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Show Carelessness can bring death in less than second, says expert Deaths from moving vehicles are at an all-time high. Speed, unattentiveness, and drunkenness drunken-ness contribute to the greatest number of accidents. According to Courtney H. Brewer, Safety Specialist at Utah State University, the average av-erage individual is almost guaranteed 70 years of a happy, hap-py, progressive life. This is opposed op-posed to the 710 of a second it takes to die because of carelessness. care-lessness. "Let's say you're a good driver," Mr. Brewer said. "Here is what happens when a car traveling 55 miles an hour crashes into a solid, immovable tree or other object." 110 of a second The front bumper and chrome "frosting" of the grill work collaspe. Slivers of steel penetrate pene-trate the tree to depths of one and a half inches and more. 210 The hood crumples as it rises, smashing into the windshield. Spinning rear wheels leave the ground. The grill work disiinegrates. The fenders come ino contact with the tree, forcing the rear parts to splay out over the front doors. In this same second tenth of a second, the heavy structural struc-tural members of the car begin to act as a brake on the terrific ter-rific forward momentum of the 2 and ton body. But the driver's body continues to move forward at the vehicle's original orig-inal speed. This means a force of 20 time gravity; his body weighs 3,200 .pounds. His legs, ramrod-straight, snap at the knee joints. Still seated 310 The driver's body is still on the seat, torso upright, up-right, broken knees pressing against the dashboard. The plastic-and-steel frame of the steering wheel begins to bend under his terrible death grip. His head is now near the sun visor, his chest above the steering steer-ing colunm. 410 The car's front 24 inches have been completely demolished, but the rear end is still traveling at an estimated estimat-ed speed of 35 miles an hour. The driver's body is still traveling trav-eling at 55 miles an hour. The half-ton motorblock crunches into the tree. The rear of the car, like a bucking horse, rises ris-es high enough to scrape bark off low branches. 510 The driver's fear frozen hands bend he steering column into an almost vertical position. The force of gravity impales him on the steering wheel shaft. Jagged steel punctures punc-tures lung and intercostal arteries. ar-teries. Blood spurts into his lungs. 610 So great is the force of the impact that the driver's feet are ripped from his tightly tight-ly laced shoes. The brake pedal ped-al shears off at the floorboards. floor-boards. The chassis' bends in the middle, shearing body bolts. The driver's head smashes smash-es into the- windshield. The rear of the car begins it's downward fall, spinning wheels digging into the ground. 710 The entire writhing body of the car is forced out of shape. Hinges tear. Doors spring open. In one last convulsion con-vulsion the seat rams forward, pinning the driver against the cruel steel of the steering shaft. Blood leaps from his mouth. Shock has frozen his heart. He is now dead. Time elasped seven tenths of one second. No matter how good a driver you are, Mr. Brewer added, don't take chances. Seat belts and careful driving can help you reach that 70th birthday. |