Not all crashes occur in slow motion

I've always heard that when some people are having an accident (car,
bike, etc.) that it seems like time slows down. Well, I can tell you
for a fact, that when you're taking a right-hand turn on a humid, wet
morning, that time cruises along just fine as your tires go left and you
go right and down. One second I was making the turn as I do every
morning, and the next second I'm skidding toward the double yellow line
on my chin and knee. I survived and the car that was tailgating me on
the turn actually stopped and didn't finish me off. Time didn't slow
and I can't replay the accident in my head in slow motion. Maybe it's
better. Kinda like ripping off a Band-Aid, as opposed to slowly peeling
it off.

Sandy

Sandy Christmus writes:

I've always heard that when some people are having an accident (car,
bike, etc.) that it seems like time slows down. Well, I can tell
you for a fact, that when you're taking a right-hand turn on a
humid, wet morning, that time cruises along just fine as your tires
go left and you go right and down. One second I was making the turn
as I do every morning, and the next second I'm skidding toward the
double yellow line on my chin and knee. I survived and the car that
was tailgating me on the turn actually stopped and didn't finish me
off. Time didn't slow and I can't replay the accident in my head in
slow motion. Maybe it's better. Kinda like ripping off a Band-Aid,
as opposed to slowly peeling it off.

The slow motion effect is in fact a high speed photography mode in
which mental activity accelerates to a higher baud rate. This enables
people to solve emergency problems (threats) when they arise. I don't
think the absence of the slow motion effect is to your advantage. It
may be a sign of age. I don't know your age but I think most people
have the ability at youth, the time we hear about it the most.

Jobst Brandt

Palo Alto CA

In article 09U3b.18761$Go4.10537@lakeread01,
Sandy Christmus writes:

One second I was making the turn as I do every
morning, and the next second I'm skidding toward the double yellow line
on my chin and knee.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I guess that saved your gloves from getting shredded ;-)

Chances are it was all within the same second.
You just didn't get any time for adrenalin to
start doing its thing, giving you that split-second
mental acuity that gives that slow-motion effect.
You were probably pancaked on the ground before you
could even blink.


Time didn't slow
and I can't replay the accident in my head in slow motion.

Yeah, it's kinda like slipping on ice while afoot.
Except for the forward momentum part. Suddenly ya
find yerself on the ground, wondering how ya got there.
A most unnerving sensation.

Maybe it's
better. Kinda like ripping off a Band-Aid, as opposed to slowly peeling
it off.

Maybe it's six of one, a half-dozen of the other.
Both ways hurt. It's just an Hobson's choice.

Anyhow, I'm glad you lived to tell the tale, and to
ride again.

How's the bike?

Any idea what your front wheel lost it on? Wet manhole
cover? Leaves?


cheers, & heal quickly,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

In article ,
"Kirby James" writes:
I've had a selection of crashes - in two of them I was on the ground before
I had time to think.

It doesn't even need ice. I've seen posts here before, from
ppl who seem to think the bike-steering-out-from-underneath-you
type of fall is a simple toppling-over.

To those ppl, I want to assert that it isn't. It's more like
a judo flip. One is slammed earthward with astonishing speed,
as you, yourself, realize.

Anyone who has wiped out on RR tracks, metal stuff in the road,
ice, wet leaves, or slippery paint can attest to that.

I guess it's just stuff we might have to deal with.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 22:41:56 -0400, Sandy Christmus
wrote:

I've always heard that when some people are having an accident (car,
bike, etc.) that it seems like time slows down.

I've had both.

I broke my shoulder in a mountain bike crash where it seemed as if I
could have cooked breakfast in the time it took for the motion to
stop.

I crashed a road bike on wet, oily railroad tracks and I was sitting
on the pavement wondering what happened.

Barry

Tom Keats wrote:

snip

How's the bike?

Any idea what your front wheel lost it on? Wet manhole
cover? Leaves?


