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Accident coverage needs improved precision

A July 7 Herald story reported an 80 mph head-on collision. Utah Highway Patrol Captain Doug McCleve said “that’s like hitting a brick wall at 160 mph.” That’s incorrect. There is a lot more that goes into calculating the force of impact than adding up the respective speeds. If two vehicles that weigh roughly the same collide head-on, then each car will have to absorb its own kinetic energy. Both cars will immediately stop their forward motion. There might as well be a wall between them. A head-on collision at 80 mph is like hitting a brick wall at 80 mph.

Also, in past stories about when a car starts to go off the road, the Herald has said drivers “over-corrected.” When the right tires go off the pavement, the driver may turn to the left or put on the brakes or, worse yet, try both. The car slides. The rear of the car is now off the road. The nose is pointing back onto the road. What a driver must do in such a slide is turn to the right, but people don’t turn enough. They under-correct, thinking they just want back on the pavement. When they do get on the pavement, they are now headed toward the left ditch, so they turn to the right. They start into another slide. The car is fish-tailing! Fish-tailing occurs when a driver under-corrects (not over-corrects) a slide that causes slides in alternating directions. If you continue to under-correct these slides, you will end up sliding off the road sideways. This will result in a rollover.

Thirdly, in most reports of motorcycle accidents, we are told the rider was injured “after being thrown from his motorcycle” or that he “was ejected” during the accident. Listen! Even if a motorcycle tips over at 5 mph, the rider will not be able to stay on the seat. This should not be a surprise to anyone.

Dave Norman

Durango



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