Danica Patrick survives violent crash unhurt

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Danica Patrick was hit yesterday in the closing lap of a NASCAR race and was then sent hard into a wall for a violent crash (she was unhurt). I am not posting this because someone else hit Danica (meaning the crash was not her fault), I am not posting this because she is Danica (queue up the Danica haters). No I am posting this because people need to watch what she does with her arms/hands moments prior to hitting the wall (fast forward to about the 2:30 mark in the video). Remember what she did if you ever find yourself about to hit something while driving. You could possibly save yourself from an extra injury if you are in a non-fatal accident. Yes modern race car drivers use 6 point harnesses with HANS devices to keep themselves relatively safe when they crash, something people on the public roads do not have access to. But she also showed a lot of experience knowing what to do with her arms and her hands moments before impact.

Click here to watch the YouTube video of Danica's hard shunt into a wall

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[jtval 0]

Good job.

I do that all the time on my ay to work. Hell, Sometimes I even close my eyes. Haven't crashed once. The secret is to listen for all the horns. That's when I know it's ok to grab the wheel again.

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[airtwardo 6]

Thought you were just gonna comment along the lines of:

I'd hit it!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[jtval 0]

That's obvious

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[AggieDave 6]

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Thought you were just gonna comment along the lines of:

I'd hit it!

Eh...someone else already has...

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[airtwardo 6]

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Thought you were just gonna comment along the lines of:

I'd hit it!

Eh...someone else already has...

yeah but only from behind

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[jakee 1,254]

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Click here to watch the YouTube video of Danica's hard shunt

OK!

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into a wall

Ah dammit

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[masterrig 1]

I'm glad to hear she wasn't hurt. I would call myself a big NASCAR fan and not a Danica hater but I am so sick and tired of hearing about her every little move during a race. The announcers just babble-on about her ad nauseum. Gimme a break!


Chuck

[sacex250 0]

Well, now that she's been taken out of two races by other drivers, you know it's bad when your own teammate is trying to collect the bounty. It reminds me of the scene from Greased Lightning with Beau Bridges having drawn the card to take out Richard Pryor.

It's all been said before, no sense repeating it here.

[masterrig 1]

We know now, she can cuss pretty good too!


Chuck

[Snowwhite 0]

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I'm glad to hear she wasn't hurt. I would call myself a big NASCAR fan and not a Danica hater but I am so sick and tired of hearing about her every little move during a race. The announcers just babble-on about her ad nauseum. Gimme a break!


Chuck

Boobies! They'll do it every time!

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[masterrig 1]

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I'm glad to hear she wasn't hurt. I would call myself a big NASCAR fan and not a Danica hater but I am so sick and tired of hearing about her every little move during a race. The announcers just babble-on about her ad nauseum. Gimme a break!


Chuck

Boobies! They'll do it every time!

Danica? Boobies? She's got a figure like a 12-yr. old boy!


Chuck

[nanook 1]

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Danica Patrick was hit yesterday in the closing lap of a NASCAR race and was then sent hard into a wall for a violent crash (she was unhurt). I am not posting this because someone else hit Danica (meaning the crash was not her fault), I am not posting this because she is Danica (queue up the Danica haters). No I am posting this because people need to watch what she does with her arms/hands moments prior to hitting the wall (fast forward to about the 2:30 mark in the video). Remember what she did if you ever find yourself about to hit something while driving. You could possibly save yourself from an extra injury if you are in a non-fatal accident. Yes modern race car drivers use 6 point harnesses with HANS devices to keep themselves relatively safe when they crash, something people on the public roads do not have access to. But she also showed a lot of experience knowing what to do with her arms and her hands moments before impact.

Click here to watch the YouTube video of Danica's hard shunt into a wall

I think this doesn't apply in the commuter world.
Regular cars don't have wheels severely extended from the frame. Bending of those posts can deflect the steering wheels faster than the tires being forced to turn on regular vehicles.

