Went through my car thoroughly and found: missing flashlight, missing multi-tool (hooray!), missing multi-bit screwdriver, missing cell phone holster, and about $9 in change.

Confession: I had an accident. I'm fine, but the car is toast. That's why I was emptying it.

Interestingly, what they told us in physics class is correct: two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

Frank2135

Frank2135,

Bummer. You/passengers okay?

To make this a learning experience, could you give us any details of the crash? Did a lot of loose stuff fly around inside the car? Could the doors open? Were the windows broken? Any bruises/burns from the airbag?

-Blast

Blast,
You raise a good question about stuff flying around in the car during an accident. Not to steal the thunder from what Frank2135 may post, but I can maybe shed a little light on this. I was in an accident almost two years ago, about 5am, driving a Ford Ranger with a cap on it. I was hit by a F-150 that ran the light, hit the passenger side of the bed of the truck and spun me around 2 1/2 times. I came to a stop facing the opposite direction of where I was going.

Now to the stuff flying around the vehicle. In the cab, I was now wearing my ice tea that had been in the cup holder. My cell phone and a number of papers had been thrown throughout the cab. Some items that used to be under the seat were no longer.

In the back I had two Rubber Maid type bins (about $4 each) tied in with bungee cords. One bin with papers, business cards etc., and one with vehicle needs - oil, anti-freeze, and other fluids. I also had a "Justin Case" car safety kit with a number of extras and a PSK.

In short, EVERYTHING WAS EVERYWHERE - outside of the truck. The cab was laying to the side of the road. The bins were of course destroyed and even the Justin Case kit had been ruined.
nearly 500 business cards and all sorts of paper work decorated the highway and anti-freeze that had been bottled was now flowing over the pavement. Truck was totaled. Some bruises, a little blood, lots of broken glass, no airbag deployment. Walked away from it - that makes it a good day.

Quick note to self - buy better bins and don't get hit.

Hope this may educate someone in at least a small way - it did me.
Tom

Thanks for asking, Blast. I was alone in my car. The young woman in the other car had her 18-month-old strapped properly in a car seat, and both of them are fine.

Long story short, she was ahead of me, talking on her cell phone, and she swung wide to the left to make a one-handed turn into her driveway to the right (without any signal that I saw). I was moving past her on the right, on the assumption (I know, I know) that she was getting into the left turn lane. When she swung in front of me, I cut the wheel and braked, but my left front fender hit her right front. That accelerated my turning motion, with the result that she came to a stop on the road with minor damage, and I came to a stop with a telephone pole embedded about 18" into my front end.

The car (1999 Subaru Forester) kept me safe, First, the shoulder belt reeled me in. Second, the crumple zones kept the passenger compartment intact. The air bag didn't deploy, though.

Most of my loose stuff was in the cargo area behind the rear seat, with the cover over it. All that stayed put. The stuff I found and mentioned in my first post appears to have been hiding under seats or behind seat cushions. The impact was slow enough (around 25-30 mph) that there were no lethal projectiles in the vehicle.

I had no trouble exiting the vehicle. I checked on the lady and her baby, who were shaken but otherwise OK, and then called 9-1-1 on my cell phone. Out of caution, I asked for an ambulance to check out the baby. No bumps, no bruises. Thank goodness.

In a rare show of compassion, the police decided that neither party's driving was all that hot, but that citations would not be issued.

Live and learn...

Frank2135

Thanks for the details. I'm concerned about flying projectiles as I'm bad about storing stuff in my car. I've started bunging it down but I don't know if that'll really help. My wife's Honda Pilot has a cargo cover so hopefully that'll help like your's did. I'm glad the cargo cover held stuff down. We have one for Honda Pilot.

You ended up with your front end wrapped around a telephone pole and your airbag didn't deploy? I wonder if the initial hit + spinning slowed you down enough that the mechanism decided it didn't need to deploy?

Thank God for crumple zones!

I'm glad no one was hurt and the police let everyone go. I think everyone learned a lesson. Thanks again for posting the details!

-Blast

LumpyJaw,

Do you know if the bungied-corded Rubbermaid conainers popped open at the original impact or from hitting the road afterwards? Bungie cords play a big role in my new attempts at tethering stuff down in my car.

Did your cellphone work after the crash?

Thanks for the information!

-Blast

Frank, a few months ago, there was an article in the newspaper about an accident very similar to yours, except for direction.

A guy was driving his pickup down the road, a sheriff's deputy was right behind him, lights and sirens going.

The pickup pulled to the right, the deputy thought he was doing the lawful thing and getting out of the way, put then the pickup pulled hard left into his driveway and creamed the deputy's vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle said he didn't hear the sirens nor see the flashing lights. He was cited for failure to yield.

I'm glad you weren't hurt, nor the baby. The driver.... well, a few bruises might have encouraged her to drive more cautiously.

Sue

The police officers on the scene were quite surprised that the air bag didn't deploy given the extent of the front-end damage. Personally I'm glad it didn't, because other than a slight bruise from the shoulder belt I'm fine.

Two things:
1. The ambulance crew warned me against crawling around in the vehicle retrieving my stuff, saying they had known air bags to suddenly deploy a few minutes after an impact.
2. A lady in our office has a son who recently completed the training to be a GM-certified mechanic. He told her in our area (lots of rain and snow, lots of road salt, etc.) it is not uncommon for corrosion to form on the contact points of the switch that actuates the air bag, rendering it useless.

Is it me, or is it a little annoying that the government says we have to pay an extra $1500 or so per vehicle for a mandatory safety feature that often doesn't work?

Frank2135

Good point about finding out about the preparations at your kid's school, Ors.

I'd suggest one other thing to find out about: We live close to 2 nuclear power plants and the school has a bug out plan in case there's a nuclear emergency. I was shocked that most of the parents without older kids in the school were clueless about this. Also, one of the school registration forms included the option of giving the school permission to administer KI pills. I was stunned at the number of parents who signed off without even knowing what it is!

I can't imagine living in this area without knowing this stuff - ESPECIALLY if you're depending on someone else to take care of your kids during such an emergency.

Blast,

You asked about the bungee cords and the Rubbermaid containers.
Most of what I found was outside the truck. I had tied the cords "around" the bins simply latching them to the wall of the truck bed. I'm sure that the impact just pushed them up and out of the truck. May have been different if I had run the straps over the top. After reading and writing on this thread, I am thinking of trying some straps to hold things in. One thing I learned is that $4 bins are okay in a storage unit but one should have something stronger in the car. The vehicle I drive now has a rear cover behind the seat so things are a little more secure.

As for the cell phone - yes it worked. However I had to find it first. My boss was behind me when the accident took place so he just offered his phone to me after the accident. 1st call to
9-1-1. 2nd call to DW.

Thanks for replying. A few more posts and I graduate from stranger to newbie. Time to get out the cap and gown!
-Lumpyjaw