Aston Miata?

"Chris D'Agnolo" wrote in news:a6b91$44c57c88$471d4b96$ snipped-for-privacy@ALLTEL.NET:

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XS11E
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I suspected!

Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

Inconceivable!

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

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

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

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

Reply to
pws

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

Reply to
Iva

[...]

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

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

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

Reply to
pws

No, believe me, when an automaker declares something rollover protection, it's serious s_ _ t! That's why (IIRC) you won't see Mazda ANYWHERE calling them roll bars or roll-over protection even though they are obviously designed to be substantial protection. If you doubt the value of the ones in the NC, look for the cut-away pics of the framing.

Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

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)

Reply to
pltrgyst

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.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

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.

Very true.

Whew. I bet you were her hero :-)

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

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

Nah, I ruined it by being Capt. Condescending. I asked what the plan was, maybe dial 911, try to put it out, etc. She said that she would have poured water on it, pointing out that the fire wasn't that big. I explained that she would have spread the grease fire and probably burned herself. Then I asked if she would pour water on a burning television that was plugged in. Sure enough, the answer was yes. Apparenty she had never been told about or had completely forgotten about chemical fire extinguishers.

Luckily, that one did not last long. I hope she is still alive and intact, but I wouldn't bet on it, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

A good mouser can be invaluable. I had 3 cats growing up and never did see a mouse that wasn't dead or being stalked.

There was a cat sleeping on my miata roof the other day, does that get this back on topic? :-)

Pat

Reply to
pws

Wow, total agreement!

Not only do they offer more protection than nothing, and certainly more than a style bar, you also won't bang your head against them in a rear-end collision and they won't add to your wind noise with the top down.

They also look better to most people, though I have gotten very used to having a HDHC bar with dual diagional braces on the car.

Finally, you no longer have to spend several hundred dollars and chop and drill on your new MX-5 to have at least some rollover protection.

Pat

Reply to
pws

So would a big rubber band stretched between the two seat backs. 8;)

It's akin to calling any product water-resistant: meaningless if it doesn't meet a published standard.

The counterargument to your point arises if the presence of these bars is seen as encouraging people to take risks on the street (sych as, say, the Dragon) that they wouldn't ordinarily take.

The average street driver shouldn't need any more protection than is provided by a rigid windscreen frame and good belts. If he does, then look for social-conservatives and insurance companies to seek to have convertibles declared illegal in our lifetimes.

-- Larry

Reply to
pltrgyst

That would be one strong rubber band.

Whatever, if I am caught in a cold rain, I would rather have a garment on that sheds rain than a cotton shirt, even if the "water-resistant" garment is not completely waterproof. There doesn't need to be a standard to make one material shed water better than another, just an observation of reality.

The same concept goes for the new miata. If I am in a new MX-5 that happens to roll over, I would prefer that the hoops be in place. You can prefer whatever you want.

ANYONE who is thinking, "I can take more risks on the street because I have roll hoops or a rollbar in case I flip over" is just waiting to be weeded from the gene pool, hopefully before they create offspring that might possibly think like themselves.

Hogwash. Average street drivers roll their cars, it is not always due to agressive driving. It can easily happen from being sideswiped into a ditch or a large number of other reasons that have nothing to due with driving fast.

As far as litigation, I can see a time when convertibles require rollover protection of a certain standard by law, but everything else before that will be grandfathered. An example is that if you buy a car that is old enough that it did not come with seatbelts, you are not legally required to install and wear them where I live.

Pat

Reply to
pws

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Not a beautiful car, but fine looking for that sort of thing, rather than hideous.

Neither is worth a penny more than you can get for them from the first idiot who walks in. :)

I will not even go into the question why they mention that it takes

19 seconds (!) to lower the roof. On Bess, I used to just toss it down in 2 or 3 seconds. It has developed some snag for some reason, but even with getting out and unsnagging, it still takes only 10 seconds. In a Florida downpour, 19 seconds can be an eternity.

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

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