I would rather have my hands on the steering wheel when I hit. It seems to me that having your arms between your chest and airbag would cause more injury than your fists hitting the instrument cluster.

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[BobMoore 0]

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It seems to me that having your arms between your chest and airbag would cause more injury than your fists hitting the instrument cluster.

I agree. I wouldn't want my arms between me and the airbag. The seatbelt I wear is just a tad bit less restrictive than the seatbelt she is wearing.

But it is not fists hitting the instrument cluster that she is concerned about. When the car hits something it can cause the wheels to turn and if you're holding on to the steering wheel it can break your thumbs, or worse.

edit: I re-read your post and you already mentioned the danger of the steering wheel.

"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."

[nanook 1]

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It seems to me that having your arms between your chest and airbag would cause more injury than your fists hitting the instrument cluster.

I agree. I wouldn't want my arms between me and the airbag. The seatbelt I wear is just a tad bit less restrictive than the seatbelt she is wearing.

But it is not fists hitting the instrument cluster that she is concerned about. When the car hits something it can cause the wheels to turn and if you're holding on to the steering wheel it can break your thumbs, or worse.

edit: I re-read your post and you already mentioned the danger of the steering wheel.

I wonder how many broken thumbs/wrists those open wheelers experienced in the past before learning this counter-intuitive tidbit. I imagine those steering wheels rotate many revolutions at the speed that the wheel posts collapse in a hit; fast as a blink of an eye

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[Rainbo 0]

Trust me, trying to hold onto a steering wheel when an air bag goes off can hurt also...

Rainbo
TheSpeedTriple - Speed is everything
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

[AggieDave 6]

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Trust me, trying to hold onto a steering wheel when an air bag goes off can hurt also...

Not only can it hurt, it can cause nerve damage in your elbows. The large majority of the time in major accidents, the driver's hands are blown off the steering wheel to the left and right of the steering wheel due to the airbag. Then those hands, which are very stiff due to the driver having been holding a "death grip" on the wheel, slam into the dash/instrument cluster. Injuries from that range from broken wrists, to broken forearms, dislocated elbows and severe shoulder injury. It is worse if someone drives with their hands at "10 and 2" since it tends to blow your arms up and out instead of just out. That is why "9 and 3" are taught now days.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I would rather have my hands on the steering wheel when I hit. It seems to me that having your arms between your chest and airbag would cause more injury than your fists hitting the instrument cluster.

Point taken, you would probably poke yourself in the eye after the airbag thrusts your arms into your face if you did exactly what Danica did. In a passenger car, lowering your arms to your side would be a better option (keeping in mind this is a split second decision once you have realized you are going to collide with something).

I will always always always wear my seat belt. But sometimes I question airbags. Seems like just another attempt by auto industry to make you think you are safe. Don't ever ride with anything on your lap in an airbag equipped vehicle as that could cause great harm if the airbag ever fires. I would not need an airbag if I had a better seat in my car (like a racing seat) and a better seat belt (like a 6 point racing harness) where I am not moving whatsoever in a collision. But for some dumb reason using a harness on the public roads is deemed unsafe and illegal. Go figure. Plus if such a violent collision were to occur where the steering column is thrust into your chest, I doubt you were going to survive the crash anyway (with or without an airbag).

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[AggieDave 6]

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But for some dumb reason using a harness on the public roads is deemed unsafe and illegal.

That's an over simplification.

There are 5-point harnesses that are DOT approved, but there are only a couple. It has to do with the long and expensive process for the extensive testing that has to occur to be considered "DOT approved."

Furthermore, DOT doesn't issue "approvals." Manufactures can apply for a DOT number and it is up to the manufacture to insure that their product has been tested by a third party to certify that it will pass the requirements. So just because something claims to be "DOT approved" it doesn't mean that it is. There is a problem with this with aftermarket lighting for vehicles (as an example).

