and turned up side down in his van in a ditch. The seat belts kept them safe.
The figures are about 50/50 in favor or against. Many in accidents say they used them but didn't.
In the days, of slick bench seats, in old cars, they were beneficial. Sixty mph around a curve and you girlfriend was in your lap.
The air bags are about 65% against and 35% for, I've heard.
Lots, of injuries from them. In a head on with a train or semi or such they save lives, I supposed but with broken facial and other bones some times and deaths.
And the cost to replace one is huge making some Insurance companies total wrecked vehicles, with little damage but all the airbags deployed.
It was and is about Socialists control. About as many inured by these things as those that were hurt without them.
If I going to take the car to Leguna Seca again I will use a five point harness, but not around here, I heard someone say.

SMH... I swear, some folks just make it up while they're typing...

I don't take the insult kindly. I don't make stuff up bud.
Wife's Grand Father lived in Michigan, where she came from, nar Battle Creek. I'm not going to take the time to dig up the newspaper reports etc.
I hate sanctimonious know it alls that don't know what they are talking about and ready to pop off at anything that doesn't fit their unexperienced opinions and biases.

Not referring to your personal story, but to the numbers you pulled out of thin air.

My bad.

[bdpreece]

Don't know about TN. but here in Oregon they require us to not only carry liability insurance but also uninsured motorist insurance. Granddaughter just had her car totaled by an uninsured driver and she was able to collect on her own uninsured motorist coverage. Had her money in less than two weeks.

[ktmrfs]

here is a link on air bag related injuries and deaths by year and lives saved

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/AB0707

but then denyiers of air bags value know it's gov't data so it can't be valid.


look at the number of injuries and death vs. lives saved.

[TurnThePage]

My next door neighbor and family (2 adults/2 kids) were driving on the interstate wearing NO seat belts, had a head on collision with another vehicle, and walked away from it due to those air bags. The occupants of the other vehicle were killed. Both were pickups.

I was right in the middle of a high speed accident where air bags deployed. The occupants, though dazed from the accident, survived intact and walked away.

[neonjohn]

gbopp wrote:
Good to hear you and your wife were not hurt. Could you tell us about your RV, make, model and year?
It sounds like it held up fairy well in the crash.

Sure.

It was an 05 Fleetwood Tioga Walkabout. 25 ft. It wasn't what I was looking for but for the price ($5000 and in almost perfect condition), I could not resist.

I insisted on a class C because I know that the van cut that it was based on, in this case a Ford C350 van cut, had to pass the applicable federal crash testing.

The van did it's thing properly. Crush zones crushed, the proper automotive seat remained in place and of course, the seatbelt worked as designed.

The Tioga-built part, not so well. Everything that was stapled to the walls is now in the floor. Cabinets, stove, refrigerator, everything. Basically, the rig is totaled.

This was not a major accident as accidents go. I was doing about 30. Don't know what the girl was doing but it was fast. My racing instincts took over and I tried to steer to where she wasn't. That is, behind her. I didn't quite make it.

The impact on the passenger front corner spun the RV around enough that I knew I was headed down the embankment. I steered into the direction I was traveling which resulted in the rig going straight down the embankment and remaining upright. Had it rolled, we'd probably be discussing a different outcome.

I appreciate everyones' expressions of concern. We'll settle the claim with her insurance company and then we'll get another rig. One where the steel or aluminum cabinets are bolted to the composite body and not stapled. That's the way my last rig was built (Itasca Spectrum).

John

[ktmrfs]

Triker33 wrote:
Some types of injury that can be inflicted by an airbag:

Abrasion to the face, chest or upper extremities
Contusion of the face, chest, upper extremities, knees or internal organs
Strain, fracture or blunt trauma to the cervical spine
Burns on the chest, upper extremities or hands
Fracture or break in the face, upper extremities or wrists
Fracture in the skull or rib cage
Loss of consciousness or concussion injuries
Bruising or swelling of the brain
Laceration to the veins, arteries, heart, lungs or brain stem
Laceration to the liver or spleen
Compression of the brain or traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Rupture inside the heart muscle
Eye injury such as rupture to the globe, retinal tear, corneal abrasion or conjunctivitis
Hearing loss or ear trauma
Trauma to the fetus of a pregnant women or puncture in the placenta
Internal bleeding
Wrist trauma and sprained fingers
Irritation in the throat, asthma attack or coughing
Irritation of the skin, also called airbag dermatitis

show data that
1) shows the number of air bag deployements in a given year
2) the number of each of the above injuries sustained from an air bag deployment.

[down_home]

drsteve wrote:

down home wrote:
I am sorry for your misfortune.
You never know what awaits the next mile or day.
I drive little these days but always try to travl the lesser used roads, where trucks etc are not as plentiful and to keep a lot of interval, still see more close or potential situations.
Been a while since, I saw you on usenet.
The seat belt thing and the airbags came about by GM and our Congressman, at the time.
Wife's Grandfather, was in a minor fender bender. The seat belt tore up his pancreas. He thought he was fine, just brusied, and refused treatment. Died an hour later.
There have been a few others in the extended family suffered from the seat belts, in collisions.
Most Police do not use them.
I drive the little AMG pretty rapidly at times but safely. You have to practically pry yourself out of the seats.
Brother In Law and others were hit and turned up side down in his van in a ditch. The seat belts kept them safe.
The figures are about 50/50 in favor or against. Many in accidents say they used them but didn't.
In the days, of slick bench seats, in old cars, they were beneficial. Sixty mph around a curve and you girlfriend was in your lap.
The air bags are about 65% against and 35% for, I've heard.
Lots, of injuries from them. In a head on with a train or semi or such they save lives, I supposed but with broken facial and other bones some times and deaths.
And the cost to replace one is huge making some Insurance companies total wrecked vehicles, with little damage but all the airbags deployed.
It was and is about Socialists control. About as many inured by these things as those that were hurt without them.
If I going to take the car to Leguna Seca again I will use a five point harness, but not around here, I heard someone say.

SMH... I swear, some folks just make it up while they're typing...

I don't take the insult kindly. I don't make stuff up bud.
Wife's Grand Father lived in Michigan, where she came from, nar Battle Creek. I'm not going to take the time to dig up the newspaper reports etc.
I hate sanctimonious know it alls that don't know what they are talking about and ready to pop off at anything that doesn't fit their unexperienced opinions and biases.

[down_home]

bucky wrote:
The safety equipment mandated by law has drastically reduced injuries and deaths.
The US population in 1971 was approx 203 million with about 52 thousand fatalities
In 2016 it was approx 324 million with approx 35 thousand fatalities, and it dipped to 32 thousand or so in 2015 before texting and other distracted driving became more common.
Roads are safer, cars are safer, the missing link in safety is the drivers.

The numbers from officialdom don't jive.
They quote 52%or 54% benefited etc from belts as opposed to 2% to 4% percent less that didn't use them.
And many many in collisions lie about using them because they don't want any trouble.
As far as LEOs and belts, I'm not about to cite names etc.