Some is about to crash into the back of you....

[Scoobman]

Hi
Interested in your views.
You are sat at the end of a traffic que. You have left space between your car and the car infront of you. You are checking your mirrors and see someone hurtling towards you. It is one of those situations you can not get out. They are going to hit you from behind, there is no escape space either side to you.

What would do?

Keep the car in gear? (would this destroy the gear box?) Put the handbrake on? lift your feet out of the footwell? Stick the car into nutural so the impact pushes the car forwards into the car in front? ect etc

What is the best you can do to absorb the impact and perhaps lessen damage to the transmission/engine?

[chrisispringles]

Put the handbrake on, feet off the pedals, turn the engine off, put it in reverse and brace for impact.

[blueST]

To minimse damage to your car you want neutral, brakes off. To minimize damage to you, brakes hard on, head leaning on headrest.

[slartibartfast]

Trouble is foot off the brakes is risking your car being pushed into a car infront of you and that one you've just been pushed into claims off your insurance.
I would have thought:-
Foot hard on the brake, head against the head rest and brace for impact.

[bleesh]

<KIRK> Beam me up, Scotty </KIRK>

[Pints]

This happened to me many moons ago. I was sitting in a queue of traffic. Light drizzle so the road was damp. Car approaching from the rear was travelling way too quickly and there was nowhere for me to go.

Car in neutral, head on the head-rest, foot on the brakes. Watched him in the rear-view mirror until the moment before impact when he had braked and already started to skid. Very difficult to relax yourself when you know the impact is coming, rather than brace, but that's what I did.

Damage to my little mk1 Golf = minor bumper damage.
Damage to his Fiat (as his nose was of coursed dipping under braking) = proper fked.

I suffered no whiplash or any other injuries.

[Syd knee]

chrisispringles said:

Put the handbrake on, feet off the pedals, turn the engine off, put it in reverse and brace for impact.

Agree with all but reverse, surely 4th will allow dead engine breaking but still alow your car to moove forward some to dissapate the energy.

[anonymous-user]

is there time to get out?

[grumbledoak]

Handbrake and feet off the pedals is about as good as you can do, I'd guess. Jump out, and the bugger will just have tried to come around you. Let the crumple zones do their stuff.

[Toltec]

Scoobman said:

You have left space between your car and the car infront of you.

there is no escape space either side to you.

If the latter then make sure the former is big? Being able to pull forward 20-30 ft may make all the difference.

I also prefer to be in either the left or right hand lane if coming to a stop on a motorway, that way you have either the hard shoulder or, usually, a big enough gap between the car in front and the central barrier to pull forward into.

[7db]

JPJPJP said:

is there time to get out?

of the large metal protective cage, designed to withstand impact?

Hands off the wheel -- two broken thumbs will hurt.

As with all things these are best avoided before they are unavoidable.

[Jakg]

Surely if your on the brake, more energy is dissipated into crumpling the car as it cannot move?

If some of the energy could go into moving your car, less energy would be used to mash you car up, no?

[sierraindigo]

I always try, though probably more on a motorway or dual carriageway, and not enough on other roads now I think about it, to leave a big gap in front of myself when possible if I'm at the back of an unexpected queue of traffic. I sit with my foot on the brake so the lights are on, watching the rear view mirror to see what's going on behind, but with the car in gear and the clutch down so that in theory, if the driver approaching from behind was looking at their mobile rather than my brake lights, I'm in a better position to move forwards into the gap I've left.

Having said that, it's not been an issue so far (touch wood), so how well I could actually implement the theory of giving the car behind more stopping room by calmly moving into the space ahead in practice remains to be seen (hopefully indefinitely).

Has anyone averted an incident in reality like this?

[Xaero]

I've been in this situation before.

First thing is say 'Oh Sh!t'

Next get it in neutral,

look straight ahead to minimise damage to neck on whiplash

Feel sorry for passenger who is wondering why you just said 'oh st'

take it up the arse like a man remembering those tyres screeching and lightly apply brake after impact to stop going into car in front.

If I had space I'd just to launch forward first too.

[Google [bot]]

Surely you want the handbrake and foot brake off, in neutral and brake hard just after (at) the point of impact, with the aforementioned head against headrest? Or am I overestimating reaction times?

[ymwoods]

In terms of quick reactions to only a limited amount of time before impact I would handbrake up, neutral, head back and hard on the brakes.

[dudleybloke]

put it into reverse and ram him.
its the last thing he will expect!

[mybrainhurts]

Xaero said:

I've been in this situation before.

First thing is say 'Oh Sh!t'

Next get it in neutral fill pants,


Feel sorry for passenger who is wondering why you just said 'oh st yourself

Edited to correct obvious errors.....

[Scoobman]

sierraindigo said:

I always try, though probably more on a motorway or dual carriageway, and not enough on other roads now I think about it, to leave a big gap in front of myself when possible if I'm at the back of an unexpected queue of traffic. I sit with my foot on the brake so the lights are on, watching the rear view mirror to see what's going on behind, but with the car in gear and the clutch down so that in theory, if the driver approaching from behind was looking at their mobile rather than my brake lights, I'm in a better position to move forwards into the gap I've left.

Having said that, it's not been an issue so far (touch wood), so how well I could actually implement the theory of giving the car behind more stopping room by calmly moving into the space ahead in practice remains to be seen (hopefully indefinitely).

Has anyone averted an incident in reality like this?

Yes twice. Both times BUT I had an escape space.
Once the lane next to me was empty. Would have been minor as the guy slid to a stop in the space where my car had been

Once there was a layby the other side of the road that I shot into.
This would have been nasty as he locked up completely and would have hit me at a big speed.

My rule mirrors, in gear, look for the escape spaces, mirrors, mirrors, mirrors

[Toltec]

Xaero said:

I've been in this situation before.

First thing is say 'Oh Sh!t'

Next get it in neutral,

look straight ahead to minimise damage to neck on whiplash

Feel sorry for passenger who is wondering why you just said 'oh st'

Been the passenger, I knew what was going to happen because I saw the driver look in the mirror. He really did say 'Oh st' too.

Had to relax into the seat and hope for the best.

Fortunately the HGV hit us just hard enough to push us forward a foot and dent the back doors a bit and not hard enough to punch the aluminium bar running the length of the van through the seat and into my right kidney.