Prius Occupants Survive Horrific Crash

I'm not sure a barrier would have helped. Big enough truck going fast enough it would just jump it. And I find where they build freeways with barriers the lanes are right next to each other with the barrier in between....not 30 feet apart. Unfortanately for a situation like this even if you can see it coming there isn't much you can do about it.

I'm glad the Prius occupants survived. And I'm glad I have the side curtain airbags. I'm sure they were a factor. I don't know anything about the Ford Taurus. This may have been a matter of how the cars were hit.

Here's what I found. One or both cars may have rolled.

Seattle Times

SeattlePI

 

I would not gleen too much from this story.

The Prius could have been hit in the rear corner and flipped over while the Ford may have been hit head on. We can only speculate.

The photos that were posted on PriusChat last week, of that destroyed Prius that the driver walked away from, are a pretty good testiment to the Prius safety.

<chuckles to Dr. F... "medium" heh heh WooOOOooo ooOOOooOoo... spooky!>

 

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I do not know... Take a look at this... To me, it seems as though the Prius took the hit head on, at least on the drivers side. The trailer that was in tow looks like it traveled over the top of the Taurus. More of a roll cage type of question...

Credit: Michael V. Martina / The Herald

 

Holy Crap!

You can see the door reinforcing on the Prius as the skin pealed back. I think the roof seperation at the front A pillar is from the first responders cutting out the ocupants.

 

yeah, the prius looks like it rolled. eek.

here's hoping we never need any of those safety features toyota put in our cars. but it's nice to know they're there. especially since once we start a family, the prius is going to be the family car....

 

oh man. that is a horrible situation. i feel bad for everyone involved. but i breathe a sigh of relief knowing my car will hold up to that kind of assault.

 

We can assume that no emergency personnel were electrocuted in effecting the rescue, since that would have been reported, I'm sure.

 

Call me paranoid, but just another reason I won't cut a hole in my roof and put in a sunroof.

I am very happy I have the additional side curtain airbags and hope to never need them.

 

http://www.kirotv.com/news/4547536/detail.html
(strict copyright statement, thought I'd be on the safe side here)

The video link on this page shows the other side of that Prius if anyone's interested in the total impact that accident had on the car. Man, it was pretty messed up. It looks like the car is bent.

 

Howdy,

I believe that the truck involved was way over its' GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) based on the trailer shown... It looks like a 1/2 ton truck with a three-axle trailer!

This is getting so bad that last year Montana was stopping recreational trucks with trailers and checking the GVW. In many cases they impounded on the trailer at the roadside not allowing the truck to continue towing!

Just because a truck has a trailer hitch, doesn't mean it safe to tow anything...

 

Not to mention how many times do they drive over the speed limit? Just because you *can* doesn't make it safe.

 

That's painting with a pretty broad brush!

Of course, my broad brush would include tricked out little Honda's with 18 yo drivers who seem to think they are playing a video game - getting within 3 feet before changing lanes to pass. God that pisses me off, especially when the passing lane is open for about a half a mile back.

 

I read in an article (I forget which) that part of the Prius frame is made of something called ultra high strength steel, which may have kept the passenger compartment intact through the roll. It's supposedly the first use of this substance in an automobile.

 

Does anyone have any current news as to the condition of the survivors?

 

Here's the World Auto Steel article

Here is the article I think you were referring to:
Toyota Prius Uses High Strength Steel for Safety-Critical Structure

I just got my new Prius after driving a no-air-bag Toyota truck for 13 years. A friend of mine at work recently hit a tractor trailer head on and walked away from the accident because of the safety features in his modern car.

That was my wake up call to start driving something safer. I used to think that I'd keep my truck forever since it runs great, is paid for, is cheap to insure and register but my perspective has now changed after hearing of folks "walk away" from horrific crashes. I've always been what I think is a safe driver, but you can never know when something out of your control is going to happen.

Regards,

-- Ian