"She stood up on her seat, raised her fists in the air and yelled, 'Airbags!'”

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Wed Feb 12, 2014, 08:55 PM - Edit history (2)

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Motorists_advised_to_avoid_Turnpike_spur_following_truck_crash.html

Maine driver in truck crash: ‘I saw him coming and I was terrified’

A woman whose car was crushed between a gasoline tanker truck and a pickup in South Portland escapes serious injury.

By David Hench [e-mail]
Staff Writer

A woman walked away without significant injury following a horrific collision Tuesday on the Maine Turnpike spur near Main Street in South Portland.

The crash occurred about 8 a.m. when a tanker truck hauling gasoline crashed into the back end of a 2010 Toyota Corolla, slamming it into a pickup and crushing it between the two trucks.

The driver of the car, Joyce Gauthier, 48 of Portland, was on her way to work at Hannaford corporate headquarters when she slowed for a long line of traffic trying to enter Route 1.

“I looked up in my rearview mirror and I saw him coming,” Gauthier said. “I saw him coming and I was terrified.”

The truck slammed so hard into Gauthier’s car that the rear half collapsed, the front end was mangled and the roof ripped backward.

Amazingly, Gauthier was not seriously injured.

With what she described as “adrenalized craziness,” she stood up on her seat, raised her fists in the air and yelled, “Airbags!”

“Without them, I would have been a goner,” she said. “I’m just so thankful for people like Ralph Nader who fight for consumer protection.”

MORE[p]

H/T: Rachel Maddow on Twitter

[840high]

1. kick

[countryjake]

2. Do cars with airbags hear voice commands?

I don't quite get what happened there, did the airbags open before the impact?

[notadmblnd]

3. I was kinda thinking she did that after she survived the crash.

It never occurred to me that they deployed by voice command.

[MindPilot]

6. they deploy by impact sensors

inflate and deflate in about half a second

[dionysus]

5. she got crushed between a gas tanker and a pickup, the airbags deployed and saved her life.

because the roof of her car was ripped off, she was able to stand on the seat and yell "airbags!"

[countryjake]

10. Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing that up!

Reading that article, it wasn't clear to me if she yelled "airbags" before or after the truck slammed into her. With all of the amazing innovations that are out these days, talking cars and all, who knows what's possible.

[TeeYiYi]

30. Thanks for that...

I couldn't figure it out either.

TYY

[TeeYiYi]

32. Ok, this helps...

TYY

[Curmudgeoness]

39. Holy shit!!!!

I am amazed that she wasn't injured or killed.

[TeeYiYi]

40. I know. Crazy! ..nt

TYY

[fujiyama]

46. I said the same exact thing to myself when I saw that photo!

[JHB]

67. So was she -- thus the rousing cheer for airbags

[tclambert]

41. When I saw that photo, here's what popped into my mind:

"You go in that cage? Cage goes between two trucks? You go between two trucks? Those size trucks? Farewell and adieu . . . "

[TeeYiYi]

43. Exactly. nt

TYY

[blackspade]

45. Fuck me!

She walked from that?

Crazy.

[FailureToCommunicate]

61. When I was a kid there were horrific crashes like this by our house

Last edited Thu Feb 13, 2014, 11:22 AM - Edit history (2)

regularly at a terrible exit off the Bronx River Parkway. I was first one on the scene in several of those times, held one guys head telling him to hang on till the ambulance came (the engine was next to him in the seat...) He didn't make it, I later learned.

Seat belts helped many times back in the day, WHEN people wore them, but many time not. Air bags are certainly a much better additional margin of protection.

I just sold my old car and got a newer (still used) car with all the current required safety equipment: front AND side curtain air bags, crumple zones, anti-lock brakes, steering overturn dampers, etc.

I thank God we survived driving back in those dark ages in those huge cars with hard dashboards, no seat belts...
Now I thank countless crash victims families for forcing the auto industry to improve cars for everyone, not just those who could afford to buy expensive models.

Safety features or not, PHYSICS is always the same: So please slow the f**k down people!

[MindPilot]

4. I used to replace dashboards that had bits of skin and hair embedded in the broken plastic.

where the occupant's knee or shin hit the dash, steering wheels would have teeth marks, and that was with seat belts. After air bags that part of my income fortunately went away. I could stand beside a crashed car that would have been a fatality, but with airbags the occupants were completely uninjured. Hundreds of times I've seen airbags save lives and prevent injuries.

Yeah, I'm an air bag believer.

[louis-t]

11. Airbag saved my life.

Hit head-on by a truck. Knees and back are messed up for life, but face is sort of intact.

[nilram]

15. And more important than your face, your brain.

At least, probably. AFAIK...

[louis-t]

17. What were we talking about, again?

[tofuandbeer]

23. That must have been horrible.

[saidsimplesimon]

31. louis-t thank you for reminding us

to wear our seat belts, and to be grateful for legislation regulating the auto industry.

