I had a small accident this week, well small for me ;), i rear ended a nissan x trail with my grand prix. Yeah stupid points for me, especially since it happened at a traffic light from a standing stop. Well anyways, we pull off the road and write it all up, I have a 2 inch tear in my front bumper with ive fixed with bondo till i get a new bumper at the wrecking yard. Its too small a repair to claim when you have a 500$ deductible. Anyways, the strange thing in this story. The X trail. He ended up with a shattered rear bumper, bent tailgate, shattered rear window and busted taillight. All from my little 5 km/h impact in my grand prix. I barely have a scratch, Im just shocked. Thank God for quebec no fault insurance though, unless his insurance company comes after mine, which is rare, this wont even go on my file!

That's because newer trucks are made out of plastic and aluminum. My dad backed his 2000 Tundra into my grammas 92 Mercury Cougar. (He couldn't see it because it sits so low.) The Cougar had a scratch and it put a huge dent on the Tundra's bumper.

A 2008 Cadillac rear ended me (in October 07); my 92 toyota pickup truck (that just won't die) no damage to me; CRUMPLED his front bumper. Lost control going around an uphill corner ~60-70mph? (oh I made it around the corner; but hit slick roads at the top of the hill; fishtailed, 360'd, rolled the truck) Well the tow truck and fire dept did more damage to the vehicle than I did. It's all cosmetic; and after we re-wired the battery cables the fire dept cut (a-holes) it started right up. A newer vehicle would probably have crushed like tin.

My newer car has "5mph bumpers" It's true. I have bumped a cement pylon (parking garage) going 5mph and do no damage.

Posted by TheVicariousVadder Well the tow truck and fire dept did more damage to the vehicle than I did. It's all cosmetic; and after we re-wired the battery cables the fire dept cut (a-holes) it started right up.

Fire crews cut battery cables to protect themselves. would you want to be working on damaged vechile/occupant with the risk of cutting through a live power wire or having an airbag explode while you're trying to help? Don't be so selfish
(a-hole)

Posted by oddspot Fire crews cut battery cables to protect themselves. would you want to be working on damaged vechile/occupant with the risk of cutting through a live power wire or having an airbag explode while you're trying to help? Don't be so selfish (a-hole)

Removing the key would have been enough. Which was only in to keep the E-lights running. They did it "to kill the lights". At that point the vehicle was upright, and secured, the tow truck already was there. I couldn't do anything to stop them, because their was two cops in between us.

Posted by TheVicariousVadder Removing the key would have been enough. Which was only in to keep the E-lights running. They did it "to kill the lights". At that point the vehicle was upright, and secured, the tow truck already was there. I couldn't do anything to stop them, because their was two cops in between us.

Its standard procedure in most fire departments to assume the ignition switch is no longer functional so they have to cut it at the source. Plus the fact even with the ignition is off, power is still going through the car in accident despite the engine is off in most cases.

Posted by nostra-YOUPPI! He ended up with a shattered rear bumper, bent tailgate, shattered rear window and busted taillight. All from my little 5 km/h impact in my grand prix.

I doubt you were going 5km/h.

Posted by Agent Skelly Its standard procedure in most fire departments to assume the ignition switch is no longer functional so they have to cut it at the source. Plus the fact even with the ignition is off, power is still going through the car in accident despite the engine is off in most cases.

I agree with Agent Skelly and oddspot.

That's because when a vehicle is damaged, they don't know for certain if the switch will cut the power or if there is a short circuit somewhere in the wiring due to the damage. Better safe than sorry. I'd rather replace battery cables than have to watch the funeral of a fire fighter or other emergency worker because they didn't take that precaution.

Posted by big dave I doubt you were going 5km/h.

probably not even that fast,

Speaking of accidents...

My mom and another vehicle backed into each other at the local shopping center.
They're trailer hitch cut the rear bumper on my mom's Accord.

They asked if she was ok with it, she said no and called the police to get a report for the insurance.

The cops show up and the other party did not have insurance.
So the cops ran their tags, or whatever, and they had a warrant for their arrest in Grundy County (next door) from 5 years ago for a $23 bad check.

So, a GCSD cruiser pulls up and carts the woman to jail.