Anyways, the large majority of manufactures choose not to manufacture a race application part that would be submitted for testing. It takes too much time, costs too much money and the return is not worth the investment.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[shah269 0]

I would hit that....
But then she would hit me...
And then it would get all kinky and stuff!


But seriously very glad she was able to walk away.
The technology is truly amazing!

Who know maybe they will start fitting overhead cams and undertrays to these cars next

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[billvon 2,400]

>I will always always always wear my seat belt. But sometimes I question airbags.

I've seen some crash test results; we looked at them when we were working on EV's for Ford years ago. After that I didn't question the utility of airbags. They're definitely not a cure-all, don't work in all crashes and are no replacement for seatbelts - but there were some truly horrific crashes that were made survivable (via dummy measurements) with just front airbags.

>But for some dumb reason using a harness on the public roads is deemed unsafe and
>illegal.

It's not - it just needs to be tested with the car. And most cars cannot accept them as add-ons with stock seats, since you can't use stock seats as seatbelt anchors. So you'd need to make some significant changes.

But if you designed a car and included a five point harness with appropriate anchors (and tested it) you'd be good.

>Plus if such a violent collision were to occur where the steering column is thrust into
>your chest, I doubt you were going to survive the crash anyway.

That's the scenario that airbags work best in. They spread the force out over your chest rather than concentrating it at the point of impact. Of course, beyond a certain deceleration no amount of spreading it out will prevent serious internal injuries.

[masterrig 1]

In all the years I've watched NASCAR, there have been much, much worse wrecks than Danica's. Carl Edwards went up into the catch fence, barrell-rolled across the track, Jeff Gordon wound-up on his top during the Bud Shoot-out and so-on, they walked away from those wrecks. I can't agree more with what NASCAR has done for safety in stock-car racing. What gets me is of the more horrendous wrecks, Danica gets the most attention and all she did was smack into the wall! There have been other women in racing who have survived some really ugly wrecks and nary a peep about them. Simona DiSilvestro almost burned-up in her Indy car, last season and only a blurb in the press about it. Maybe, all the race car drivers need all those people to promote them like Danica. The whole Danica thing is waaaay out of line... and she is not that good!


Chuck

[raveninca 0]

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But for some dumb reason using a harness on the public roads is deemed unsafe and illegal.

That's an over simplification.

There are 5-point harnesses that are DOT approved, but there are only a couple. It has to do with the long and expensive process for the extensive testing that has to occur to be considered "DOT approved."

Furthermore, DOT doesn't issue "approvals." Manufactures can apply for a DOT number and it is up to the manufacture to insure that their product has been tested by a third party to certify that it will pass the requirements. So just because something claims to be "DOT approved" it doesn't mean that it is. There is a problem with this with aftermarket lighting for vehicles (as an example).

Anyways, the large majority of manufactures choose not to manufacture a race application part that would be submitted for testing. It takes too much time, costs too much money and the return is not worth the investment.

I own a performance shop and the main reason you don't see 4,5 or 6 point harnesses in street cars is because they can not be installed safely unless the car has a roll cage or at least a harness bar behind the seats. For any 4, 5 or 6 point system to be safe the shoulder belts can not be mounted any lower than 4" below the shoulder of the driver/passanger. The reason for this is because in a rear impact crash the belts have to hold your body from going forward. It the belts are mounted to the floor, (or side of the seat down low) then the belt will actually pull down on your body and compress or break your spine! The other danger is in a roll over crash, if you don't have a cage over your head then the belts will hold you in perfect place for the roof to crush your head into your crotch.

You will notice that they only cars that have DOT approved "harnesses" will have some sort of hoop above the drivers/passengers head to prevent the roof from coming down in the event of a roll over as well as having a mounting point for the belt in the proper place.

P.S. I have a roll cage and 4-point harnesses in my street car and I have no issues with them being illegal.

[AggieDave 6]

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But for some dumb reason using a harness on the public roads is deemed unsafe and illegal.

That's an over simplification.

