Causes of road accidents
THE GARAGE
By DADDY FIXIT
THE tail end of 2005 will play host to the major festivities of Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa, and Christmas, followed closely by the Chinese New Year celebrations early in 2006. While most Malaysians will be enjoying the festivities, a minority will miss the celebrations. They will either be suffering from injuries or mourning the loss of loved ones as a result of a road accident.
While many factors are usually involved in causing road accidents, some can be avoided. Research has shown that the smallest of details can help prevent the nastiest of accidents.
Unauthorised modifications
Unauthorised or unprofessional modifications carried out on the motor vehicle are likely causes of accidents.
One such unauthorised modification is changing standard wheels to sports tyres and rims that may be aesthetically pleasing but that are not recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Fitting such equipment changes the vehicle’s road-handling capabilities, possibly resulting in unpredictable and poor road-handling characteristics in emergency or bad road conditions.
Usually, fitting wider wheels goes hand in hand with changing suspension height – often, shorter coil springs are fitted to lower the suspension or the number of spring coils is reduced. The vehicle becomes unbalanced because weight distribution and aerodynamics are drastically altered.
Another popular yet extremely dangerous modification is fitting a high performance engine to an otherwise standard vehicle chassis. The engines that are used are often turbocharged, although sometimes, engines of larger displacements are illegally used to extract additional acceleration performance from what is otherwise a standard vehicle.
This is dangerous not only because an enhanced vehicle encourages speeding, but also because the upgraded performance is likely to so overwhelm other components, such as the braking and suspension systems, that they are unable to cope.
This, as before, is likely to cause road-handling performance to suffer or become unpredictable.
Unauthorised modifications are not only dangerous but are also illegal as these changes are not covered by normal insurance, nor are they approved by the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan for use on public roads.
Speeding
Research has shown that speed is a major killer on our roads. A safe travelling speed depends on numerous factors such as the weather, the number of cars on the road, and the general condition of the road surface. However, one should never exceed the speed for which the road was designed.
Speed related accidents are usually extremely serious and, in most cases, result in death, or, at best, horrific bodily injuries.
Intoxication
Intoxication, or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, accounts for a fairly high percentage of serious road incidents. Drugs and alcohol impair both our mental and driving skills.
In Malaysia, if one is caught driving while over the legal limit of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, the maximum penalty is a RM2,000 fine or a maximum of six months jail sentence, or both, for the first offence along with the loss of licence.
Mechanical failures
Mechanical failures account for a small number of road accidents, some of which are serious. The most common failure is a tyre blowout when travelling at high speeds. The most common causes of tyre blowout are either a simple mechanical failure of the tyre, or using a tyre that has a speed and load rating below that specified by the vehicle manufacturer (false economy!). Other less common mechanical failures include brake and steering failure.
Although mechanical failures are unpredictable, they are preventable to some extent by regular inspection of the vehicle’s critical components for early signs of failure.
Road accidents cannot be completely eliminated, but with a little care and due consideration, we can all work toward making road travel safer for the entire community.
· Daddy Fixit is a mechanical engineer with a PhD in automotive engineering. He worked at a multi-national car and truck engine designer firm where his area of specialty was software design for engine control and has co-written a book on diesel engines. You can write to him at [email protected].
The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
________________________________________________________________________
Hey guys... any opinions bout those car with sports springs??
im planning to put GABS hilo(with auto valve adjuster) or GABS sports absorbers(shortstroke) and sports(lowered) springs.
well, my tires are 175/40/13 normal rubbers.
Daihatsu G202 Charade Espri 1.0.
can they fit??
any hazards? will tires touch fenders when cornering??
thx
THE GARAGE
By DADDY FIXIT
THE tail end of 2005 will play host to the major festivities of Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa, and Christmas, followed closely by the Chinese New Year celebrations early in 2006. While most Malaysians will be enjoying the festivities, a minority will miss the celebrations. They will either be suffering from injuries or mourning the loss of loved ones as a result of a road accident.
While many factors are usually involved in causing road accidents, some can be avoided. Research has shown that the smallest of details can help prevent the nastiest of accidents.
Unauthorised modifications
Unauthorised or unprofessional modifications carried out on the motor vehicle are likely causes of accidents.
One such unauthorised modification is changing standard wheels to sports tyres and rims that may be aesthetically pleasing but that are not recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Fitting such equipment changes the vehicle’s road-handling capabilities, possibly resulting in unpredictable and poor road-handling characteristics in emergency or bad road conditions.
Usually, fitting wider wheels goes hand in hand with changing suspension height – often, shorter coil springs are fitted to lower the suspension or the number of spring coils is reduced. The vehicle becomes unbalanced because weight distribution and aerodynamics are drastically altered.
Another popular yet extremely dangerous modification is fitting a high performance engine to an otherwise standard vehicle chassis. The engines that are used are often turbocharged, although sometimes, engines of larger displacements are illegally used to extract additional acceleration performance from what is otherwise a standard vehicle.
This is dangerous not only because an enhanced vehicle encourages speeding, but also because the upgraded performance is likely to so overwhelm other components, such as the braking and suspension systems, that they are unable to cope.
This, as before, is likely to cause road-handling performance to suffer or become unpredictable.
Unauthorised modifications are not only dangerous but are also illegal as these changes are not covered by normal insurance, nor are they approved by the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan for use on public roads.
Speeding
Research has shown that speed is a major killer on our roads. A safe travelling speed depends on numerous factors such as the weather, the number of cars on the road, and the general condition of the road surface. However, one should never exceed the speed for which the road was designed.
Speed related accidents are usually extremely serious and, in most cases, result in death, or, at best, horrific bodily injuries.
Intoxication
Intoxication, or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, accounts for a fairly high percentage of serious road incidents. Drugs and alcohol impair both our mental and driving skills.
In Malaysia, if one is caught driving while over the legal limit of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, the maximum penalty is a RM2,000 fine or a maximum of six months jail sentence, or both, for the first offence along with the loss of licence.
Mechanical failures
Mechanical failures account for a small number of road accidents, some of which are serious. The most common failure is a tyre blowout when travelling at high speeds. The most common causes of tyre blowout are either a simple mechanical failure of the tyre, or using a tyre that has a speed and load rating below that specified by the vehicle manufacturer (false economy!). Other less common mechanical failures include brake and steering failure.
Although mechanical failures are unpredictable, they are preventable to some extent by regular inspection of the vehicle’s critical components for early signs of failure.
Road accidents cannot be completely eliminated, but with a little care and due consideration, we can all work toward making road travel safer for the entire community.
· Daddy Fixit is a mechanical engineer with a PhD in automotive engineering. He worked at a multi-national car and truck engine designer firm where his area of specialty was software design for engine control and has co-written a book on diesel engines. You can write to him at [email protected].
The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
________________________________________________________________________
Hey guys... any opinions bout those car with sports springs??
im planning to put GABS hilo(with auto valve adjuster) or GABS sports absorbers(shortstroke) and sports(lowered) springs.
well, my tires are 175/40/13 normal rubbers.
Daihatsu G202 Charade Espri 1.0.
can they fit??
any hazards? will tires touch fenders when cornering??
thx
