165 replies to this topic

[Jammy]

The point about this thread was to show that a Mini can go through a relatively bad crash without much harm to the passenger compartment. The curves of the Minis bodyshell help massively to absorb impact energy, and thats why most people have walked out of these crashes.

Stick a roll cage in a Mini and you make the whole structure a lot stiffer, meaning the bodyshell can no longer absorb the impact energy as well. Yes, the roof might not deform as much in a roll over accident, but how many roll over accidents have been put up in this topic? They don't even make up a large miniority of accidents. Most are front or back end shunts. But the roof deforming when you've fitted a roll cage is only of secondary importance anyway. Your personal safety is the most important thing! If you fit a roll cage you must use proper bucket seats, harnesses and proper roll cage protection foam. Failure to do so can result in very serious personal injury from limbs or other body parts hitting the big steel girders you've just shoved in your Mini that sit a couple of inches from many parts of your body.

If you do decide to stick a roll cage in (with foam), and buckets and harnesses then you have to start thinking about how you're going to reach things like the centre dash switches when you're strapped in...

The best way to make your Mini safer is to keep it standard, well maintained, and to drive defensively at all times.

[Steve-O]

Biggav, i've got a lot of respect for you mate, it takes one hell of a man to deal with that sort of thing on a day to day basis.

I run the local cruise site in derby and around three years ago we lost one of our members in a perticularly bad car crash. Basicly there was a fault with his peugot 306 which was apparently down to how far he had lowered it. From what we understand if you lower a 306 to the deck, it has an adverse effect on the braking bias or somthing along those lines. What happened was he was accelerating up a sliproad and had to brake heavily due to traffic on the adjoining A-road. Unfortunately with the fault that had been created on the car, it was the equivelent of pulling the handbrake hard on at 70/80mph. His car went into a spin and he hit a road sign on the side of the road, trapping him in the drivers seat and the impact rupturing his fuel lines. By the time the fire service had made it to the scene his car was a large ball of flames and unfortunately he had been burned to death, still trapped inside his car.

Ever since this happened i've made a vow to do everything I physically can to keep my members safe. For the last two years I have been working closely with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue, supporting them with their 'Brake' campaign and running frequent events with the members of my site thanks to the amazing co-operation of the local fire station. Now I know I can't be with every member every time they get in the car but I can do my best to raise their awareness towards how they drive and what the implications are if you want to drive like an idiot.

What we usually do is get everyone in, give them a bit of a presentation and show some photo's of recent RTI's involving young drivers which are often fatalities, and then we get then outside and run a full scale demonstration of a serious RTI with a selection of the members inside the cars. It's probably the only time you will see a cocky young lad walking up to a car, who half an hour later comes back shaking like a leaf.

We've had a massive success rate with the events and we've even got to the point where the local police are teaming up with us on the events.

I know it may not be the easiest thing to organise with you being a national site but if you can try and run an event like this with your local fire service, it really opens your eyes and makes you think before you decide to put your toe down. You would be supprised at how peoples attitudes change once they have realised they aren't invincible

[timsmini]

this is what happens when you drive into a 3ft x 3ft wall at 25mph !!!!



Resulting in =
2 dislocated and broken ankles
broken elbow
shattered jaw
broken cheek bone
broken eye socket
140 pins and 4 plates in my face

OH and heart stopped on the way to the hospital

[Joshmini]

Ouch, yeah this does make people think and make sure to put your seatbelt on or be preperd to fly a couple of miles through the winderscreen, no being serious now.
Dont drive silly speeds and do wear your seatbelt

[tobiasnugent]

and to think today i was walking down tthe street and bmw drove past and the driver threw a fosters can out the window and bounced alonge the road. whats the world coming to.

[arun!]

This thread does make you think. I have the greatest respect for the guys who have to be invloved with incidents like this. I know alot of people who fly through the town racing ect. Its not just these guys who get hurt in crashes but the inocent people around them. I do not disagree with people racing or driving fast ( infact its what I want to do ), but theres a time and place like on a track. There is more than enough track open days and events were people can take there normal every day cars and use them. I still do not understand why people drink drive, its not big its not clever and yes it is very stupid. Even one pint can affect your driving!

[haz]

imho 1 pint has exactly 0 effect on your driving unless you're drinking battery acid or straight vodka!

personally i dont think 2 pints is too bad if they're over a decent length of time but mr bobby law has other ideas so its best we all stick to the 1!

some truely horrid piccies on here, makes you think twice about taking those blind corners on the B roads at speed... you never know when theres a cycalist or a tractor or something coming the other way with a car overtaking it... mini vs tractor = lots of T-cut

[Rhys]

1 pint can affect your reaction time but to be fair at the ripe old age of 18 it will slow it to that of a 28 year old...

