Roblad

OK so I will be the first to admit that on the right road at the right time I will use my scoob's full potential.

I mean, you don't own a scooby to drive round town all the time.

However if anyone has seen what was left of Petter Solberg's Rally car after his *HUGE* crash in the German Round of the WRC, they may just think twice when aproaching that "blind crest at full chat".

According to commentators his approx speed was in the region of a ton.
If you have seen pictures of the car (bearing in mind the FULL cage which is welded to all the strut tops etc) you can not help thinking that they were V.Lucky to escape with their lives.

Doing 3 figure speeds on rain covered back roads will be something that occurs quite regularly to some Scooby owners. - All I am saying is "Let's be carefull out there" If it can happen to a World Champion......

Anyone any near misses they wouild like to share?

Gary C

Not in a scooby, but a couple of end over end flips in a soft top MR2.

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

To give you an idea of what you DONT have in your standard showroom motor.
Standard bulkhead.


Strengthened bulkhead.


View from front


View from rear


Rear suspension tops


Side tubes


The master plan


When you saw how the roof collapsed on the co-drivers side despite all this tube,you just know the outcome with a standard shell.

Mark

sKunk

Nice pics

davyboy

I don't think anyone would be doing 100mph on a wet road that was that narrow!

Sonic_Danny

LOL

Diablo

Thats a bit naieve of you.

It does happen, and many on here have done it.

In that accident in any standard road car you would be hard pushed to tell what species of mammal had been in the car as bits were scraped off what was left and placed in plastic bags....

davyboy

blind crest + narrow wet road at 100mph = Clueless!

I would like to think not many do actually do that TBH!

Diablo

You didn't say "blind crest" though

davyboy

I was reffering to the actual video of the crash and this comment.

DPat

Don't forget that these guys knew no one would be coming the other way - we never do and they hit a concrete tank trap - just think motorway bridge for that one

The good news is is that the guys are alright

DPat

achad

But wasn't 'that' crash as bad as it was coz of thoughts tank blocks? The thing acted like a ramp and just launched them into the air!
Out of interest whats the safety rating on a new age impreza's shell?

Chrisgr31

Arguably the damage to Petters Subaru would have been much more extensive because he hit concrete tank traps.

The first one he hit launched the car it then hit another on the side, and another with the roof. Bridges etc would give way if hit that hard, hitting one of those concrete traps is more like hitting a tree.

Roblad

I Totally agree davyboy, just started the thread to maybe make some drivers think before trying any such antics.

It is however V.easy to be doing three figures when an equivilent "normal" road car would be just passing the 60 mark.

any backroad in the wet can have hidden dangers - but maybe just not concrete Tank Traps !!!!

BedHog

Some pics I found - ouch!

http://vtr1000.sytes.net/impreza/WRC...s_Full_Big.jpg

Rob.

*Edit - sorry bad link!

Simon C

Ouch, glad to know their ok. That is 1 horrendus crash mess. Been in a couple of bad crashes, and they hurt. Hope they have the courage and support to get back in a car and race again.

Simon Lau

Hadn't seen any pictures before that...looks very scary

DR Motorsport

Prodrive or Subaru have released some more details of the accident.

Impact with concrete tank trap was only 75mph, the car then flipped end over end and landed rear down on another block, flipped again and landed on it's roof on another block, it then continued for a few more rolls down the road.
Total time elapsed was 5.7 secs, with a maximum impact (roof hit) of 26g.


So you wouldn't do 100mph down a B-class wet road.
But 75mph isn't much above the legal speed limit.
And you've probably all done that !!!!!!!!!!!




