Well, it had to happen one day...

[661-Pete]

Thanks for the support, all. Although I'm not hurt I was pretty shook up, but I've recovered now after dinner.

Looking at google again in aerial view, I can see that the farmhouse I referred to was nearer than I thought, only about 100m away (due east) so it's not surprising the crash roused the dogs. And the width of the road is hard to judge from the view, I didn't have a tape measure on me but I can go back to the place easily enough and measure the road, I don't think it's more than 5 or 6m wide at that point. Would you overtake a cyclist in the face of an oncoming car, at such a spot? Of course not! That driver needs to learn a lesson.

OK so she's had a shock too, and she's probably lost her car into the bargain. Not a car worth much by the look of it (it was a P-registered VW polo) but then again, when she needs to replace it she'll discover the financial ache! Or then again - what if it was Mummy's or Daddy's car? (as I said, she was very young). In which case she's got some explaining to do!

 

[BentMikey]

After my recent spate of terrible overtakes, I have very little sympathy for the driver at fault, and loads for the oncoming driver. Stupid, impatient, moronic driving.

 

[downfader]

I'm so glad you werent hit, or hurt by anything like flying debris. Too many times I have seen drivers do this, and if it wasnt for sheer bloody luck I'm sure they'd have ended up exactly like the young lady you encountered.

I mean.. whats the physics like? If both cars are doing 40mph is it like hitting a wall at 80?

Wobbling... load of b****cks. One of the reasons for rule 163 anyway, so that driver is an idiot. People need to understand not just the rules of the HC but WHY they are set as such.

 

[661-Pete]

The 'wobbling' bit probably means nothing - after all there were about a dozen people on the scene by this time: other motorists who'd stopped, that farmer I spoke of, and a resident from the house opposite. Quite a crowd. In such a gathering of people the law of averages says there's bound to be a DM-reader somewhere, with "they don't pay road tax (I pay VED on my car!), don't have insurance (I have!) shouldn't be on the road anyway" sort of stuff, this 'wobbling cyclist' bit was just something I overheard, it wasn't addressed to me. To be honest it doesn't faze me. What does faze me, was the 'what if's - how near I got to being hit.

 

[661-Pete]

I mean.. whats the physics like? If both cars are doing 40mph is it like hitting a wall at 80?

Pretty much so. I shudder to think. But the speed was probably a lot less than 40 for both cars. I actually asked the male driver how fast he thought he was going, seeing as the other one had accused him of going at some high speed - he seemed unsure but said "30-35" which sounds nearer the truth and is consistent with what I observed and the damage to the cars. Let's call it up to 40 for the oncoming car and about 25 for the overtaking one - she was still accelerating away from the junction. The road is NSL with a limit of 60 at that point, though going that fast would be idiocy even with no cyclist present!

It's useful to write all this stuff down in the thread, in case I get quizzed by the police or insurance company later. I'd better cache what I've posted.

 

[Norm]

Or then again - what if it was Mummy's or Daddy's car? (as I said, she was very young). In which case she's got some explaining to do!

If she was that young that she has only passed her test within the last 2 years, six points would mean a re-take. Which may be a good thing in this example.

 

[661-Pete]

If she was that young that she has only passed her test within the last 2 years, six points would mean a re-take. Which may be a good thing in this example.

I wish. I just feel, the Driving Test doesn't take into enough account, how to interact with cyclists. Safely. I wish it did.

 

[BentMikey]

I mean.. whats the physics like? If both cars are doing 40mph is it like hitting a wall at 80?

No, collisions don't add up like that. Assuming a complete 40->0 collision, then it'd be much like hitting an immovable object at 40. Pete's example seems to be more glancing than that.

 

[gaz]

The crumpling of the cars will soak up and dissipate energy around the car. So it's not like hitting a wall at 80mph.

 

[BentMikey]

The crumpling of the cars will soak up and dissipate energy around the car. So it's not like hitting a wall at 80mph.

The point is that the velocities don't add up like that, it's nothing to do with the crumple zones. Lots of assumptions going on, of course, but that's fair enough since this is only an internet debate.

 

[Norm]

If we are getting into the mechanics of the accident, it sounds pretty much an exact replica of the Euro NCAP offset frontal impact test, except the Euro NCAP test is a single car moving at 40mph rather than both vehicles at 40mph.

 

[buggi]

that's it.
I've just bought a headcam (Muvi)

me too. my mate got two off amazon (he thought one was broke and was gonna send it back and by the time he got the replacement he had already realised he was just being a dick) so i'm gonna buy it off him on payday.

anyway... back to the wobbling. what a load of tosh. AS IF the driver BEHIND saw you wobbling... drivers never see us, let alone when there is a car between them and us. what he actually probably saw was you wobbling in shock when the other two cars collided!

 

[gaz]

The point is that the velocities don't add up like that, it's nothing to do with the crumple zones. Lots of assumptions going on, of course, but that's fair enough since this is only an internet debate.

Depends how you look at it. If you take a lot of variables away and turn the cars into solid objects that are moving towards each other, both doing 40mph then it's similar to an object moving at 80mph hitting into an object at 0mph.

But thats not the same as (car vs car) vs (car vs wall).

Unstoppable force vs immovable object anyone?

 

[BentMikey]

It's not an 80mph collision though, it's a 40mph one.

 

[martynjc1977]

Glad your ok dude, seeing stuff like that can mess with you a little.