The Anatomy
of a Crash
Traffic crashes increase
the cost of doing business

	


Cherie Berry
Commissioner of Labor
Education, Training and
Technical Assistance Bureau
1101 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1101
(919) 807-2875
1-800-625-2267
www.nclabor.com
Printed 11/11
500 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $30.35, or $.06 per copy.
N.C. Department of Labor
	

	

Cherie Berry
Commissioner of Labor
A Fatal Crash...
In Less than a Second
· 0:00.1: Front bumper and grill collapse
as the car makes contact with a solid,
stationary object.
¸ 0:00.2: Hood crumples, striking wind-shield,
rear wheels lift from the ground,
fenders wrap around object. Car frame
has halted, but your unrestrained body
is still going 55 mph. Legs stiffen against
the crash and snap at the knee joint.
¹ 0:00.3: The steering wheel starts to
disintegrate as your chest is propelled
toward the steering column. The airbag
deploys.
º 0:00.4: Two feet of the car’s front end is
wrecked. The rear end still moves at 35
mph and your body continues traveling
at 55 mph.
» 0:00.5: Your torso slams into the airbag,
the impact causing your internal organs
to slam around inside your body.
¼ 0:00.6: The impact builds. The car frame
buckles in the middle and your unre-strained
body bounces sideways off the
airbag as the spinning rear wheels fall
back to earth.
½ 0:00.7: Hinges rip loose, doors open and
the seat breaks free, striking you from
behind and the last three-tenths of a
second mean nothing to you because you
are now DEAD!
Download your copy of
Guidelines for Employers to Reduce Motor Vehicle Crashes at
www.osha.gov/Publications/motor_vehicle_guide.pdf
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Adapted with permission from the
Vermont Network of Employers for Traffic Safety.
Anatomy of a Crash...
In Less than a Second
What happens during a typical crash
Recognition: Driving along with the stereo
playing or thinking about all that needs to be
done that day and suddenly something unex-pected
happens in front of you. The car ahead
has stopped dead in its tracks.
Reaction: As a reflex, you go into a fight-or-
flight mode. The heart rate goes up
because the body needs more oxygen.
Capillaries contract to hold blood near the
core where it will be needed to protect vital
organs. Breathing increases. Just before any
action is taken, the adrenal gland opens
and fires a shot of adrenalin throughout
your body. Now you are five times stronger
than you were a millisecond ago.
Response: With that heightened state of
strength and readiness, the biggest muscle in
the body, the gluteus maximus, locks down
on the brake pedal, causing the tires to lock
up. Everything else is locked up as well.
Your hands and elbows lock on the steering
wheel and your eyes lock on the vehicle
ahead, increasing the chances of impact.
Weight Transfer: Upon slamming on the
brakes, the weight in the vehicle chassis starts
to shift to the front. Front springs collapse with
the rear springs extending, causing the rear
tires to have no weight on them; the burden is
now on the front tires. Ultimately, however,
the front tires will begin to give up and start
to slide.
Coefficient Friction: Because the front tires
are locked up and sliding, their temperature
has risen approximately 2,000 degrees. The
effect is similar to sliding along on molten
rubber. That is what causes the two parallel
black marks you see on the highway. In this
case, turning the wheel wouldn’t be beneficial
because with the tires melting you might as
well be on ice.
The Crash, then the Silence: Next comes
the crash and the realization of the preceding
events, followed by a deafening silence.
North Carolina Crash Notes
More than 74 percent of fatal crashes
occur in rural areas.
More than 39 percent of all fatal crashes
involve speeding.
0 More than 56 percent of all people killed
in a crash were not wearing a seatbelt.
0 More than 25 percent of fatal crashes
involve alcohol.
0 12 percent of most crashes occur in
October, November and December.
Primary reasons for crashes are speed,
operator inattention, failure to yield and
following too closely.
Anatomy of a Crash
Some of us lack the training or experience
to prepare for a sudden emergency behind the
wheel. When we don’t know how to react, our
conscious mind checks out, leaving the driving
to the subsconcious.
Often panic sets in, we freeze, and that’s
when it happens—a CRASH!
It takes only 2 to 3 seconds to buckle a safety
belt and less than 1 second to die if you don’t
buckle up.