This is why you don't swerve to miss a deer.

One more thing about harnesses. If you have a racing style harness in your car then the chances are you'll have race seats too (or at least the manufacturer's semi-racing seats) which are one piece instead of having a headrest on top.

Now, which is going to protect you more from the roof caving in? A one piece racing seat or a standard seat with a squashy headrest on two thin metal poles?

Someone needs to add 'OM NOM NOM' to that second picture too. :D
 
Nabster said:
steer to the rear end of the deer
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The truth, deers can't back up fast.

I think you can swerve though. I missed a dear in the 944 by swerving into a corn field at 60 MPH. Probably saved my life as it was a BIG deer. Lost an exhaust hanger and did some damage to the front airdam but it was much cheaper to swerve and do some minor offroading than a totaled car and hospital time.

Depends on the conditions, always know what's around you and where you can go

matt2000 said:
One more thing about harnesses. If you have a racing style harness in your car then the chances are you'll have race seats too (or at least the manufacturer's semi-racing seats) which are one piece instead of having a headrest on top.

Now, which is going to protect you more from the roof caving in? A one piece racing seat or a standard seat with a squashy headrest on two thin metal poles?
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If you've gone to the trouble of installing racing harnesses and a harness bar chances are you have some form of roll bar also.
 
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My dad wrote off a work landcruiser hitting a roo back in the 80's, they're pretty big mofo's :O
 
Twerp128 said:
If you've gone to the trouble of installing racing harnesses and a harness bar chances are you have some form of roll bar also.
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Probably, but I was referring to LeVeL's post saying that harnesses are worse than normal seatbelts. This Scooby had harnesses and therefore Subaru's racing style seats, but clearly didn't have a roll bar.
 
As someone who has built rollcages in cars, and does actual racing..

The only reason that harness bar "worked", was due to how the car rolled over. The primary impact hit the front of the car. The harness bar just held their heads back so they didn't get fucked by the front of the roof caving in. If he were to flip and land directly on the roof, the car WILL fold and kill the occupants. If the main impact was the side of the car, having the bar and a 4-point harness would have killed them (snapping their necks) due to no neck bracing+helmet.

matt2000- A racing seat wont do you damn bit of good if the roof smashes the seat.

twerp128- There is no rollcage in there;
IMG_3639.jpg
 
public said:
Saab driver: "This is why I'm a Saab driver."
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Unless you're a Saabaru driver; then you're a subaru driver that paid too much. :p

I'm happy to see that everyone's ok; sad that the car is gone.

I don't want to sound like a hater, but I've seen so many people with modded cars do it the wrong way, throw off the suspension geometry and balance, and end up with awkward handling that ends up being more dangerous than stock. I'm not saying that's definitely the case here, but saying that the rear end came off the ground makes it sound like something wasn't set up right.
 
stealth1290 said:
Two things on this, first, the outward force of a car flipping at 55mph won't allow you to move anything. You're along for the ride at this point. Ever been on a really fast roller coaster that does a flip? Could you dive? Could you move at all?
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No, but don't forget that you're strapped in pretty damn well on a rollercoaster. I do know that you're supposed to drop to the side into the passenger seat during a rollover to avoid the roof coming down on your hear. Whether or not that scenario is plausiable, I do not know.

stealth1290 said:
Second, I don't think you understand what a harness BAR is. It's a metal bar that runs behind the front bucket seats. It's the bar that the harness's hook in to. It, as I'm told, kept the roof from collapsing in on the driver and passenger (kept the car just a tinge more rigid).
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I know exactly what a harness bar is. Do you know your basic physics? How does a bar running behind the seats at about shoulder level keep the ROOF from coming down? You're thinking of a ROLL bar here.


Polygon said:
There are a lot of mods that don't really take safety into account for street cars
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True. You should never have a roll cage on the street. A roll bar is ok in some vehicles, can be lethal in others. Harnesses should be used with racing seats and with a harness bar, but you have to have a roll bar, as well. If you don't have a roll bar, then leave your belts alone.


Quiky said:
As someone who has built rollcages in cars, and does actual racing..

The only reason that harness bar "worked", was due to how the car rolled over. The primary impact hit the front of the car. The harness bar just held their heads back so they didn't get fucked by the front of the roof caving in. If he were to flip and land directly on the roof, the car WILL fold and kill the occupants. If the main impact was the side of the car, having the bar and a 4-point harness would have killed them (snapping their necks) due to no neck bracing+helmet.

matt2000- A racing seat wont do you damn bit of good if the roof smashes the seat.

twerp128- There is no rollcage in there;
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Actual racing? I'm intrigued. LeMons? :lol:
Anyways, a good ol' regular three-point seatbelt would have locked and kept the OP's friend in place, or at least close enough to the back of the seat to avoid the roof coming down on him.