Rhys

[B-shaw]

It affects different people differently though.. One person that has 1 pint could be just as drunk as the next person whos had 2. Also, hits you harder if you haven eaten.

I'll try n find some of the pics of my mates mini after he slid into the center barriers on a dual.

[crizd]

haz no offense, but that comment was 100% chav-tasic. Exactly the kind of attitude that causes fatal accidents.!!

In fact, youve got huge balls even saying such a thing on this topic.

[biggav]

imho 1 pint has exactly 0 effect on your driving unless you're drinking battery acid or straight vodka!

personally i dont think 2 pints is too bad if they're over a decent length of time but mr bobby law has other ideas so its best we all stick to the 1!

If you take paracetamol/ibruprofen/aspirin, do you feel any different? probably not, but the chemicals you have injested change the processes going on inside your body.. they aren't at a level where you even notice any difference other than the slight pain relief they give but they are affecting your central nervous system. If you were to increase the doses of the above, you would probably start to notice changes in the way you feel.

Alcohol effects different people in different ways depenant on a great many factors including general mood, state of health, amount and type of food eaten, time of day, body mass etc etc. A single pint of standard lager can be enough to raise blood alcohol levels beyond the legal limit. Even below the legal limit, YOU WILL BE AFFECTED EVEN IF YOU DON'T REALISE IT!!!!
I once had a single pint at lunch time having skipped breakfast, been for a run and not eaten and was falling over drunk within 15 minutes. I'm nearly 30, 17 stone and usually manage around 8-10 pints on an average night and don't notice any effect until about halfway through the 3rd pint.

If you are driving, not drinking at all is the best option!!!!

PS, CANABIS IS NOT A SAFE SUBSTITUTE!!!!!!!

[Joshmini]

imho 1 pint has exactly 0 effect on your driving unless you're drinking battery acid or straight vodka!

personally i dont think 2 pints is too bad if they're over a decent length of time but mr bobby law has other ideas so its best we all stick to the 1!

If you take paracetamol/ibruprofen/aspirin, do you feel any different? probably not, but the chemicals you have injested change the processes going on inside your body.. they aren't at a level where you even notice any difference other than the slight pain relief they give but they are affecting your central nervous system. If you were to increase the doses of the above, you would probably start to notice changes in the way you feel.

Alcohol effects different people in different ways depenant on a great many factors including general mood, state of health, amount and type of food eaten, time of day, body mass etc etc. A single pint of standard lager can be enough to raise blood alcohol levels beyond the legal limit. Even below the legal limit, YOU WILL BE AFFECTED EVEN IF YOU DON'T REALISE IT!!!!
I once had a single pint at lunch time having skipped breakfast, been for a run and not eaten and was falling over drunk within 15 minutes. I'm nearly 30, 17 stone and usually manage around 8-10 pints on an average night and don't notice any effect until about halfway through the 3rd pint.

If you are driving, not drinking at all is the best option!!!!

PS, CANABIS IS NOT A SAFE SUBSTITUTE!!!!!!!

This thread would be nothing without this guy.
Thank you Mr.BigGav

[tedmcedd]

only crash i have had was at 5mph in the snow... turned into a carpark, dropped it into second and went straight on....

Edited by tedmcedd, 28 June 2008 - 04:46 PM.

[tom crits]

To be honest, the way i see it, is that, you have one alcoholic drink and you are drink driving. Even one effects you so much, if you go out and are driving, don't drink.

And always wear seat belts. A friend didn't because the car he was in didn't have them and it has changed his life forever. He was passanger and the car he was in aquaplaned hitting a brick wall at 30mph. He was catapulted through the windscreen into the wall.

He sufferd huge head injuries and has became brain damaged. Now 3 years later he has made an amazing recovery. At the time the doctors said that he wouldn't walk again and would find it very hard to do what might seem like easy jobs like changing clothes because he would lack co-ordination. Fortunatley he has amazed us all and can walk, although he has a major limp and is slow. It took him a good 2 years to re learn to walk. Looking at Sam would only know by the way he walks, the way he talks and the scaring he has sustained from the accident.

Please wear a Seatbelt at all times.

Edited by tom crits, 28 June 2008 - 11:27 PM.

[mini_mad69]

I agree always wear a seatbelt and make sure your passenger do aswell, because if you have an accident and there not belted up there just going to bounce about into you! Also make sure passengers are sitting in proper seats. A friend of my sister didnt want to get pulled for an overloaded car, so one of the boys got in the boot. Stopped at traffic lights unfortunatly the lorry behind didnt. One broken arm, pelvis, collar bone and ribs. Ive only got lap belts in the back of my car and dont like having passengers in the back because of this fact. Also many people are still over the limit the next morning, had a skinfull last night, and havnt driven the mini today because i would most deffinatly been over the limit.

Edited by mini_mad69, 29 June 2008 - 05:21 PM.