2013 Explorer Accident, Rearended By 30T MAC Dump

bill0808 · January 22, 2013

Hi,

My wife only had this Explorer for less than six months, 8009 km.

This Friday while on the way to the office we were hit from behind while stopped in a traffic jam by a Dump truck traveling over 100 kph, he had no brakes and left no skid marks. After hitting us and pushing us into a guard rail, he went on to hit a Corolla and a Kia destroying both.

This Explorer was outstanding, it took the impact and we both walked away without a scratch. The passenger compartment including the third row seating was intact, all seating rows were survivable. (Minus the glass shower).

The explore body is in bad shape, you can see where it crumbled and bent just above the rear wheels from both sides, the only door that opened ok was the drivers side. All of the doors are out of alignment. It even took an impact to the front from running up onto the guard rail, however there was no airbag deployment (?) why?

We bought this Explorer based on several factors one key one was safety. I think it lives upto its claims.

Waiting for the insurance claim to process to see what will be done, looks to me to be a total loss, the insurance level here in Panama is 65% of value.

Once they pay off its back to Ford Cincuentenario Panama for another Explorer.

Sorry I cant post pictures here but here a link on DropBox:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a4ovibsw329y73i/iAol-mzVn_

Thanks,

Bill

C. Randall · January 22, 2013

Ouch! Glad to see you and your wife are ok (probably have a bit of a headache?). Great to know that the Explorer held up so well. Was the truck driver just not paying attention?

Kevlar7R · January 22, 2013

Based on the description, I was expecting to see a lot more damage! Sounds like you got off easy!

colintrax · January 22, 2013

The people in the Toyota and Kia are lucky you got hit first, 62 mph is HARD! I can't believe you guys could walk out. I have a little more respect for the new explorers now

colintrax · January 22, 2013

Air bags didn't deploy because they probably would've done more harm than good. Unfortunately theres no way to know if they should or shouldn't have gone off.

bill0808 · January 22, 2013

The lack of airbag deployment is just more for me is why, maybe the lack of sufficient forward speed when pushed into the guard rail. We were at a dead stop when hit from behind and my foot was on the brake, I don't think I let off until I got out of the car.

I guess the pictures I have don't do true justice to the damage, the headrest do work as designed, no neck injuries.

Bill

colintrax · January 22, 2013

I'm sure the airbags weren't supposed to deploy, there's a good bit of math and sensors that go into that. If this was a 1993 explorer, then I'd question if the air bags were supposed to. But considering you're uninjured and it's a brand new car, I'ma guess the computer thought it'd be a bad idea.
If your foot was on the brake the whole time, your tires could have been locked up and the explorer never knew it was rolling. Instead it would think you got hit from a dead stop.

cnsheets · January 22, 2013

Yeah thats a total loss. No repairing that. Look under the carpet of the third and second row seats, guaranteed its crumpled as well. Saw another explorer hit from behind that looked much less significant, and the floor was completely rippled, was a complete loss....

Glad everyone was ok.

Start thinking about what options and features you want on your new explorer because you will not be getting that one back.

blwnsmoke · January 22, 2013

Glad you are all ok. I believe airbag deployment only happens when you are going over 30mph. Considering you were at a stop and never approached that speed, it makes sense why.

13Sport · January 22, 2013

blwnsmoke said:
Glad you are all ok. I believe airbag deployment only happens when you are going over 30mph. Considering you were at a stop and never approached that speed, it makes sense why.

I don't think there's a set speed... I've seen airbag deployments in 5mph crashes. It's dependent on the data the sensors read, force, angle, etc.

colintrax · January 22, 2013

^I hit a tree at 30mph in my 97, besides no damage the air bags also didn't deploy. But I didn't hit the tree square

rwolson · January 22, 2013

Sure glad everyone's OK. Quite a hit from the dump truck rolling along at speed. You're very lucky. Now you get the fun of picking out a new car, etc.

I suspect the other cars look worse?

peterk9 · January 22, 2013

Why Airbags Didn't Deploy

I sent the link to the pictures to my salesman and mentioned the about the airbags not deploying. Here is what he sent back to me;

As for the front air bags... There should be 5 front impact sensors in the front bumper... 2 need to be triggered in order for the airbags to blow. If the speed of the impact on the (front bumper) was low and no two sensors were triggered... Then no airbags would of blown.

Peter

Edgieguy · January 22, 2013

I too expected much more damage before seeing the pictures. Glad you're both okay. That makes me feel good knowing that it's so strong.

rmp301 · January 23, 2013

Getting hit by a Mack, count your blessings that the wife is OK ....... That is one big veh to tango with ...... much worse than a hit by a car. The Ex certainly took the brunt of all that force!

1995E · January 23, 2013

Since the impact was from a rear end collision, airbags would not deploy because there would be no need to. The energy from the truck transferring to you car probably didn't make it accelerate passed 30 MPH, looks like your front bumper is almost intact, showing that the front end collision wasn't that severe. Air bag deployment can be dangerous as well because of the hot gasses, you could walk out with burns, and a broken dash. Or depending on the situation, the airbag could slam right into your face if it's not a proper situation. This is why airbag deployment needs to be when it's crucial, not for just in case reasons. If you were hitting something passed 30 MPH, then airbag deployment would be inevitable.

Glad to see that everyone came out of that crash unharmed!

peterk9 · January 24, 2013

1995E said:
Since the impact was from a rear end collision, airbags would not deploy because there would be no need to. The energy from the truck transferring to you car probably didn't make it accelerate passed 30 MPH, looks like your front bumper is almost intact, showing that the front end collision wasn't that severe. Air bag deployment can be dangerous as well because of the hot gasses, you could walk out with burns, and a broken dash. Or depending on the situation, the airbag could slam right into your face if it's not a proper situation. This is why airbag deployment needs to be when it's crucial, not for just in case reasons. If you were hitting something passed 30 MPH, then airbag deployment would be inevitable.

And assuming the conditions of my post above were met. Deployment of airbags is not speed dependent. What activates them are sensors mounted in the front bumper. If the longitudinal deceleration is enough to cause the sensors to close an electrical circuit then the airbag(s) are activated.

Peter

2013 Explorer Accident, Rearended By 30T MAC Dump

bill0808

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Kevlar7R

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colintrax

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bill0808

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1995E

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