OK, so I'm driving down the freeway thinkin' "What would I do if I were to collide with the median barrier?" Then I remember one of the instructors at my Mid-Ohio HPDE saying to tuck your head down and fold your arms to avoid whiplash.

BUT, what about airbags? It would seem to me that if I were to tuck my head down and fold my arms that the airbag would explode onto the top of my head which, needless to say, would be bad.

While I do plan on doing another HPDE and not going off-course, this would seem to helpful knowledge on the street aswell. So what is everyone's opinions?

 

Luckily (in this sense), 92 Integras don't have airbags. I also often wear glasses when I drive, and I really don't like the thought of glasses and airbags.

The instructor was probably (maybe?) referring to a racecar, since all race classes do not allow airbags.

 

Ideally you would let yourself go limp, but that isn't very likely to happen. Your body will respond better if you just keep yourself loose so the force of the impact isn't fighting against your muscles. So just go limp, curse a lot, and pray to jeebus.


Matt

 

The guy who does the human crash testing just lets go of the wheel and pulls his hands back a few inches (for head-on), no tucking of heads. For roll-over, I'd say cross your arms in front of your chest and grab hold of yourself so you don't try to stick your hand out onto the ground in some panic-addled attempt to stop the car from rolling over (saw a friend do that at an autocross rollover-- in that instant, I thought he was going to lose his hand).

Of course, both of these things would be only for that last half instant after you've realized nothing you can do will be able to avert the impact.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by speedracer33 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ideally you would let yourself go limp, but that isn't very likely to happen. Your body will respond better if you just keep yourself loose so the force of the impact isn't fighting against your muscles. So just go limp, curse a lot, and pray to jeebus.


Matt</TD></TR></TABLE>

That makes sense. The instructor did primarily emphasise that you didn't want to try and hold yourself back which could cause whiplash and that only do it when you're sure it's inevitable.

 

Just off the top of my head, I would say with airbags, that would be a big no-no. If we can assume the airbag will go off, it will either compress your spine or force your head to whip back rather forcefully.

For a car without airbags, I am also not sure that 'tucking the head' is a good idea. You are actually positioning your head closer to a hard surface by bending it forward like that. Belts do stretch. That is a fact. You are also taking away or limiting the bodies abiltiy to allow your neck to absorb 'stretch' by preloading it. Remember that the head trying to pull upwards from the rest of the body is what has killed several drivers. Dale E. is the most recent famous example.

Have you ever seen in car of Indy or F1 drivers crashing into walls? The drivers of these open wheel cars will try to correct until just before impact, then they let go. I have read that this is to protect their hands & wrist from the steering wheel jaming and/or spinning their hands. In the case of airbacks, I have had to treat some patients with broken and/or sprained hands/fingers/wrist. Whatever you do, don't drive with your wrists resting on the spokes inside the rim.

I think that the above poster has it right. Don't nut up. By being stiff as opposed to relaxed, you would be more likely to get muscle pulls and injuries. That statement assumes that you have appropriate safety gear.

The above comments are using my experience as a fireman.

 

I was involved in a head-on collision, I was traveling at ~35mph, and the other car was traveling at ~35mph. When I get in the car I make sure that I'm properly seated and the seat belt is tight. When the airbag went off it didn't even touch me, I had a mark from the seat belt, but the air bag didn't touch me(that I know of), however I did see the passengers' side airbag go off in slow motion.

Just giving my observations, which could be wrong...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Austin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was involved in a head-on collision, I was traveling at ~35mph, and the other car was traveling at ~35mph. When I get in the car I make sure that I'm properly seated and the seat belt is tight. When the airbag went off it didn't even touch me, I had a mark from the seat belt, but the air bag didn't touch me(that I know of), however I did see the passengers' side airbag go off in slow motion.

Just giving my observations, which could be wrong...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am glad you came out of it OK. I doubt your obvservations are wrong. In your case, the seatbelt kept you centered & in place like it was suppose to. If it was a frontal offset crash or a t bone, the results could have been much different.

Not trying to sound callus but the routine crashes, eg minimal vehicle damage & injury, are far too common. Most of the crashes that stand out in my mind have much worst results. Rollovers & extrications are the ones we remember.

 

civicrr: Good points; especially about the F1 drivers.

So would I be correct to assume that right before impact it's a good idea to simply go limp and keep a correct posture?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by clm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">civicrr: Good points; especially about the F1 drivers.

So would I be correct to assume that right before impact it's a good idea to simply go limp and keep a correct posture?</TD></TR></TABLE>

And whatever you do, don't hold your breath...(another EMT/FF field observation)

 

being limp/relaxed is one of the reasons drunk drivers have a higher survival rate than thier victims.

 

That is unfortunately very true. One of my worst calls involved a drunk driver. The call came in as a multi-vehicle accident. It was one car hitting the tree & spliting into two parts. No injuries to him. The young mother & two of three children died. The grandma, drunk f@@@head's girlfriend, sustained minor injuries.

added in edit: Now I am pissed all over again thinking about it!

 

Good information. Thanks for sharing your opinions and experiences that back-up what is suggested to be done.

 

So, to sum things up, just get wasted before your HPDE!

 

to quote the almighty butthead,

"put your head between your legs, and kiss your *** goodbye."

i will try to keep this thread in mind at my next HPDE, but it's really hard to fight the instinct to tense up/strangle the wheel/turn away at the moment of truth.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by siisgood00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So, to sum things up, just get wasted before your HPDE!
</TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL. That could cause some problems when going through the chicanes.

And ruthless, you're right; it will be hard to fight the instinct to tense up if such an event occurs.

 

From a friend of mine that used to drive Shelby Can-Ams:

If you know you're going into the wall, cross your arms in front of your chest and grab your shoulder belts. (Assuming 5-point).

Keeps your arms from flapping all around, and gets your hands away from the wheel that IS going to jerk HARD when you make impact.

Jarrod