Strap it before you flop it!

[Gerdo]

Once upon a time, many years ago, in a land far far away (Idaho Springs), there was this guy who had a Volkswagen Corrado. It was a cold and rainy night and I was traveling back from a job in the mountains. Up in the distance I see this car start to fishtail and swerve. Next he is going back and forth from the shoulder to the concrete divider wall. Then he slides to the shoulder and the upward facing hill and flips his car onto the roof. He must have slid on the roof for over 100 feet. We (I was traveling with some co-workers) caught up to him just as he came to a stop. He was hanging in his seatbelt but the car was smoking. (later we realized that it was just water on the hot exhaust) We carefully climbed into the car and cut him loose. We carried him down the road a bit and sat him down on the shoulder. The only visible injury was a huge cut in his ear. We went back to the car to find his phone and wallet, we also found what cut his ear. His jack was not properly fastened and must have come flying forward and clipped his ear. He was so lucky that it didn't hit him in the back of the head.

The moral of this story? STRAP IT DOWN!

Now the rest of the story. (as told by Andy Rooney) Yes we did call 911 and after some time the ambulance came. I think that they were more in shock than the driver. After realizing that they were a little "lost", we went to the ambulance, grabbed the back board, head rolls and neck brace. We got him on the board and in the ambulance before the "paramedics" knew what happened.

Another quick story.
While wheeling in Moab, I had my sleeping bag slide froward, fall over my seat and land in my lap when I was going down Baby Loin's Back. Did it hurt? No, it's down but could have hindered my driving. I think it may have rolled over my head. I'm not sure because I always close my eyes when going down steep stuff like that!

True it doesn't need to be a rollover or even an accident.

 

[rebelbowtie]

i leave so many things in the cargo area un secure….never thought about it becoming a projectile in an accident.

 

[fourwd1]

Around here I see aholes riding around with a license tag sitting on the dashboard. Just waiting for one of those to go flying and decapitate someone in a head-on collision. Some people are just too stupid.

 

[SJC]

My old driving instructer got her face demolished against the dash board of a truck when something in the back seat came flying forward during a accident. Push the back of her head straight in the dash, pics she showed us were narley. She had to get plastic surgery.

Strap it down

 

[BucknutBob]

Another quick story.
While wheeling in Moab, I had my sleeping bag slide froward, fall over my seat and land in my lap when I was going down Baby Loin's Back. Did it hurt? No, it's down but could have hindered my driving. I think it may have rolled over my head. I'm not sure because I always close my eyes when going down steep stuff like that!

Hey Gerdo, why worry about loose items hindering your driving if you're going to drive down obstacles with your eyes closed anyway! LOL! On the serious side, though, it's an excellent point about securing items--anything with much mass can injure or kill you in a crash, and small items can roll under the pedals and take away your control of the vehicle. Was still waiting to read why the VW driver was all over the road--ever find that out?

 

[Gerdo]

I think he was going too fast for the rainy roads and lost control.

 

[azshtr]

My sons car a was a pig pen. He had a water bottle roll under the brake pedal and he rear ended a car.

 

[SUP3RJEFF]

An excellent point, thanks for bringing it up!

 

[Corbet]

That's why I have one of these...

 

[Husker Z]

This is a quality post, people need to realize, however fast you are travelling, anything in the car is also travelling that fast. You come to a quick stop, those things want to keep moving. I was in an accident a couple of years ago and I had a laptop in the passenger seat and my cell phone was in my console cup holder. Well, this lady pulled in front of me and I T-boned her pretty hard. When I was checking things out after I got my wits back about me, I started to look at what must have happened in the abrupt stop. My laptop had flown forward hard enough to dent the dash and the battery fell out. My cell phone had popped out of the cup holder, flew up and hit the windshield and blew all the loose parts off of it, so there was some force behind it. All this and I was going less than 40 mph!

Very good post, something that is easily ignored.

 

[rebelbowtie]

That's why I have one of these...

I really need to get something along those lines.

 

[HedgehogOutdoors]

My sons car a was a pig pen. He had a water bottle roll under the brake pedal and he rear ended a car.

Final Destination?

 

[Mytoy4]

That's why I have one of these...

The sad thing is, is that there are so many people don't think about their dogs while driving. They should also be securely restrained. If you have a dog loose in the car and you get in an accident that dog will become a force that could potentially kill you.
I have a safety harness that I use with my Great Dane to keep him and myself safe during travel.

 

[ironhippy]

The sad thing is, is that there are so many people don't think about their dogs while driving. They should also be securely restrained. If you have a dog loose in the car and you get in an accident that dog will become a force that could potentially kill you.
I have a safety harness that I use with my Great Dane to keep him and myself safe during travel.

How tight is your safety harness? I would think that there would have to be zero slack in the harness in order to do considered anywhere near "safe" for the dog.
You might be able to have it act like seatbelt where you have slack that tightens up when there is enough force, but I would think if you gave enough give for the dog to be comfortable, it would be too much give to keep him safe. Having him strapped will stop keep the dog from killing you either way.

I have no illusions to what will happen to my dog if I crash with him in the truck..

I'm hoping to build a harness system when I build my rear cargo storage, but since it would basically have zero give, the dog would not appreciate it the way he loves to roam around the back of the truck now... I'll probably give it enough slack so he can stick his head out the window, but not enough that he can fly into the passengers and hope for the best.

 

[Mytoy4]

The harness itself is padded for extra protection and fits around his body snug and he is given slight slack with the straps. Only enough to stand up and turn around. Not enough that he could fly out a rear window or into someone in the car. It's a 3 hour drive that we frequent together.
Also he's restrained in a van, not my 4runner.

 

[Corbet]

I really need to get something along those lines.

Search "Speski OffRoad" on Google for more info on mine.

 

[HedgehogOutdoors]

toyota 4runner getting air - YouTube
Read the description, this is one example of fun times gone bad.