Instead of a heart, will you accept my pledge of a donation to MADD?

[louis-t]

69. YES I WILL!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Getting a little choked up.

[justiceischeap]

7. That sounds like something I'd have done

except it'd be more like "Motherf*ckin' airbags, motherf*cker's!" 'cause I tend to turn into sailor mouth when I'm scared or really hyped up.

[BrotherIvan]

12. thanks for the lolz

[Beartracks]

14. LOL I "heard" your post in Samuel L. Jackson's voice. n/t

[justiceischeap]

18. It would probably come out a little like that. nt

[Thor_MN]

20. Monkey Fighting airbags on this Monday to Friday car?

[Jamastiene]

34. I would make a sailor blush when I get scared.

I would do it more like you would. GMTA.

[loudsue]

56. LOL! I've got potty mouth whether I'm excited or not.

I'm definitely an air bag believer.

[ManiacJoe]

8. More than likely it was the crumple zones that saved her.

Regardless, everything worked like it was supposed to, and she walked away.

[abelenkpe]

9. Recent partial head on crash in prius

With a chevy avalance. That was my first thought as well. Kids and I walked away w no injuries except a cut on my nose from the airbag. Immediately grateful for airbags and kids car seats.
Must have so much scarier being hit by a gas truck though! Glad she's ok.

[Amaril]

13. I totally get her!

Several years ago, I was heading to visit family on Christmas eve. It was raining like mad, and I was going about 35 in the right lane. My right front tire hit a puddle, hydroplaned, and I did exactly what you are NOT supposed to do (i.e., braked and turned my wheel the opposite direction) -- it wasn't a conscious choice - I simply reacted. My 4 Runner began to spin counter-clockwise, and I did a complete rotation before sliding into the median sideways. The vehicle slid completely across the median, spraying grass & mud all over the side of it, and I wound up facing north in the inside south bound lane before it just kind of gently rolled backwards, back into the median.

After it was over, I let out a whoop like you've never heard and exclaimed "I rode the bull, baby!" (I have no idea why), and sat there shaking like a leaf for at least two minutes before I had the presence of mind to put the car in park (it stalled out during it's little jaunt) and restarted the engine.

The truly amazing parts are: 1) I didn't flip over while side-sliding across the median, and 2) right before this incident took place and right after it, both the north & south bound lanes were bumper-to-bumper traffic, but while this was happening, there wasn't another car around in either direction (thank the stars -- the only conscious thought I had while it was happening was "Please don't let me hit anyone else!&quot .

[justiceischeap]

19. I'm gonna have to remember that!

I rode the bull, baby!

[JDPriestly]

16. Government regulation saves lives.

That's what this story proves.

When a Republican tells you that he opposes government regulations, just ask him whether he is willing to take the airbags and seatbelts out of the car he drives his kids around in. Because car manufacturers wouldn't have put them in if the government did not require it.

Same for lead in gasoline and paints.

Government regulation is one of the reasons we now live so long.

And government investment in the basic research on which so many of our new medical treatments and medications are based is another one.

Great story.

[lastlib]

21. [phone]!

OSHA
FDA
EPA
CPSC
FAA
DOT
DOL
NHTSB

When it's all said & done, don't tell me our lives aren't better because of these agencies and others.

[crazylikafox]

22. thank you big government.. n/t

[tclambert]

42. I know. To think the auto companies fought these for so long.

Now they brag about how many airbags they have. "We have front airbags, side airbags, upper airbags, lower airbags, underarm airbags . . ."

[packman]

51. Seat belts still a problem for some

I can remember when Repukes were against the min. impact car bumpers for some reason and against seat belts.
There are still many old farts who will tell you that they won't wear seat belts because they feel they would be trapped in a burning car or a car that is under water and the belt would kill them. I can recall my father-in-law refusing to belt up and my telling him he could walk to the doctor before I would drive him without wearing a belt.

[lastlib]

52. (...and those are just the salesmen!)

[CFLDem]

66. Exactly

These agencies exist for a reason, especially when we're fortunate enough not to remember why.

[tofuandbeer]

24. +1

[BlancheSplanchnik]

55. perfect! n/t

[Solly Mack]

25. K&R

[obxhead]

26. It was a LOT more than the airbags.

First off, this is an awesome story.

First the rear crumple zone worked. The trunk collapsed to help absorb the impact and direct it towards the outside of the car. Then, as the airbags deployed and the front crumple zone started to collapse, the motor likely dropped free creating a larger front crumple zone.

Regulations! would have been a better cry of triumph.

I've recently been searching for a cheap high mpg car and cheap means old in most cases. At least for my kind of cheap. I've been test driving some cars that are 20+ years old and I am amazed by how BAD the "new and safe" cars I used to drive like a maniac are. There's a huge difference between a '92 and an '02.

