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Prius vs. airborne Subaru

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by crichman, Feb 19, 2009.

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  1. crichman

    crichman Junior Member

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    You know it's not going to be good when you look up and see the airborne car coming at you -- sideways, bottom-side first, from the opposite direction on I-95. That's what we saw a week ago last Saturday night. My teenage daughter was driving 68mph and was able to move a lane-and-a-half to the right and nearly miss it.

    We're all very, very lucky. All four of us in the car have various degrees of bruises and neck/back strain, but the Prius did exactly what it was supposed to do and we're all ok. (Miraculously, the other driver ended up on her roof next to us, and survived.)

    Suffice it to say that we were impressed enough with the handling and crash-worthiness of our '06 that we turned right around and replaced it with an identical '09. (Market prices being what they are, the transaction cost surprisingly little.) The side airbags never deployed, but the stability control likely paid for itself in spades.

    We feel truly blessed.

    Charlie
    (who needs to do his tweaks all over again, but doesn't really mind.)
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 crichman, Feb 19, 2009
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    WOW...really really glad you guys are OK, that could have been really really tragic! Thanks for sharing.
     
    #2 efusco, Feb 19, 2009
  3. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Glad to hear you all are ok, wow.
     
    #3 Paradox, Feb 19, 2009
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    whoa. glad everyone is ok! what a story!
     
    #4 galaxee, Feb 19, 2009
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Why was the Subaru flying? They usually don't do that.

    Tom
     
    #5 qbee42, Feb 19, 2009
  6. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    That really is amazing. Glad to hear everyone's alright.
     
    #6 hyo silver, Feb 19, 2009
  7. Bill1

    Bill1 New Member

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    Wow! You are blessed indeed. Enjoy your new car and thanks for reminding us what is important in this world - not the car, but the people inside.

    I know a guy here that had a similar experience last year. Not with a flying Subaru, but a grounded car that ran a red light and plowed into him. He raved about the safety of the Prius, said it saved his life and went out and bought a new one.
     
    #7 Bill1, Feb 19, 2009
  8. judymcfarland

    judymcfarland Queen of Moral Indignation

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    And kudos to your daughter who learned some good defensive driving skills somewhere! Many people would have been paralyzed into inaction by such a sight.
     
    #8 judymcfarland, Feb 20, 2009
  9. crichman

    crichman Junior Member

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    The police report hasn't been released yet, but it sounds like she got tangled up with a semi on the other side of the jersey wall. One of those suspended license, safety-violation-in-multiple-state kinda trucks. She spun out, flipped over the jersey wall, and met us very shortly after landing. It's a he-said, she-said kinda story, and her car took so much abuse from the jersey wall, the blacktop, and us that it may be hard to prove exactly what happened.

    Charlie
     
    #9 crichman, Feb 20, 2009
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    and they said flying cars weren't available yet. Thos crazy 50s ads!

    Seriously though, good job on your daughter's part! That's one of the worst Prius' collisions I've seen. Glad to hear that all of you made it out of that scene safe and sound.
     
    #10 Tideland Prius, Feb 20, 2009
  11. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Holy hell!
    Good to walk away from a hit like that one.
    Bet they don't practice that one in traffic school.
    Some ultra-light builders use Subaru engines in their aircraft but they normally remove the rest of the car first.
    Daughter did well, I hope the passengers thanked her.
    It's likely the Prius saved the driver of the other car too, it was an added crumple zone. A lot of energy was expended bending all that metal.
     
    #11 patsparks, Feb 20, 2009
  12. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    More than the Prius saving her life, I bet she had her seat belt on. IMHO, based on observations at hundreds of crashes throughout my career, rollovers are the ones where seat belts make the most difference. I've seen many very survivable crashes where an occupant dies after getting tossed out the window at much lower speeds than this.
     
    #12 JimboK, Feb 20, 2009
  13. jelloslug

    jelloslug It buffed right out!

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    Glad to hear you are OK. That's a salvage car that I would pass on....
     
    #13 jelloslug, Feb 20, 2009
  14. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    It happens all of the time. The roads around here are two land and twisty, so we don't get a lot of high speed crashes. When I hear about a fatal crash, my first thought is "no seatbelt". It usually is the case, unless the car ran into the water.

    Tom
     
    #14 qbee42, Feb 20, 2009
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    All together now: "That'll buff right out!"

    Kudos to your daughter and best wishes for your continued good fortune.
     
    #15 richard schumacher, Feb 20, 2009
  16. rumpledoll

    rumpledoll Member

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    I am glad that you and yours are OK from that crash. Bad time for Prii on I95 this week, we lost our red Prius to a deer collision at 68MPH. Like your accident nobody hurt, no airbags deployed and no loss of stability, perhaps due to VSC. The Prius kicks rumproast in an accident, doing what you want a car to do - save lives.

    A 2010 is in our future so I am reading those forums now with more than passing interest.

    Rumple
     
    #16 rumpledoll, Feb 20, 2009
  17. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I thought wearing a seatbelt was a given, as far as I know it's the law.
    You are dead right though, seat belts are the number 1 safety device in any accident.
     
    #17 patsparks, Feb 20, 2009
  18. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Holy s***. Happy to hear you got off with relatively minor injuries. Enjoy your new Prius
     
    #18 jayman, Feb 20, 2009
  19. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Pat beat me to it, but Subaru engines are very popular with Kitfox owners

    Me, I'd prefer a "real" airplane motor. I'm kind of picky that way. If I can sell the business, or win the lottery, I'd love to park myself into a Socata TBM 850
     
    #19 jayman, Feb 20, 2009
  20. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    It's not always a given on this side of the world. First, not every state requires them. Second, for many of those that do, it is considered a secondary infraction, meaning police can cite the offender only after stopping the car for some other offense. Third, laws don't always require all passengers of all ages to be restrained. Finally, enforcement is often inconsistent.
     
    #20 JimboK, Feb 20, 2009
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