Toyota Camry Rearend Accident...

[sharp4runr]

Corolla accident...

I'm glad I drive a Toyota and I'm sure this guy does too. I found these pictures from a motorcycle forum I frequent. Apparently the driver of the corolla was rear ended by a truck going 50MPH. Luckily he was able to walk out of this incident.

 

[Mark86]

Wow, that guy sure is lucky. The driver seat is bent from the impact. Did he have serious injuries? It is amazing how safe Toyota's are. Also, I think that is a Camry pictured there.

 

[Spider5]

The highest number of collisions occur by someone rear ending another car. Most injuries occur in this type of accident when there is a failure or an improperly adjusted seat. The reason I mention this is because of the pictures indicating a major seat failure in this accident. It

 

[Fourty-four]

I think that's a Camry, not a Corolla. Anyway, gotta love those crumple zones. One look at the driver's seat makes me think he/she must have suffered some serious whiplash or something!

 

[sharp4runr]

Yeah you're right, it is a Camry. I'm not sure if the guy had any injuries but I'll post a question at the other forum.

 

[sharp4runr]

Here is what the guy said:

i'm sitting at a stoplight in naperville il. off rt.59 heading north to the tollway....

then this huge explosion occurred, i saw motion just before in the rear view mirror. i found out later that an 18 year old in a suburban creamed me at 50mph. my body went from 0-50 in a fraction of a second, you can see that my back and head BENT the seat back on impact. i totalled the car IN FRONT of me also. so after the impact, i went forward into the stearing wheel and was knocked out. i was in and out and remember the ambulance to the hospital. people tell me the camry saved my life... (would you believe my powerbook in the trunk SURVIVED!!! it was in a radtech soft case, in a gel bag, in a foam bag insert, inside a london fog bag.)

this happened in may '05, still pain in back, legs and neck...

i bought another camry, same color... and so did others who saw these pics.

It's amazing his laptop still worked even though it was in the trunk...

 

[Thai]

Holy shit! Wow. And his laptop made it through! It's a good thing that IIHS now tests rear-end collisions. Here are Toyota's result from rear-end crash testings: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?toyota. Unfortunately, not many manufacturers pay attention to rear-end crash safety. About the only brand to score high on all their models in rear crash tests is Volvo. Subaru did OK too. Japanese and Germans (surprisingly for MB) did not do well.

I am not too happy about how easily that driver's seat bend backward!:awais: The seat is like a big piece of foam!

I am very happy to hear that he is OK.

 

[Thai]

I am also moving this thread to GENERAL DISCUSSIONS for a few days because it's an important topic to discuss.

Sharp, hope that you don't mind, but i also changed the title of the thread to reflect the topic more closely. If you want something different, then just give me a holler.

Thanks for bringing this important topic to surface.

 

[Fourty-four]

Crap like this is just one of the reasons I choose to drive an SUV. If I'm going to be a sitting duck getting blindsided from behind, I'd rather level the playing field a bit with a 4000+ pound SUV around me!

Anyone notice all the tiny cars (Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit) coming out lately? Imagine the same collision in one of those? Too many bad drivers on the roads to chance driving a matchbox car.............

 

[Thai]

Anyone notice all the tiny cars (Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit) coming out lately? Imagine the same collision in one of those? Too many bad drivers on the roads to chance driving a matchbox car.............

Yeah, thanks for reminding me that i drive a Corolla to work everyday! Great...just something else for me to be paranoid about!

 

[Fourty-four]

Yeah, thanks for reminding me that i drive a Corolla to work everyday! Great...just something else for me to be paranoid about!

The Corolla isn't as small as some of those micro cars coming out. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the current Corolla is about as big (or maybe bigger) than the early Accords. It seems that small cars have been growing as the generations pass.

Still though, I value my safety and refuse to sacrifice my safety for saving a few bucks in gas. Seriously, the roads are filled with heavy trucks/vans/SUVs these days, and although I've been lucky enough to NEVER have been involved in an accident in my 22 years of driving (knock on wood!), I'd like to be able to walk away if I ever do!

I think that Camry driver was extremely lucky. The crumple zones seemed to have worked very well for him.

 

[Uneek]

Yikes! Glad to hear the owner of the Camry is ok. When I saw the first picture, I thought the Camry did well considering how the cabin stayed intacted and didn't deform very much. But when I saw bent seat, one can only imagine the force and injury on the driver. I got a similar Camry, makes me wonder how safe would passengers be in the back seat, if the front seats didn't bend.

I agree with Fourty-Four that larger vehicles are probably safer for the occupants inside, but they can inflict more damage to vehicles around it. This is probably why SUV sales haven't slowed as much as people thought even with rising gas prices.

 

[OffRDR]

looks like the corolla 2003-2004 is one of the few toyota that get a passing grade

 

[pipspeak]

Oh there's a surprise... accident caused by teenager.

Reminds me how I got cut off by another driver today. Slammed on my brakes, then went up alongside and guess what... young lady was eating an ice cream sundae! I felt like opening her door and shoving it into her face.

Still, the camry in the photo did its job. Energy dissipation, crumple zones, etc. I think most modern sedans would allow the occupants to walk away from such a rearender. The bent seat is a worry though. That's your last line of defense.

 

[Thai]

looks like the corolla 2003-2004 is one of the few toyota that get a passing grade

Unfortunately, my Corolla is 2005....

 

[00void]

(would you believe my powerbook in the trunk SURVIVED!!! it was in a radtech soft case, in a gel bag, in a foam bag insert, inside a london fog bag.)

It's amazing his laptop still worked even though it was in the trunk...

that's because it's a Mac... only Mac ist krieg!!!

he's lucky he was driving a Camry and not a 4Runner. the one thing that sucks about a 4Runner and what my GF holds over my head compared to her Jeep GC = http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?toyota

 

[ddd269]

that's because it's a Mac... only Mac ist krieg!!!

he's lucky he was driving a Camry and not a 4Runner. the one thing that sucks about a 4Runner and what my GF holds over my head compared to her Jeep GC = http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?toyota

I agree with the chart. I just experienced a rear-ender a few weeks ago and it was a shocker. Shocker because the accident was pretty impressive, shock wise... sorry, couldn't help myself. lol. Also, a shocker because of the small damage to my 4runner after the accident. I was hit pretty hard, and expecting the worst, I steped out of the car and nothing. The damage was minimal, but the damage to the other car (a full size Dodge van) was extensive. His front bumper was all mangled, and found some tranny fluid on my rear bumper, so I suspect some radiator/tranny cooler damage. He took off (yeah, he did!) and I noticed his damage while I was trying to stop him. I'm sure he felt the impact pretty hard, since his van has full frame, also.

Having the tow hitch contributes to the transfer of the impact as well. Since the tow hitch is bolted on to the frame, it transfers most of the shock to the frame and ultimately; the passengers. I'm glad the damage to my 4runner was minimal, but If the impact was harder, I'm thinking that I want a more "shock friendly" vehicle.

Regardless of the damage and cost to repair the vehicle, I think a unit body platform like the camry, highlander, etc. are safer due to crumple zones, which are an integral part of the design. Full-frame vehicles such as our 4runners are worse for passangers due to the the strong "back bone", ironically. If the vehicle does not absorb the impact too well, guess who/what does? Moi... It hurt like hell and I still feel the accident on my neck and shoulder.

Be safe guys. (I shouldn't be talking... my wife was yelling at me today for racing a motorcycle with my CLS500 on 110 fwy. We were doing 130mph on the carpool lane.) Anyways, be safe.