Aston Miata?

I suspected!

Chris
99BBB

"XS11E" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote in
> :
>
>> OK, I give ..........What movie is it? Sounds worth checking out.
>
> The Princess Bride.
>

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
> I suspected!

Inconceivable!

Dana

pws wrote:

> A few years ago, a guy in Austin drove his 280Z up into an overpass at
> relatively high speed and became wedged with the car on fire. Some
> people tried to help him, but all they could do was listen to him scream
> and burn. He was DOA when the Fire Dept. arrived.
> I'll take a rollover over that anyday. Hell, drop the car directly on
> top of me before that.
> I don't know if anyone had a fire extinguisher or not. I carry one in my
> trunk, but it is a little thing and I am skeptical about its ability
> against a large gasoline fire.

I witnessed an accident once in which the (solo) vehicle spun, center-punched
a stanchion backwards, pivoted and landed on all 4 wheels - then burst into
flames in the rear. I figured I'd be a hero, so I ran up to the car (within
30 seconds of the crash) but the flames from the ruptured fuel tank were already
8 (or more) feet high. It was like a blast furnace. I couldn't stand close
to the car long enough to open the doors - which were apparently wedged
shut from the collision. The 9-year-old girl in the car was able to get
out via a window, but her 47-year-old grandmother, who had been knocked from
the drivers-seat into the rear seat, only regained consciousness long enough
to raise her arm, then go limp. Another would-be hero came running up with
a fire-extinguisher - he sprayed a few times ineffectively into the car but
quickly ran away from the heat, too.

The next day, I realized the clothes I'd been wearing smelled like gasoline.

Dana

Dana H. Myers wrote:

> I witnessed an accident once in which the (solo) vehicle spun, center-punched
> a stanchion backwards, pivoted and landed on all 4 wheels - then burst into
> flames in the rear. I figured I'd be a hero, so I ran up to the car (within
> 30 seconds of the crash) but the flames from the ruptured fuel tank were already
> 8 (or more) feet high. It was like a blast furnace. I couldn't stand close
> to the car long enough to open the doors - which were apparently wedged
> shut from the collision. The 9-year-old girl in the car was able to get
> out via a window, but her 47-year-old grandmother, who had been knocked from
> the drivers-seat into the rear seat, only regained consciousness long enough
> to raise her arm, then go limp. Another would-be hero came running up with
> a fire-extinguisher - he sprayed a few times ineffectively into the car but
> quickly ran away from the heat, too.
>
> The next day, I realized the clothes I'd been wearing smelled like gasoline.
>
> Dana

Wow, I have never actually been on scene to such a thing. I hope that I
never am.

The two of you selflessly risked your safety and possibly your lives to
try to save others that you didn't even know. Just because the task was
impossible doesn't make you would-be heros.
You probably did not even actually think about your "hero" status when
you ran up to the car. That is what makes you one.

I guess now I at least know that the extinguisher I carry is probably
not good for much more than putting out a small engine fire.

Now if you were in a movie, you could have entered the burning vehicle
despite the heat and emerged uninjured with the unburned driver, the way
Matt Dillon did in "Crash". (sorry for the spoiler)
Still a great movie, imho.

Pat

XS11E wrote:
>Iva wrote:
<snippage>
> > Anyone else find this part disturbing? "Special tilt sensors
> > detect the danger of a possible roll-over and deploy two
> > strengthened hoops from the rear seat headrests."
> >
> > Or do I just have a waaay too vivid imagination?
>
> What's disturbing about it? You have a roll bar when and if needed and
> only then. That's sorta neat, I think.

My imagination immediately presented a picture of someon'es arm being across
the back of the seat when the hoops deployed - like I said, too much
imagination.

I also am curious about how much protection the hoops would actually
provide, what sort of lateral bracing, etc. Seems to me like they'd act
like style bars rather than a roll bar.

Just my opinion.

Iva & Belle.)
'90B Classic Red.) with a real Hard Dog Hard Bar
#3 winkin' Miata

pws wrote:
> Dana H. Myers wrote:
>
>> I witnessed an accident once in which the (solo) vehicle spun,
>> center-punched
>> a stanchion backwards, pivoted and landed on all 4 wheels - then burst
>> into
>> flames in the rear. I figured I'd be a hero, so I ran up to the car
>> (within
>> 30 seconds of the crash) but the flames from the ruptured fuel tank
>> were already
>> 8 (or more) feet high. It was like a blast furnace. I couldn't stand
>> close
>> to the car long enough to open the doors - which were apparently wedged
>> shut from the collision. The 9-year-old girl in the car was able to get
>> out via a window,

[...]

>
> Wow, I have never actually been on scene to such a thing. I hope that I
> never am.
>
> The two of you selflessly risked your safety and possibly your lives to
> try to save others that you didn't even know. Just because the task was
> impossible doesn't make you would-be heros.
> You probably did not even actually think about your "hero" status when
> you ran up to the car. That is what makes you one.

