Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Buick Blog

Why is this woman smiling? It is her car that was just totaled. Her husband was driving it and she was not even there. Well, it means she gets a new car. During our recent visit to Rex and Mary, we were just sitting around and chatting at the airport waiting for our flight to return home. The subject of cars came up and I told the story or totaling Wendy's car, which, to my surprise, they had never heard..........





.............This is the other car, a young woman ran a stop sign in broad daylight while I was driving home from work (i.e. sober). I never even had time to go off the cruise (set at 60 MPH) or hit the brakes. I luckily cranked the wheel to the right and this resulted in my hitting her car just behind the rear door instead of in the middle of her door. That may well have killed her. Instead, it spun her around and she had cuts and bruises. "treated and released"..........





............The airbag/shoulder harness worked perfectly, a study in precision engineering and timing. It saved me possibly lethal injury. See the two little "star" fractures in the windshield on the passenger side?Those were the two corners of the lid to the compartment on the dash that hid the airbag on the passenger side (no one was with me). That airbag comes out with such force that it broke the windshield. So, if you bump the concrete at the parking ramp at 5 MPH and set off the airbags, replacing the bags AND the windshield must get kinda expensive.............

......still, it is a wonderful system that saved me from grave danger at 60 MPH and this little bruise on my hip from the lap belt is the result. Actually, a little bruise the same size appeared over my collarbone two days later.


It pays to wear your seatbelt!

Hans

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