RIP old friend (Hwy crash and totaled 07 Tahoe)

[Jolly Roger]

Very thankful to be alive.

My wife and I were actually on our way to my sons wedding shower. We were traveling at hwy speeds when a vehicle pulled right in front of us. I had seconds to react, 1.5 according to the black box data.
I remember standing on the breaks. We hit hard. I remember wondering why my wife's air bag was a different color than mine as I felt the centrifugal force spin us around. All I could do is hold on and brace for what I thought was going to be a roll. To my surprise we came to a stop as the air bags deflated. My wife screamed "SMOKE!" I could see it coming through the vents. The Tahoe was no longer running and the emergency flashers had automatically been activated. I didnt know where we came to rest, last thing I knew we were in the middle of the hwy but I had to get my wife out of the Tahoe. I got my door opened and realized we were on the side of the road now pointing opposite of the direction we were initially heading. My wife's door was jammed but I pried it opened. I checked her from head to toe, she seemed to be ok but in a state of confusion and shock. The smoke had dissipated (probably just airbag powder and coolant) I turned my attention to the other car. By this time there was a line of cars on the hwy. I cut the side curtain airbags away expecting to find the other party just as dazed and confused as my wife and I were. Unfortunately that wasn't what I found. My wife was still sitting in her seat of the Tahoe watching me. I look up at her and shook my head "no". She began to cry.

Its been a long road to recovery. This happened last October and were just now starting to get back to normal life again. I remember that night we both sat on the edge of our bed just kinda staring at the wall gathering our thoughts. Our kids could have very well both been sitting in our living room trying to figure out what to do if we had also died that day.
Our lives have forever changed. Our plans, our priorities and outlook of the time we have left on this earth are all different now.

 

[mikez71]

Are you saying the vehicle that pulled out and could have killed you, left the scene?

 

[Jolly Roger]

No, sorry I wasn't clear on that. They pulled out in front of us and we hit them. Both of our vehicles were thrown off the hwy. I didn't post a photo that included the other car out of respect to their families.. jaws of life used, it was a mangled mess.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Could've been so much worse for you. Did you guys have your seat belts on?

 

[Jolly Roger]

Heck yeah we did! I don't even want to imagine what it would've been like without them.
We both had belt burns on our chests and necks. My wife ended up with hernia from her belt. I probably would've been worse off if I wasn't such a lard a$$.
II got built-in shock absorbers bro.

 

[Venator]

Thanks for posting your experience. Sorry about the Tahoe, but all of the safety features did their job and you're alive to tell us about it.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Both of you came through it, though perhaps physically and most definitely emotionally scarred. And I'm sure that you thanked your Tahoe for saving your lives.

These trucks DO save lives.

RIP to the other driver, also.

 

[OR VietVet]

What was the make and model of the vehicle you hit? Pulled in front of you like passing you and cutting in quickly and you hit in the rear or they pulled in front of you at a 90 degree angle, from a side road?

 

[DoubleDingo]

Crazy story, sad the other drive passed, glad you and wife are okay, albeit after some recovery and deep reflection.

It's a stark reminder how quickly ones day or life can change or end in an instant.

 

[j91z28d1]

t bone into the drivers door is always a hard one, especially when it's a mismatch. car. vs truck. glad you guys came out OK.

 

[intheburbs]

Sorry for the wall of text - this turned into a much longer post than I expected....

Many people have misconceptions about airbags and how they work, thanks mostly to super slo-mo and Hollywood. Most people have a vision of a balloon inflating quickly and after deployment there's a nice, cushy pillow in front of you.

Yeah, no.

I've been lucky(?) enough to have been in two airbag-deployment accidents. Walked away from both with nothing more than bumps and contusions. In my day job, I also work closely with some of the manufacturers, like Takata.

Fortunately, the deployments/accidents were a single in one crash (I was the driver of a 1992 Chrysler LeBaron - driver airbag only), and a late-90s Chevy Lumina (2 bags - driver and passenger, I was in the rear seat).

1) The airbag module is a bomb. The "bag" simply inflates by containing the explosion. Plenty of youtube videos of people getting injured playing with/firing airbag modules
2) The deployment is as loud as a gunshot. Again, it's basically a small bomb going off. Yes, your ears will still be ringing once the adrenaline wears off.
3) There are giant vent holes on the back of the bag. It starts to deflate almost instantaneously after deployment.
4) The combustion byproducts of the bomb produce a lot of black smoke, which is then vented into the passenger compartment through the vent holes
5) Corn starch is used to prevent the "bag" from binding during deployment. More airborne particulates to make your lungs happy.
6) The combustion byproducts are obviously HOT, and are now venting out the "bag." If your (hairy) hands are on the wheel at 10 and 2, they're now exposed to the venting hot gases which burn your arm/hand hair, adding a wonderfully pungent sulfur stench to the cornucopia of particulates and aromas now wafting inside your car.
7) If all of your windows were closed and there was no glass breakage, when you open to the doors to exit, to bystanders it will look like a Cheech and Chong movie.
8) If any configuration/options of the vehicle allow for three front row passengers (like all GMT900 trucks), the passenger airbag has to be enough for both of them. That means its HUGE. Easily 2-3 times the volume/size of the driver's wheel-mounted bag.

My wife is asthmatic, and she was in the passenger seat of the LeBaron. The airbag triggered a full-blown asthma attack requiring an ER visit. No injuries from the accident, but she got the free ambulance ride anyways.

