Drunk driving accident (EXTREMELY GRAPHIC)

[Floater]

Originally Posted by UEL

No doubt these are real, but I don't think that they are photos of a Smart Car.

No, they're not, but after that crash the car is the same size as a smart car.

A smart car would have avoided the crash in the first place.

[Debunker]

Well, the car may be smart, but what about the driver?

I owned a Smart car for two years and they are great little cars. Very good mileage, quite nippy & roomy for two people.

Only thing I didn't like about the car was that you could really feel the wind trying to blow you when on the motorway. Mostly because it's so light and not the most aerodynamic.

The guy who brought it from me was involved in a crash in his last one, he was sandwiched between a suburu and a lorry on the Motorway whilst doing close to 70mph. Walked away with whiplash and desire to buy another.

The spare wheel on the back of the car gave it away for me, Smarts don't come with a spare.

Originally Posted by Debunker

Cars sold in the US (at least) must meet certain requirements for crashworthiness and safety of passengers. Smart cars will be sold in the US in a year or two (IIRC), so they have to meet those standards.

Are they not already sold in the US? I've seen two driving around my town in the last week or so...

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by Vertical

Are they not already sold in the US? I've seen two driving around my town in the last week or so...

From the website Debunker linked to:

2. When will smart vehicles be available for purchase in the United States?
The smart fortwo is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2008.

However, Smart is also doing promotional tours and they are already on sale in Canada, so maybe that's what you saw.
Brian

[jw]

Originally Posted by Buckleupp

Okay, I'll say it, I'm not afraid.

What the heck is a Smart Car?

My mate just recently bought a Smart Roadstar Coupe. Here's me in it for a photo challenge a few weeks back. 90 bhp with a top speed of 112 mph from a tiny 698 cc Brabus turbo engine.

I agree with most posters that any small car hitting a truck is in for a lot of damage.

I wish the warning for #4 had been more prominent.

Originally Posted by jw

My mate just recently bought a Smart Roadstar Coupe. Here's me in it for a photo challenge a few weeks back. 90 bhp with a top speed of 112 mph from a tiny 698 cc Brabus turbo engine.

I agree with most posters that any small car hitting a truck is in for a lot of damage.

I wish the warning for #4 had been more prominent.

I'm hoping to get a Smart Roadster somepoint this year

[snopes]

Why shouldn't you drive when you are drunk?
Why shouldn't you exceed speed limits?
Why should you pay attention to the steering wheel everytime you are driving?
Why should you learn not to look unnecessarily at both sides of the road everytime you are driving?





















Please pass this to all your friends even those that aren't driving yet.

[Hyper Squirrel]

Oh my God. Why did I ignore that "Extremely Graphic" warning all in caps? I feel sick.

[One-Fang]

Why shouldn't you drive when you are drunk?
Why shouldn't you exceed speed limits?
Why should you pay attention to the steering wheel everytime you are driving?
Why should you learn not to look unnecessarily at both sides of the road everytime you are driving?

Being sober would not have made the accident less graphic, although I agree perhaps less likely (we don't know how this happened).
Driving slower would not have made this truck go less far into this car. Well, not enough to have saved him anyway. It's a head-on with a semi. It's usually pretty fatal at any speed.
I don't pay attention to the steering wheel - I pay attention to the road. Had this guy been looking at the road, not his wheel, the accident might have been avoided.
Not look unnecessarily at both sides of the road? WTF now? If he had been looking, he might have realised the left side wasn't a good place to be right then. I'd say it's an advert FOR looking on both sides, not against it.

I hope the truckie got some help, if he wanted it.

[Morrigan]

His company would probably MAKE him take some time off, and get him the help that he needs.

Morrigan

[Buckle Up]

We are sure this is real, right? The reason I ask is because I'm a little confused looking at the last photo, particularly the lower torso/legs. In the lower left quarter of the photo, you can see a white, straight thing that apparently is the spine. But it looks solid, whereas the spine is actually a series of stacked vertebrae; it should look more "bumpy" IMO. If you can stomach taking a closer look at this photo, tell us what you think.

Originally Posted by Buckleupp

We are sure this is real, right? The reason I ask is because I'm a little confused looking at the last photo, particularly the lower torso/legs. In the lower left quarter of the photo, you can see a white, straight thing that apparently is the spine. But it looks solid, whereas the spine is actually a series of stacked vertebrae; it should look more "bumpy" IMO. If you can stomach taking a closer look at this photo, tell us what you think.

I've not seen human spines with the surrounding tissues attached, but the Mythbusters occasionally use pig spines to simulate human counterparts, and they look much like the photo.