Posted by rainman8889 I agree with Agent Skelly and oddspot. That's because when a vehicle is damaged, they don't know for certain if the switch will cut the power or if there is a short circuit somewhere in the wiring due to the damage. Better safe than sorry. I'd rather replace battery cables than have to watch the funeral of a fire fighter or other emergency worker because they didn't take that precaution.

as a former volunteer fireman and recovery worker, the first thing they do before they touch a wrecked car is yank/cut the cables. A fireman has no idea if the fuel systems has been compromised in an accident. You have to assume that there is gasoline/diesel on the ground. The engine, also, is an ignition source. Suppose with a severe enough impact, the engine has been compromised, or transmission? The engine coolant temp was at 180F, the surface temperature was at 300+F... you could have the oil/grease/power steering fluid/transmission fluid ignite.

Posted by Samurai as a former volunteer fireman and recovery worker, the first thing they do before they touch a wrecked car is yank/cut the cables. A fireman has no idea if the fuel systems has been compromised in an accident. You have to assume that there is gasoline/diesel on the ground. The engine, also, is an ignition source. Suppose with a severe enough impact, the engine has been compromised, or transmission? The engine coolant temp was at 180F, the surface temperature was at 300+F... you could have the oil/grease/power steering fluid/transmission fluid ignite.

Yup...I learned this from a fireman from the Charlton VFD.

Now, if you want to see something scary...look at the Fireman's guide to the Toyota Prius

Posted by Agent Skelly Yup...I learned this from a fireman from the Charlton VFD. Now, if you want to see something scary...look at the Fireman's guide to the Toyota Prius

... or even the technicians guide to a Toyota Prius. I put my team of 10 technicians through the hybrid basic training even though we were only doing tires and oil change work on them (no mechanical). They thought I was crazy when I purchased the recommended Hydro Linesmans gloves for shop use. They all came out with their heads spinning. All of the batteries, live circuits, regenerative braking systems, proximity card ignitions.... scary stuff.

As far as the fire dept. and tow truck operators go.... agreed with everything we've said so far. One other thing is... not all auto circuits are ground circuits that add power to complete. Some of course are powered circuits, add ground to complete.... which means live power running constantly.

Secondly, I struggle to believe that less then 5km/h would be enough to shatter a back window, unless the vehicle that hit it was at or close to that height.

In summary.... I call bullshit

Now off to Partsource you go to pick up a new battery cable. hurry along

battery thing, remidns me of a friend whos an installer at future shop. He was wiring some speakers in a door and matching the wires together, the air bag wire which is usually suppose to have yellow tape, did not. When he touch that with the speaker wire all the airbags in the car exploded, giving him a severe concussion and blowing out 2 of the windows on the car. Epic lulz

Posted by oddspot ... or even the technicians guide to a Toyota Prius. I put my team of 10 technicians through the hybrid basic training even though we were only doing tires and oil change work on them (no mechanical). They thought I was crazy when I purchased the recommended Hydro Linesmans gloves for shop use. They all came out with their heads spinning. All of the batteries, live circuits, regenerative braking systems, proximity card ignitions.... scary stuff. As far as the fire dept. and tow truck operators go.... agreed with everything we've said so far. One other thing is... not all auto circuits are ground circuits that add power to complete. Some of course are powered circuits, add ground to complete.... which means live power running constantly. Secondly, I struggle to believe that less then 5km/h would be enough to shatter a back window, unless the vehicle that hit it was at or close to that height. In summary.... I call bullshit Now off to Partsource you go to pick up a new battery cable. hurry along

i didn't know that the prius used regenerative braking... we use that on our machine drives where i work.

Posted by oddspot ... or even the technicians guide to a Toyota Prius. I put my team of 10 technicians through the hybrid basic training even though we were only doing tires and oil change work on them (no mechanical). They thought I was crazy when I purchased the recommended Hydro Linesmans gloves for shop use. They all came out with their heads spinning. All of the batteries, live circuits, regenerative braking systems, proximity card ignitions.... scary stuff.

GM has a "Hybrid Safety Kit" for working on the Malibu "Hybrid" (It's not a real hybrid)... a pylon for each corner of the car, some gloves that are too thick to work on anything with, high voltage signs, and a Shriner's hat.

hybrids are a joke.
when will they go away?

Soon. Please.

Posted by Samurai hybrids are a joke. when will they go away?

unfortunately they are not the worst auto development of recent. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) - terrible ``àdvance`` in technology

Posted by oddspot unfortunately they are not the worst auto development of recent. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) - terrible ``àdvance`` in technology

I've played around with those before and I didn't find them anything awful. Whats the scoop?

Just a horribly undeveloped, pain in the ass system that generally requires dealership recalibration, etc, etc, etc. One more totally unneccessary idiot light on the dash, and a great way to make a valve stem cost $80.