I sometimes love humanity :)
Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
11–20 of 76 posts
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#12There are so many ways this could have gone wrong... For example, the guy was passed out - the initial impact could have knocked the other driver's foot off the gas, or cause it to press harder, further worsening the situation. Also, if the bumpers didn't match, or if the angle of impact was not totally flat, you could easily end up in a "jackknife" style situation where the rear car pushes the front car at an angle…
There is nothing wrong with this comment. The objections he raises are perfectly valid. Yes, it could have gone dreadfully wrong. In this instance, it didn't, and it is a credit to the engineer's skill that it worked. For many other people however, it would definitely be a bad idea to try.
Yes, it's great that he did it, and that he took fast action to save a life. It really is; it's a great story! But a down-to-earth comment is not worth downmodding over; it is neither wrong nor irrelevant.
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, indeed. Next time you should be very hesitant. Hesitate so much that the out of control car plows into a busy intersection. So many things could go right. It could just barely miss that SUV with 4 kids in the back, and I'm sure it would only scare the elderly couple crossing the street. C'mon, seriously? The article is an up-beat account of how things can go right . How under pressure someone made a necessarily…
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT. That's the kind of fire this guy was playing with, for his life, the life of his family, the life of the other driver and all the bystanders. Not to understate his heroism, but had this gone horribly wrong he'd probably be a Darwin award candidate.
That's only really a problem if all that energy is transferred to another object (near) instantaneously - for instance if the vehicle hits a stationary object like a car waiting at an intersection.
Colliding at a relative speed of only a few miles per hour and then hitting the brakes allowed Innes to dissipate that energy in a more controlled way. Risky, certainly, but I don't think it's as risky as you think it is.
edit: as an analogy, think about landing a spaceship on a meteorite - it may be moving fast enough to wipe out civilisation as we know it if it hit Earth, but you could still safely stand on its surface. Relative velocity is key.
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
not to mention "Without consulting the passengers in his minivan — "there was no time to take a vote" — Innes kicked into engineer mode." more like "Innes kicked into irresponsible mode risking other people's lives to try something he probably saw on a movie"
Isn't that what governments do every day? They take choices for the well being of the country, without consulting me. Oh the irony.
That is kind of non-sequitur
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, indeed. Next time you should be very hesitant. Hesitate so much that the out of control car plows into a busy intersection. So many things could go right. It could just barely miss that SUV with 4 kids in the back, and I'm sure it would only scare the elderly couple crossing the street. C'mon, seriously? The article is an up-beat account of how things can go right . How under pressure someone made a necessarily…
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT. That's the kind of fire this guy was playing with, for his life, the life of his family, the life of the other driver and all the bystanders. Not to understate his heroism, but had this gone horribly wrong he'd probably be a Darwin award candidate.
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT.
You're off by a factor of 1000. It's 62.9 grams of TNT: http://www.google.com/search?q=%280.5+*+%2840+mph%29%5E2+*+2...
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, indeed. Next time you should be very hesitant. Hesitate so much that the out of control car plows into a busy intersection. So many things could go right. It could just barely miss that SUV with 4 kids in the back, and I'm sure it would only scare the elderly couple crossing the street. C'mon, seriously? The article is an up-beat account of how things can go right . How under pressure someone made a necessarily…
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT. That's the kind of fire this guy was playing with, for his life, the life of his family, the life of the other driver and all the bystanders. Not to understate his heroism, but had this gone horribly wrong he'd probably be a Darwin award candidate.
I pray I never fear to make the decision to save someone's life, all risks reasonably considered.
I have been in a similar situation, and I can tell you: your mettle is tested. You have a tiny amount of time to make a decision, so little that it almost comes down to your instincts. You have enough time to make an assessment of what kind of fallout is about to occur for all parties involved, and your main concern is, hopefully, to minimize the damage.
Sure, you may not have all the information at hand to make a perfect decision, and few of us can say to have any reliable precognitive power. You have what you always have in life: some information and the ability to make a choice.
Let not fear stay your hand. Fear kills as easily as a heart condition. It can always go horribly wrong, but when something appears by sound reasoning to be inevitable, will you have the courage to intervene?
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT. That's the kind of fire this guy was playing with, for his life, the life of his family, the life of the other driver and all the bystanders. Not to understate his heroism, but had this gone horribly wrong he'd probably be a Darwin award candidate.
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT. You're off by a factor of 1000. It's 62.9 grams of TNT: http://www.google.com/search?q=%280.5+*+%2840+mph%29%5E2+*+2...
Ah, my bad. I think the I missed the joule/kilojoule conversion in the reference I was using.
Thanks for the correction!
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#18I sometimes love humanity :)
Hell, sometimes I even love companies.
The insurance company could have said "hey you chose to be rear ended". Instead they paid up without quibbling and called him a hero in the process.
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#19I sometimes love humanity :)
Hell, sometimes I even love companies. The insurance company could have said "hey you chose to be rear ended". Instead they paid up without quibbling and called him a hero in the process.
Imagine what the insurance would have had to pay out if Pace had not been stopped, T-boned a car in an intersection (mentioned in the article) and killed one or more people. The insurance company would be paying out a bit more then a smashed window and bent bumpers. Insurance if anyone understands risk mitigation.
But I agree, they could have been assholes about it, but instead took the honorable route.
Re: Engineer saves man by crashing into him on purpose
#20That retired guy who got saved sure is a great volunteer - folks like him are the foundation of a great community.
He manages harvesting and marketing for the Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm, which is run by the city of Bellevue, and he fills the rest of his schedule volunteering for Special Olympics events, teaching for the Kiwanis Educated Youth Club and organizing donation drives from local grocery stores.