Sad story, only 18, very sad.

 

How sad

 

That sucks. I lost a friend in high school to a crash. I still get choked up over that.

On another note: I'm surprised no one ever started a class action against bridgestone for the lack of wet weather abilities. I hydroplaned many times with stock tires when there was no reasonable expectation to lose traction. I'm sure everyone understands the limitations of a performance tire in the rain, but the craptenzas are unacceptable.

 

Not a joke fool.. I Was very serious,if that indeed was a 35mph
crash....IT WOULD NOT PASS A SIDE IMPACT TEST...

 

Aight! I dunno about "fool" but your earlier post seemed foolish-
since you dindn't elaborate- the variables as to how that car ended up that way are truly unknown so one cant say that's how your car would look like if someone struck you @ 35mph- in any case we all need to be carefull as drivers- since the people that truly get affected are those close to us

 

And you were standing on the side of the road to confirm he was going 35 correct?

My understanding is the kid passed away, I don't think he said how fast he was going.

 

That is horrible. I have no problem believing that the Max and the semi were both only going 35mph. After the impact, I bet the Max spun and/or flipped several times too...

 

.....

 

...

 

\



A. The post wasn't directed at anyone...it was just informational
B. I don't give a rats AZZ what you did, I was talking in general. You
were just the lucky one that had the last post when I decided to
reply
C. I am glad to see you are learning from How stuff works, that is a
good site, but unfortunately they usually only tend to scrape the
surface on topics....becuase if they didn't then I could learn
everything I need to know from them for free. What they said is
true, and that is hydroplaning, but that rarely ever happens to
automobiles hitting puddles. Like I stated before. I am no expert
but I can put you in touch with the expert from whom I learned if
you'd like.
D. Walk over to your fridge and grab a beer and chill the F*ck out.

 

Not making light of this situation at all, but I'm curious about this. I hear people stating things like this from time to time (e.g. "he was going 20, but the guy he hit was going 40, so it was like a 60 mph collision).

I need a physics geek to step in here. If I'm right, you would only feel that sort of force if it was a completely elastic (right?) collision. You feel the force of negative acceleration on your body, but how does it relate to the speed of you and the object you hit? I'm having flashbacks of three-dimensional vectors.

Of course, this assumes that the body of the car absorbs no energy, that the cars hit perfectly head-on, etc.

 

That is a horrendous picture I ever seen. That car is practically non-existence. That gives me something to think about when I'm driving in the rain. Semi Truck gives me reason to fret about when I'm driving in the freeway passing one.

 

There wasn't much of an elastic collision here, since cars aren't known for being elastic, lol. All the momentum of the car was absorbed by both the (sorry for being so course) crumpling of the car and the momentum of the semi going in the other direction. I'm sure the semi still had plenty of momentum after the collision and it probably kept rolling for a while, pushing the car back with it.

Basically what I was saying about the "35 mph + 35 mph" is that velocity is relative. Two objects going 35 mph straight at each other is nearly the same as one object being stationary and the other going 70 mph. Inertia acts the same in either case. Though with the semi moving (as opposed to being stationary) there is obviously a lot more momentum involved, but that wouldn't affect the damage to the car; the car still crumples until it loses it's own momentum regardless.

I could bust out my physics book and find the equations, but I don't have it here. Though these are all basic laws of physics, you could find them on the web easily enough if you are really that interested.

 

How did you know I was drinking beer at that exact time yesterday?

 

I lost a good friend in H.S. when he thought he could get out infront of a semi loaded with gravel...he was in a s class mercedes leaving his parents home going to graduation rehearsal. the semi was traveling at 50mph when it hit him in the drivers door, and his car looked as bad as this maxima. i can belive this kid was only going 35mph. my simpathy goes out to you and your friend's family. this brings back the feelings i had 10yrs ago when my friend was lost in his accident. just a reminder that we aren't invincible. god speed to everyone here.

 

You cant blame it on inexperince if every established that our potenzas suck.

some of you cant concieve how 35+35 equals 70.. and theres so much damage because because the truck weighed a lot more... and some of you are saying that he was speeding and thats why the wreck is so bad... let me give an example....its like if i hit you with a feather, and then hit you with a hammer at the same velocity... was the hammer going faster?

jonbth, being 18 doesnt automatically mean he was inexperienced.. when i was 18 i had plenty of experience driving in snow.... and going 35 mph, if he didnt have experience going 35mph, then he was stupid...which im betting he wasnt...

I have floated so many times over water because of these tires, wether it was at 30 mph, or 70, when it loses traction, it loses traction, and I can say the tires are a huge factor... and I agree inexperice is too, but you cant rule it to be a major factor... im sure when he slid, he steered away from the truck..... and nonexperience people do that to.


Maybe the truck was going faster maybe he wasnt, but its terrible this kid died.

I agree with Quicksilver, speed of the truck was not stated.....

And its tru that this could happen to any of us, and we shouldnt joke about it... and if some of you race in the rain/snow, then let this be a lesson...


Kojiro_FtT , you said people should know the limits of their car.... I agree, but the average person does not...so thats why we have people taking those crazy turns loosing control, and people weaving insanly on the highway..... Only way I know the limits of my car is because i pushed it until i knew its limits......and i know what i can do and what i cant.

My final thoughts are its sad that he was killed and this was a discussion for him and that we are sad for his family, so why are some of you arguing over terms? Be happy that that picture was not you... And arguing over who has what right and wrong doesnt make you a better person...


Just my 2 cents, dont mean to make anyone angry.. but if i do, i would like to apologize ahead of time and if i misunderstood what you said and misrepresented it, please correct me...

peace.

 

btw, i think its a 2002, or a 2003 maxima...

has anyone heard of any safty flaws on the 5th gen?

 

a) My condolences to the family involved. I also feel for the person driving the semi as he is probably very shaken up about this incident.

b) When I was a younggin, I drove my parents' Mark VII LSC quite often.
For those not familiar with those cars, they were essentially a 5.0 L Mustang with a Lincoln body and interior appointments. Well, these cars were shod with a tire equivalent to or worse than the Potenza RE92s Maxima drivers have to deal with (Goodyear Eagle GTs). On wet pavement, I had to feather the throttle, otherwise I was going to have a 200 hp, 4000+ pound vehicle fishtailing like crazy. In addition, I know people who have spun out with these cars and they changed the tires on them (forgot to what, though). In addition, I have driven vehicles with "gatorbacks" and Eagle RS-As (worse than the Potenzas).

The point I am making is that if you know the tires are crappy and you have to drive in the rain, you need to adjust your driving accordingly. In the rain, I could feel that these tires were not very sure footed. That's why I babied it when rain fell.

But rest assured, when I get the '03, the first thing I am doing is getting rid of the craptenzas and getting a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.