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Posted

Hello to all

 

How often do cars really explode from impact? Please share your views regarding this.

 

Please keep reading and sharing

Have a nice day



Posted

I perform accident investigates for the NY State Troopers and for many law firms and District Attorneys. We have investigated hundreds of accidents and only one ended up in an explosion. That happened when a drunk driver crossed the double yellow line in a F550 Flatbed and went head on into a Dodge Neon. We did have a few fires caused by a collision.

 

Remember the Ford Pinto in the 1970’s? I worked for a Ford dealer back then when all the Pintos were recalled because supposedly the car would explode when hit in the rear during a collision. I never personally heard of one exploding but it was all over the news.

Posted
I perform accident investigates for the NY State Troopers and for many law firms and District Attorneys. We have investigated hundreds of accidents and only one ended up in an explosion. That happened when a drunk driver crossed the double yellow line in a F550 Flatbed and went head on into a Dodge Neon. We did have a few fires caused by a collision.

 

Remember the Ford Pinto in the 1970’s? I worked for a Ford dealer back then when all the Pintos were recalled because supposedly the car would explode when hit in the rear during a collision. I never personally heard of one exploding but it was all over the news.

 

Cool! I think that is pretty impressive. How did you get selected to do the investigations? I once was an expert witness in a court case but it was in an unrelated profession in a different career of mine. I have had about three major careers and two minor ones. Ha! :rolleyes:

Posted

This is a good story…

 

About 12 years ago the local police and District Attorney were trying to build a case against a man that drove his car while under the influence of alcohol and pot, got into an accident and killed the passenger. It was a high profile case. The man claimed that he lost his right rear wheel which caused him to lose control, slide into a tree, which consequently killed the passenger. The entire wheel, rear drum and axle detached from the rear differential. This was a 1980’s Camaro.

 

The lawyer for the defendant obtained a metallurgist engineer who was going to testify that the axle broke from metal fatigue and separated from the rear differential, which was the cause of the accident.

 

The local police asked for my help on the case and we obtained a warrant to examine the car. I disassembled the entire rear differential along with the drive shaft. I concluded that the force from hitting the tree (right front, almost head on) drove the driveshaft back which broke the right rear axle and that’s why it separated the wheel and axle. In other words, the axle broke as a result of the accident, not before the accident. This was in direct contradiction to the engineer’s report.

 

We went to court and I brought my reports along with life size illustrations of the undercarriage of a car. I put the illustrations on an easel and gave my testimony. One of things that I pointed out was; if the axle did break while the car was in motion before the collision, then why did the axle land 100 feet down a hill in the opposite direction from where inertia should have put it? The defendant’s attorney questioned me over and over, but I knew he could not make a dent in my testimony.

 

After that, the defendant broke down and admitted that the reason he lost control was because of drugs and alcohol and driving too fast. He then admitted that right after he crashed he got out, saw the wheel and axle hanging off, picked it up and through it down the hill.

 

The trial made the papers and after that I started getting calls from District Attorneys, Law Firms, State Troopers and other police departments. To this day I still get calls.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         0 comments
      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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