Thanks for the note, Tom. The bike's fine, luckily. I've got a couple
of smoothed edges on my hoods, where there were pointed areas, but,
other than that, no probs. I don't think I actually lost the wheel on
anything in particular. The road was a little moist and the morning was
very, very humid. I think the asphalt was just a bit slick. You can
bet I took the turn a bit more carefully this morning:-)

Sandy

Sandy Christmus wrote in message news:09U3b.18761$Go4.10537@lakeread01...

I crashed a few weeks ago.

I had the slow-mo effect as I was thrown over the handlebars. things
sped up a LOT once I'd hit pavement though.

Although I do remember a very embarrassing day once at baseball
practice in high school. I'd forgotten my cleats, and was playing in
flat shoes; the basepaths were muddy. One second there I was going
for all I was worth towards first base. Someone yells; I try and
stretch it to a double.

Suddenly I'm tumbling through space, wondering where the ground was.

(Come to think of it, that was a slow-mo moment, too: I felt like I
was spinning for ages before I managed to fall down. The other guys
were laughing pretty hard--apparently it was quite an impressive
wipeout)

-Luigi

On 30 Aug 2003 13:24:50 -0700, (Luigi de Guzman)
wrote:


Although I do remember a very embarrassing day once at baseball
practice in high school. I'd forgotten my cleats, and was playing in
flat shoes; the basepaths were muddy. One second there I was going
for all I was worth towards first base. Someone yells; I try and
stretch it to a double.

Suddenly I'm tumbling through space, wondering where the ground was.

I had a similar occurrence back in the early 60s. I spend all summer
working on my uncle's land chopping down trees and leveling a building
site, to save up for my size 14 cleats.

On the way to our first game, an away game, I suddenly remembered I'd
left them in the locker. The game was 60 miles from home, so there
was no turning back. The first play I was involved in, I slipped and
fell -- onto a pack of guys as the whistle was blowing, and was
ejected for "piling on".......

Sandy Christmus wrote in
news:09U3b.18761$Go4.10537@lakeread01:

I've always heard that when some people are having an accident (car,
bike, etc.) that it seems like time slows down. Well, I can tell you
for a fact, that when you're taking a right-hand turn on a humid, wet
morning, that time cruises along just fine as your tires go left and you
go right and down. One second I was making the turn as I do every
morning, and the next second I'm skidding toward the double yellow line
on my chin and knee. I survived and the car that was tailgating me on
the turn actually stopped and didn't finish me off. Time didn't slow
and I can't replay the accident in my head in slow motion. Maybe it's
better. Kinda like ripping off a Band-Aid, as opposed to slowly peeling
it off.

Sandy



You know, those lines on the road get real slick when they are wet. Any
kind of fog/moisture in the air (even if it doesn't show on the ground) can
make them extremely unsafe. Whenever it's foggy use extreme care when
making turns. The reason time didn't seem to slow down for you is that by
time you realized what was happening you were already screwed. Time slowing
down would have made no difference one way or another.

"Mr. E. Mann" wrote in message
...
Sandy Christmus wrote in
news:09U3b.18761$Go4.10537@lakeread01:

I've always heard that when some people are having an accident (car,
bike, etc.) that it seems like time slows down. Well, I can tell you
for a fact, that when you're taking a right-hand turn on a humid, wet
morning, that time cruises along just fine as your tires go left and you
go right and down. One second I was making the turn as I do every
morning, and the next second I'm skidding toward the double yellow line
on my chin and knee. I survived and the car that was tailgating me on
the turn actually stopped and didn't finish me off. Time didn't slow
and I can't replay the accident in my head in slow motion. Maybe it's
better. Kinda like ripping off a Band-Aid, as opposed to slowly peeling
it off.

Sandy
The reason time didn't seem to slow down for you is that by
time you realized what was happening you were already screwed. Time
slowing
down would have made no difference one way or another.

I've had two serious accidents, one on a motorcycle the other in a car. In
both cases, time really did slow down. It was very weird and remarkable.
Maybe the rule is "the slower the vehicle the faster time flies when
falling"! I've fallen from a bicycle many times but they've all happened in
real time.