[Banrion]

If you look closely, you CAN see the vertebrae, they are a dark brown on black background,so kinda hard to see, the straight smooth white part attached is likely the connective tissues between your vertebrae and the muscles that should be there. Tendons and ligaments are very much like rubber bands, and when torn will snap to a much shorter length than their natural taut state.

[TuFurg]

Whoa- got hit with those extra photos from the second set...

I just clicked wondering why the thread got bumped and got an eyeful. Guess the initial warning should have sufficed.

[Gavida]

Ouch, I thought I would get past viewing the pictures again, but I guess the changed title of the thread should have warned me

When I read this thread for the first time (and looked at the pictures) I thought (and I still think) this was a suicide, not an accident.

No skid marks or signs of braking on the side of the VW. One person inside the smashed car (so not distracted by passenger).
Ok, he might have dropped his cigarette and searched for it, but since he was torn abpart in the middle he should have been sitting straight up (or pretty straight).
There might be reasons for him sitting upright in his seat (searching for a radio station? changing CD) but I still think suicide.

Gavida

Originally Posted by Gavida

Ouch, I thought I would get past viewing the pictures again, but I guess the changed title of the thread should have warned me

When I read this thread for the first time (and looked at the pictures) I thought (and I still think) this was a suicide, not an accident.

No skid marks or signs of braking on the side of the VW. One person inside the smashed car (so not distracted by passenger).
Ok, he might have dropped his cigarette and searched for it, but since he was torn abpart in the middle he should have been sitting straight up (or pretty straight).
There might be reasons for him sitting upright in his seat (searching for a radio station? changing CD) but I still think suicide.

Gavida

There wouldn't necessarily be skid marks if the driver was pulling out to pass a slower vehicle, and thought he could cut in front of the other vehicle, misjudging the speed of any of the vehicles involved.

Not sure I follow your reasoning on the uprightness of the body.

I think it could very well be an accident. Driving truck, I've had to jump on the brakes a number of times to make room for some idiot to slip in front of me because he just had to get in front of the evil truck, even though it was doing the speed limit, and it was unsafe to pass.

A solitary driver doesn't really indicate suicide to me, either. I'm divorcing, and drive alone all the time. (OK, most of the time.) As for lack of other vehicles that may have been involved or witnessed the accident, they would all have been moved out after giving statements to the police, and with the severity of this accident, it's likely the road was closed for the investigation.

[Gavida]

Originally Posted by JD65

There wouldn't necessarily be skid marks if the driver was pulling out to pass a slower vehicle, and thought he could cut in front of the other vehicle, misjudging the speed of any of the vehicles involved.

When reading your reply I realized another thing I forgot about, regarding the skid marks. Probably because I am used to drive old cars.....
Maybe there are no marks because the car has an Anti-Blocking-System (and I bet it has)

Originally Posted by JD65

Not sure I follow your reasoning on the uprightness of the body.

I tried to say that the driver of the VW was not bent down towards the floor (picking up a dropped cigarette for example or something else that fell to the ground) and therefore didn't steer into the oncoming traffic because of distraction or unwillingly jerking the steering wheel.
From the way the person was injured I think that he sat upright in his seat and had a view up ahead.

Originally Posted by JD65

I think it could very well be an accident. Driving truck, I've had to jump on the brakes a number of times to make room for some idiot to slip in front of me because he just had to get in front of the evil truck, even though it was doing the speed limit, and it was unsafe to pass.

Hmm, I know that there are idiots on the road and trying to get past someone doing the speed limits at all costs.
But the "hairy" situations I have been in never happened on a clear straight road like in these pictures. It was always near a bend or a junction, when people even shook their head at me while overtaking and me stepping on the brakes very hard so they can survive their stupid stunt.

It looks like the road is straight for a long distance. (Can't say for the side the VW came from, I have to admit though)

Originally Posted by JD65

A solitary driver doesn't really indicate suicide to me, either. I'm divorcing, and drive alone all the time. (OK, most of the time.) As for lack of other vehicles that may have been involved or witnessed the accident, they would all have been moved out after giving statements to the police, and with the severity of this accident, it's likely the road was closed for the investigation.

With the "one person" in the VW I was just saying that the driver was not distracted by another person while driving.
Of course there could have been other reasons, using the cell-phone or changing the CD or whatever.

I might be wrong, but the "well-aimed" VW and the placing of the truck (it looks like the truckdriver was taken by surprise, since the truck is only slightly on the safety strip) still give me the impression of a suicide.

We probably will not know who is wrong or who is right until someone finds an article about this with more background information.

Gavida