Part of that is general technology, but regulations FORCED even the low end cars to adopt these options from luxury cars.

Regulations likely saved this woman's life. I'm thankful that they continue to be upgraded and enforced.

[fujiyama]

49. Good point about regulations

What right wingers just don't get is that corporations (aside from being greedy, but that's a given) get lazy and complacent and without a swift kick in the ass by government, they simply will not change their ways. They get used to a particular way of making money and stop innovating (that's what happened to automakers in the '60s with big cars and the late '90s with SUVs).

But according to the right's logic, mass casualties are a cost that's worth bearing due to their blind ideological worship of the free market. Now maybe the markets and competition would eventually force automakers to make more fuel efficient and safer cars, but how long and why should consumers have to wait when the technology exists and can be implemented?

I hear this bitching all the time - by other engineers no less.

[druidity33]

57. All important parts to the puzzle, no doubt...

but i'll bet if the airbags hadn't deployed, she wouldn't be with us today.

[OnyxCollie]

27. NADER!!1!

[malaise]

28. And she thanked

Ralph Nader. I thank him a lot.

[Ed Suspicious]

29. Yeah but Nader is to be hated around here according to the blue dogs and corpro-centrists.

[saidsimplesimon]

35. Hello Ed, Nader is respected for his role

as a consumer advocate, imho. That's a long way from winning the oval office.

As a former sore loser (maybe not so former), it was easier for me to blame Ralph than admit that SCOTUS was stacked with bushit supporters, or that no one GOTV, or no one prepared a legal defense against a state corrupted by corporate interests, or.....

[jtuck004]

48. Second that...and thank you. n/t

[rhett o rick]

53. I agree that Nader was an easy target to blame but their were a number of reasons

that Bush won.

[JI7]

36. he isn't hated for wanting regulation just as Nixon isn't hated for the EPA

[heaven05]

33. good on the injury part

but she'll be sore everywhere for while. God bless her.

[pansypoo53219]

37. is there a threshold? i was in a minor accident that totaled the toyota, anti-lock brakes my ass,

and no airbag, of course, nobody hurt at all.

[libodem]

38. Oh, alright

In this one case: un-fuck Nader!

[Vashta Nerada]

44. I just bought a small car...

a Chevy Aveo, and at first I was terrified of it because it's kind of small, but it has a driver's side, passenger's side, and side airbags. I don't feel so uneasy about the car anymore.

[fujiyama]

47. Modern safety features and electronics in cars are pretty amazing

They're also the reason the cost of new cars has gone up.

Being that this is the first winter in years I've spent in the midwest, I can say I really love ABS and ESC. Both have made driving a lot more bearable.

Oh and good tires help too.

As we can see here airbags save lives - as do seat belts.

[kath]

50. So how fucked up was the truck driver that he didn't slow down for the long line of traffic, and

Crashed into her at such high speed??

Drugs, drunk, asleep, cell phone, or texting? clearly very negligent and the fucker should be prosecuted even though the woman didn't die. Anyone in the back seat would have been toast.

[magical thyme]

65. he was temporarily blinded by sun in his eyes...

it's a problem on some of our coastal highway, which runs kind of northeast/southwest, especially at this time of year the sun is much lower in the sky ,and it rises and sets southeast/southwest.

It stays low in the sky while still very bright, so when it gets to eye level it is still very, very bright out and very blinding if you're headed right into it.

[babydollhead]

54. this became my daughters theme song after car accident

Radiohead "Airbag saved my life"


In the next world war
In a jackknifed juggernaut
I am born again

In the neon sign
Scrolling up and down
I am born again

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

In a deep deep sleep of the innocent
I am born again

In a fast german car
I'm amazed that I survived
An airbag saved my life

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

[Hotler]

58. HEY everybody. She mention Ralph Nader. Dog pile on Ralph......

he ruined the election for Al Gore. Nader haters jump on. Let's hear from the fuck Ralph crew.

[ctsnowman]

59. K & R

It was the seat belt that saved me but the facts are mostly the same. If you tried to pass seat belt laws now the baggers would be all over it.

[PowerToThePeople]

60. Nader 2016. eom

[eggplant]

62. Nader made a great activist.

Not so much a great leader.

[Bluenorthwest]

63. Ralph Nader will be 81 years old in 2016.

Just a point of fact.

[Jimvanhise]

64. They should be required even in used cars made before airbags were required.

In 1992 a friend of mine got his first car. Because it was an older car it didn't come with airbags and it would have cost an additional $800 for the car dealer to install them. He and his mother couldn't afford that. In May 1995 my 19 year old friend died when his car was in an accident and the force of the impact snapped his neck. If the car had air bags he'd still be alive.

[bvar22]

68. Job killing regulations....

...holding back the economy and riding on the backs of the Job Creators!!!!

[Spirochete]

70. I think my priority

would have been to clear the shit out of my underwear - THEN I could start singing about airbags...