Moral of the story, as far as car safety is concerned, is that it is incorrect to sat that the OP's friend's harness bar saved his life. Tell him to ditch the racing harnesses.
 
Once I had an encounter with a deer (roe deer I guess), which ended with no harm what so ever. I was rolling along with a4 avant at 50-60 kph on a narrow road. Suddenly it jumped out of the bushes on the left side giving me ca 15 meters to the potential collision point, enough for the deer to clear the left side on which I went by instinct. Luckily there was no traffic at all, I don't know how I would have reacted then.

But I know that if the hit is unevitable, you should go hard on the brakes, but releasing them right before the animal, to raise the hood and thus preventing or at least avoiding to hit the poor creature only on the legs, because the body would make a huge hole in the windscreen.
 
Joker19583 said:
But I know that if the hit is unevitable, you should go hard on the brakes, but releasing them right before the animal, to raise the hood and thus preventing or at least avoiding to hit the poor creature only on the legs, because the body would make a huge hole in the windscreen.
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This can be true for rear ending a car as well. When I hit an Accord with my Sebring, my bumper went right below the Accord's, leaving my headlights, grille, and hood to take the brunt of the impact. Luckily there was no mechanical damage, but I had to replace most of my front end and the Accord just had a minor tear in the bumper...
 
if it is the fj, which I found on wikipedia, the bumper seems to be very low and very thin, so I imagine it is quite hard to hit something with that
 
Considering I'm more likely to hit a deer on an empty backroad, I'd rather swerve. That could easily roll right up the hood and go through the windshield and kick me in the face. Suddenly I totally love my excessively large dashboard. Much less antler in my head.
 
Joker19583 said:
Once I had an encounter with a deer (roe deer I guess), which ended with no harm what so ever. I was rolling along with a4 avant at 50-60 kph on a narrow road. Suddenly it jumped out of the bushes on the left side giving me ca 15 meters to the potential collision point, enough for the deer to clear the left side on which I went by instinct. Luckily there was no traffic at all, I don't know how I would have reacted then.

But I know that if the hit is unevitable, you should go hard on the brakes, but releasing them right before the animal, to raise the hood and thus preventing or at least avoiding to hit the poor creature only on the legs, because the body would make a huge hole in the windscreen.
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Thank you, I was wondering if somebody would mention the releasing of the brakes thing. That is taught by many driving schools and it probably saved me the cost of a new car.
My girlfriend hit a deer on the way to work and used this technique. We got away with a broken grill, a dented up hood and a slightly bent rad support. $50 of junkyard parts and a prybar later the car looks better than before the accident.
And that was in a Ford Festiva, one of the most unsafe little tin cans ever to be sold in north america. I'd hate to thing what would have happened if the car was still nose diving at impact.
 
This is why the FJ80 is slated for an ARB bumper eventually. It's made specifically to push animals under or to the side of the car.
 
katwalk said:
Considering I'm more likely to hit a deer on an empty backroad, I'd rather swerve. That could easily roll right up the hood and go through the windshield and kick me in the face. Suddenly I totally love my excessively large dashboard. Much less antler in my head.
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:lol:
 
ChelsDS said:
:lol:
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You think that's funny? Wait till I have my roadtrip. I will take pictures of me sticking a teeny tiny stove burner on that dashboard. Do your cars come with built in tables?:lol:
 
I wouldn't put anything that could make a permanent mark or pricey repair in my car :lol:
 
ChelsDS said:
I wouldn't put anything that could make a permanent mark or pricey repair in my car :lol:
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Well they don't burn tables so they won't burn the dash :lol:
 
Vambeer said:
First of all thank god your friend is ok...Second too bad the car isn't. I've heard that "don't swerve, hit it" theory but only for small animals (dogs, foxes etc). I guess it depends on the size of the animal, your speed and your ability not to panic!! Although i am very surprised about that "rear end came off the ground" thing at 55 (i guess mph). I mean he must have done something terribly wrong...(no offence to your friend)
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x2. I am puzzled about that as well, I mean its a Subaru WXR, it's built for that sort of treatment. Maybe the back stepped out, slid into a hedge.. Glad nobody got hurt.
 
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