Thanks, I didn't (and still don't) feel all that heroic. It's a small
consolation that, in all the excitement, I was the first person to think
to call 911. The news article in the paper later on explained that the
girl had severe burns to the lower 30% of her body and had been airlifted
to a major burn center; I only hope that I saved a few minutes in that
process.

It was relatively surreal; though no lanes were actually blocked (the car
had come to rest at the center divider), traffic completely stopped on that
side, and people were getting out of their cars and simply screaming and
crying and one person was hysterically rolling on the pavement. None of
them seemed to be related in any way to the victims - they were just hysterical
bystanders. It was bizarre.

Dana

Dana H. Myers wrote:

> Thanks, I didn't (and still don't) feel all that heroic. It's a small
> consolation that, in all the excitement, I was the first person to think
> to call 911. The news article in the paper later on explained that the
> girl had severe burns to the lower 30% of her body and had been airlifted
> to a major burn center; I only hope that I saved a few minutes in that
> process.
>
> It was relatively surreal; though no lanes were actually blocked (the car
> had come to rest at the center divider), traffic completely stopped on that
> side, and people were getting out of their cars and simply screaming and
> crying and one person was hysterically rolling on the pavement. None of
> them seemed to be related in any way to the victims - they were just hysterical
> bystanders. It was bizarre.
>
> Dana

Humble as well, eh? :-)
Was the 911 call recent, during the days of the huge car-mounted cell
phones, or from a pay phone?

People can be very strange in emergencies. It seems like they either
take control or completely lose it with very little in between.

I had a girlfriend start a grease fire on the stove one time. Her only
reaction was to stare at it and scream. I am pretty sure that she would
have let the building burn down.
I easily put it out with the fire extinguisher underneath the sink.
Luckily, she didn't throw water on it. The fire wasn't even large enough
yet to cause anyone to call the Fire Department.
This is not being sexist at all, I have seen similar reactions from men.
Hell, I know a guy who jumped onto a countertop to get away from a
mouse. He will NEVER live that down. ;-)

Pat

On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:27:19 -0500, "Chris D'Agnolo" >
wrote:

>.... If you doubt the value of the ones in
>the NC, look for the cut-away pics of the framing.

I doubt the functional value of the bar in the NC, but my opinion's meaningless.
What matters is what the SCCA and other organizations think of those bars. With
the inverse bend in the middle just begging to collapse under stress, and no
support struts, my money says they're not approved for SOLO 1 or anything else.

To me, they're just something I have to pay to rip out if I buy a new Miata.

-- Larry ('95 R, Hardcore)

In article >,
pltrgyst > wrote:

> >.... If you doubt the value of the ones in
> >the NC, look for the cut-away pics of the framing.
>
> I doubt the functional value of the bar in the NC, but my opinion's
> meaningless. What matters is what the SCCA and other organizations
> think of those bars.

That's what matters to YOU, and it's a valid concern if you have track
plans. No way would the OEM hoops pass tech inspection. But they do
offer the average street driver more protection than nothing at all.

--
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

pws wrote:
> Dana H. Myers wrote:
>
>> Thanks, I didn't (and still don't) feel all that heroic. It's a small
>> consolation that, in all the excitement, I was the first person to think
>> to call 911. The news article in the paper later on explained that the
>> girl had severe burns to the lower 30% of her body and had been airlifted
>> to a major burn center; I only hope that I saved a few minutes in that
>> process.
>>
>> It was relatively surreal; though no lanes were actually blocked (the car
>> had come to rest at the center divider), traffic completely stopped on
>> that
>> side, and people were getting out of their cars and simply screaming and
>> crying and one person was hysterically rolling on the pavement. None of
>> them seemed to be related in any way to the victims - they were just
>> hysterical
>> bystanders. It was bizarre.
>>
>> Dana
>
> Humble as well, eh? :-)
> Was the 911 call recent, during the days of the huge car-mounted cell
> phones, or from a pay phone?

September of 1999; I believe I was carrying a Nokia 6160 at the time.
It was a smallish phone at the time, but seems enormous today ;-)
Certainly, cell phone use wasn't quite as pervasive then, but that
stretch of freeway has callboxes pretty frequently.

> People can be very strange in emergencies. It seems like they either
> take control or completely lose it with very little in between.

Very true.

> I had a girlfriend start a grease fire on the stove one time. Her only
> reaction was to stare at it and scream. I am pretty sure that she would
> have let the building burn down.
> I easily put it out with the fire extinguisher underneath the sink.
> Luckily, she didn't throw water on it. The fire wasn't even large enough
> yet to cause anyone to call the Fire Department.

Whew. I bet you were her hero :-)

> This is not being sexist at all, I have seen similar reactions from men.
> Hell, I know a guy who jumped onto a countertop to get away from a
> mouse. He will NEVER live that down. ;-)

That's amazing; I just go get one of my cats and let them take
care of mice. It's amusing; the cat complains a little that I've
woken her from a nap, but the instant she sees the mouse, she snaps
into predator mode. Afterwards, she follows me around, purring, in
appreciation for the treat.

Dana