Safety Information For Gear Storage and Security Decking

Scoop315

Scoop315

Caught the Bug
Snboarder113 said:
Always make it to the side of the road before you "stop" and turn on all the lights and hazards. Decide if you're safer in the vehicle strapped in or get out and run very far away from the road. Been years since we've had a white out storm up here, last time was a world record highway pileup and a truck transporting fireworks that lit up.
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Fireworks had to be the topper to a really shitty day for those people.


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jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
jesse3638 said:
I'm not sure if this has been discussed or not but I wanted to share what I just experienced at work.

We just returned from a call. A traffic collision, passenger vehicle vs semi. Due to a total white out (dust storm) an FJ cruiser came to a complete stop in the roadway. A fully loaded semi could not see him and as a result rear ended him at approximately 45mph. The impact was so severe that it completely crushed the rear of the vehicle. The rear mounted spare tire was pushed completely even with the rear wheels and the vehicle came to rest approximately 200-250' from the initial impact sight. Had there been passengers in the back seat they probably would not have survived as the seat was pushed up against the driver and passenger seats. The driver seat was laid back and headrest dislodged from the seat.

Two occupants were in the front seats. The passenger was obviously upset and shaken but otherwise not injured. The driver however could only tell us his name. He looked back and didn't even know what happened. We treated him as an altered patient, but could not figure out what caused this mental state. Curious I returned to the vehicle and opened the drivers door. It immediately became apparent the potential mechanism of his injury. A homemade cargo deck.

A 2x6 board made its way between the rear seats. The end, cut at an angle, was now sticking through the rear seats, stopping next to the right side of the driver's seat at head height. The driver's seat had wood splinters and pieces all over it. It appears this most likely impacted the back of the drivers head causing his altered mental state. This also changed the course of action and receiving facility. Both occupants will most likely fully recover but it really opened my eyes.

I had learned a long time ago to ensure your gear, especially large heavy items, is secured to prevent it from becoming a projectile in an accident. It never would have occurred to me that something as innocent as a security deck could potentially kill you in an accident. I've seen a lot of posts of decks people have made and installed in the back of their jeeps. If building a deck maybe consider any lumber running fore and aft may act like a harpoon in a rear end collision. Building some type of bulk head may be a good idea. I was going to try and snap a pic of what I saw but we cleared the scene before I could. Just wanted to share this.

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This is a good reminder and admittingly have gotten lax about using my hold-down webbing for my rear cargo.

Even the homemade deck in my JK doesn't have all the tie-downs back in place because I just got lazy about it.

I had an old CJ when I was younger and rear-ended a van that was left (lights off/ no flashers) in the road during a major snowstorm.

I had the Jeep towed to my house and found that the small classic metal toolbox I had strapped down had broken free from the force and hit the back of the driver seat, I could see the imprint in the seat.

Luckily I had replaced the low stock seats with blazer high back bucket seats or it would've killed me or left me sipping thru a straw - neither a good option.

Newton's 3 laws of motion...
 
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