Frankly, seeing my GMT900 trucks with side impact airbags, head curtain airbags, front airbags - I'm actually terrified if I have a bad enough crash that fires all of them. The amount of smoke and particulates would make it very difficult to breathe. Hopefully windows break during the crash.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Frankly, seeing my GMT900 trucks with side impact airbags, head curtain airbags, front airbags -
I'm actually terrified if I have a bad enough crash that fires all of them.
The amount of smoke and particulates would make it very difficult to breathe. Hopefully windows break during the crash.

If ALL of those airbags exploded simultaneously, would the sudden pressure shock, coupled with the collision shock, be enough to break a window?
Only if all of the door seals remained sealed during the collision.

 

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks for posting your experience. Sorry about the Tahoe, but all of the safety features did their job and you're alive to tell us about it.

Yes even though she was getting up in age, the Ol gal saved us! My wife contributes a lot of our survival to the push bumper that was on it. She wants me to install one on the new vehicle now.

 

[Jolly Roger]

Sorry for the wall of text - this turned into a much longer post than I expected....

Many people have misconceptions about airbags and how they work, thanks mostly to super slo-mo and Hollywood. Most people have a vision of a balloon inflating quickly and after deployment there's a nice, cushy pillow in front of you.

Yeah, no.

I've been lucky(?) enough to have been in two airbag-deployment accidents. Walked away from both with nothing more than bumps and contusions. In my day job, I also work closely with some of the manufacturers, like Takata.

Fortunately, the deployments/accidents were a single in one crash (I was the driver of a 1992 Chrysler LeBaron - driver airbag only), and a late-90s Chevy Lumina (2 bags - driver and passenger, I was in the rear seat).

1) The airbag module is a bomb. The "bag" simply inflates by containing the explosion. Plenty of youtube videos of people getting injured playing with/firing airbag modules
2) The deployment is as loud as a gunshot. Again, it's basically a small bomb going off. Yes, your ears will still be ringing once the adrenaline wears off.
3) There are giant vent holes on the back of the bag. It starts to deflate almost instantaneously after deployment.
4) The combustion byproducts of the bomb produce a lot of black smoke, which is then vented into the passenger compartment through the vent holes
5) Corn starch is used to prevent the "bag" from binding during deployment. More airborne particulates to make your lungs happy.
6) The combustion byproducts are obviously HOT, and are now venting out the "bag." If your (hairy) hands are on the wheel at 10 and 2, they're now exposed to the venting hot gases which burn your arm/hand hair, adding a wonderfully pungent sulfur stench to the cornucopia of particulates and aromas now wafting inside your car.
7) If all of your windows were closed and there was no glass breakage, when you open to the doors to exit, to bystanders it will look like a Cheech and Chong movie.
8) If any configuration/options of the vehicle allow for three front row passengers (like all GMT900 trucks), the passenger airbag has to be enough for both of them. That means its HUGE. Easily 2-3 times the volume/size of the driver's wheel-mounted bag.

My wife is asthmatic, and she was in the passenger seat of the LeBaron. The airbag triggered a full-blown asthma attack requiring an ER visit. No injuries from the accident, but she got the free ambulance ride anyways.

Frankly, seeing my GMT900 trucks with side impact airbags, head curtain airbags, front airbags - I'm actually terrified if I have a bad enough crash that fires all of them. The amount of smoke and particulates would make it very difficult to breathe. Hopefully windows break during the crash.

Lots of nasty stuff coming out of the deployment of an air bag. I ended up with chemical induced pneumonia right in time for my sons wedding. Never the less Im so thankful I was able to see my boy get married!

 

[Jolly Roger]

Both of you came through it, though perhaps physically and most definitely emotionally scarred. And I'm sure that you thanked your Tahoe for saving your lives.

These trucks DO save lives.

RIP to the other driver, also.

Yeah its been a long road. My wife gets emotional every time we drive past that spot. We dont have a choice either because its the only way to my sons home.
Weeks afterward we were recovering our individual memories of the accident. Turns out my wife doesn't remember most of it. She made phone calls from the scene she doesn't even remember making.

 

[Jolly Roger]

For anyone wondering, the push bumper was a "Go Rhino" brand. We believe it distributed lots of the impact to the frame of the Tahoe.

 

[tagexpcom]

Glad you're OK and you have my sympathies! I'm one that tends to keep my vehicles 20+ yrs and it's really hard to see them 'die'.

 

[Jolly Roger]

What was the make and model of the vehicle you hit? Pulled in front of you like passing you and cutting in quickly and you hit in the rear or they pulled in front of you at a 90 degree angle, from a side road?

It was a smaller sedan. They were stopped in the road facing us with there left turn signal on waiting for us to go by so they could turn onto a side road. I dont know why they turned at the moment they did because they were sitting there when we were a good 400 yrds away. Maybe the sun behind us was in their eyes. I just dont know. It seems like they waited until we got right to the road they were turning on and then went for it. It was all in slow motion, almost seemed as though they slowed or stopped in front of us as they panicked and froze. There was a few cars behind them and they all saw the accident. Had a wonderful nurse stop and help before emergency services showed up. I retrieved blankets from the Tahoe and laid them out in case we had no choice but to move them..(the car was smoking)

 

[Jolly Roger]

Glad you're OK and you have my sympathies! I'm one that tends to keep my vehicles 20+ yrs and it's really hard to see them 'die'.

They become members of the family dont they? I raised my kids driving this truck. So many memories.

 

[mikez71]

Do you think you would have survived this particular crash without the airbags?

And was the Tahoe still driveable?