Thursday, October 28, 2010

Knowing physics can save lives


An engineer showed how knowing physics can save lives, in this case the life of a pickup truck driver who collapsed while driving.

The Seattle Times reports:
A manager of Boeing’s F22 fighter-jet program, Innes dodged the truck, then looked back to see that the driver was slumped over the wheel. He knew a busy intersection was just ahead, and he had to act fast. Without consulting the passengers in his minivan — “there was no time to take a vote” — Innes kicked into engineer mode.
“Basic physics: If I could get in front of him and let him hit me, the delta difference in speed would just be a few miles an hour, and we could slow down together,” Innes explained.
So he pulled in front of the pickup, allowed it to rear-end his minivan and brought both vehicles safely to a stop in the pull-off lane.
Read the full report here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

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