David

Gutmann pug

Ben,

Im not sure its good taste to post a piccy of what looks like someone slumped in the car ........ The car after the crash maybe

speedking

Anglesey, not long ago. Nice straight bit of road, two slow vans (~50mph) NSL applies. Open up to pass the vans, complete the pass, estimated speed 80mph. During the pass there must have been a 'sharp bend' warning sign behind the vans that I didn't see
Road was wet. Braked a bit and started taking the left hander. Seemed to go on for ever getting tighter and tighter. Now this might be quite a comfortable speed for the Impreza, but it felt on the limit to me. Double white lines ready to flip me out, and with oncoming landrovers etc. was quite scary.
I think that's the nearest I've had. But the car and I came through in one piece, so all praise to the AWD. Shows how a fairly normal piece of driving can go wrong when not expected.

surfer boy

How about an incident when I was out in the countryside at night, damp roads, no street lighting. I see the lights of a major A road junction ahead and can see the road I am on is therefore straight. Go for an overtake, upto about 70-80mph and as I get parallel with the slower vehicle a pair of headlights pop over the small crest less than 100m away that I couldn't see!!!! Just managed to keep my foot down and pull in sharlpy before the oncoming vehicle flashed past, my car gave a wiggle but stayed on the road, probably thanks to 4 wheel drive. The lesson of the story is that when conditions are anything less than ideal it is very risky to overtake unless you are absolutely sure you have a clear view. In this case I just read the road wrongly and nearly paid for it big style. It certainly made me pause for thought and I'm and Police advanced driver so should have known better!!!

bigsinky

but i thought pigs could fly sorry that was uncalled for.

bigsinky

coming round an unsighted bend at silly speed only to find a blue circle cement lorry in the middle of the road. verge, hedge all took a beating like the car (205GTi). had to beat the crap out of my underwear. why do we never learn

swaussie

Yep, that accident plus a non WRC car would have meant a lot more than a night in hospital for the passenger. I have seen first hand the result of a standard passenger car and a 120mph crash on a German autobahn. Put it this way, if you dont want your kids toys and left rear door 50m away from the car, play it safe.

surfer boy

It has to be all about vision. If you can't stop prior to reaching a 'suprise' then you are driving too fast around corners!! Police driving technique is all about reading the road in advance and if you can't see it you have to slow down. As you approach a bend you need to be travelling at the speed at which the furthest distance on the road surface you can see (horizon point) is moving at the same speed as you are. If the point is moving away then the bend is easing and opening up so you can speed up, if it is moving towards you then the bend is tightening and you need to reduce speed until the HP steadies. Speed also comes into it as you should be able to stop within the distance from your current position to the HP so the faster you travel the further away your HP needs to be. That's to drive safely of course - you could just drive round corners blind for the adrenaline!!!

surfer boy

Sorry for the lecture -these cars do encourage you to drive quickly but lets keep it safe out there - remember another scooby might be coming round the corner in the opposite direction. (Lordy I sound just like the cop I used to be!!!)

swaussie

What I saw had nothing to do with visable distance or horizon points. It was a sweeping bend on a wet road with good visibility. I assume the speed was more than the performance of the tyres, the results were catastrophic to say the least.

I learnt early on in my enduro riding days to never ride flat out until I knew what was coming. Sure its an adrenaline rush to see how hard you can push it but I think you also have to know when to call it quits and back off.

surfer boy

I've lost a colleague in a 50mph crash caused principly because he 'red misted' and didn't know when to call it quits. High emotion levels are ok for the track but a poor companion on the roads, where a cool calm head will see you enjoy your driving far more and do so in a much safer way than always driving on the ragged edge. Pettar was lucky to walk away, but the message for us 'normal' people should be clear.

micared

A serious near miss stays with you, imo. When I was overtaking two cars on a local B road, ( very clear view of the road ahead, which I knew very well, no hidden junctions etc, ) I got level with the car which had previously been just in front of me. Without indication, he pulled out to overtake the car in front of him, and didn't see me until his drivers door mirror hit my passenger side mirror. By this time I had the two drivers side wheels in the grass on the wrong side of the road. I was too commited to back off and kept my foot in. I continued with and completed my planned manouvre. As I looked in the mirror, prior to returning to the left hand lane, I was horrified to observe the car that had hit my mirror exit the ditch on the nearside and land on the roof of the car in front of it. Didn't drive that road again for two years, and the only reason I started again was to get to work when I started a new job.