There are 5-point harnesses that are DOT approved, but there are only a couple. It has to do with the long and expensive process for the extensive testing that has to occur to be considered "DOT approved."

Furthermore, DOT doesn't issue "approvals." Manufactures can apply for a DOT number and it is up to the manufacture to insure that their product has been tested by a third party to certify that it will pass the requirements. So just because something claims to be "DOT approved" it doesn't mean that it is. There is a problem with this with aftermarket lighting for vehicles (as an example).

Anyways, the large majority of manufactures choose not to manufacture a race application part that would be submitted for testing. It takes too much time, costs too much money and the return is not worth the investment.

I own a performance shop and the main reason you don't see 4,5 or 6 point harnesses in street cars is because they can not be installed safely unless the car has a roll cage or at least a harness bar behind the seats. For any 4, 5 or 6 point system to be safe the shoulder belts can not be mounted any lower than 4" below the shoulder of the driver/passanger. The reason for this is because in a rear impact crash the belts have to hold your body from going forward. It the belts are mounted to the floor, (or side of the seat down low) then the belt will actually pull down on your body and compress or break your spine! The other danger is in a roll over crash, if you don't have a cage over your head then the belts will hold you in perfect place for the roof to crush your head into your crotch.

You will notice that they only cars that have DOT approved "harnesses" will have some sort of hoop above the drivers/passengers head to prevent the roof from coming down in the event of a roll over as well as having a mounting point for the belt in the proper place.

P.S. I have a roll cage and 4-point harnesses in my street car and I have no issues with them being illegal.

Yup, the installation problem is one of the problems as well. I can't remember which CFR overviews the testing of the safety belts...49CFR something. Oh well, it really doesn't matter, but I really enjoy really technical discussions about traffic safety and traffic law.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[raveninca 0]

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But for some dumb reason using a harness on the public roads is deemed unsafe and illegal.

That's an over simplification.

There are 5-point harnesses that are DOT approved, but there are only a couple. It has to do with the long and expensive process for the extensive testing that has to occur to be considered "DOT approved."

Furthermore, DOT doesn't issue "approvals." Manufactures can apply for a DOT number and it is up to the manufacture to insure that their product has been tested by a third party to certify that it will pass the requirements. So just because something claims to be "DOT approved" it doesn't mean that it is. There is a problem with this with aftermarket lighting for vehicles (as an example).

Anyways, the large majority of manufactures choose not to manufacture a race application part that would be submitted for testing. It takes too much time, costs too much money and the return is not worth the investment.

I own a performance shop and the main reason you don't see 4,5 or 6 point harnesses in street cars is because they can not be installed safely unless the car has a roll cage or at least a harness bar behind the seats. For any 4, 5 or 6 point system to be safe the shoulder belts can not be mounted any lower than 4" below the shoulder of the driver/passanger. The reason for this is because in a rear impact crash the belts have to hold your body from going forward. It the belts are mounted to the floor, (or side of the seat down low) then the belt will actually pull down on your body and compress or break your spine! The other danger is in a roll over crash, if you don't have a cage over your head then the belts will hold you in perfect place for the roof to crush your head into your crotch.

You will notice that they only cars that have DOT approved "harnesses" will have some sort of hoop above the drivers/passengers head to prevent the roof from coming down in the event of a roll over as well as having a mounting point for the belt in the proper place.

P.S. I have a roll cage and 4-point harnesses in my street car and I have no issues with them being illegal.

Yup, the installation problem is one of the problems as well. I can't remember which CFR overviews the testing of the safety belts...49CFR something. Oh well, it really doesn't matter, but I really enjoy really technical discussions about traffic safety and traffic law.

Me too, I love technical discussions about pretty much everything. The aftermarket harnesses are better tested and certified than DOT IMHO. You have two standards being SFI (three year lifetime and then the harness needs to be replaced) and FIA (five years before having to replace the harness). Depending on what you are racing in will determine what certification is needed.