“No doubt many of you that drive a mini-van equipped with a barrier have wondered if it would hold up under the strain created in a severe crash. Recently an FE in this zone experienced a head-on crash while doing 45mph. Attached is a picture of the barrier after the crash. The FE had the rear seat on the drivers side in it’s upright position, and the seat on the passenger side in the stowed position.
From the picture, we can make a couple of observations:
1. The barrier did its intended job. Although it is extremely deformed, it did stay in place, and it did prevent any of the FEs tools or equipment from striking him.
2. Clearly, the seat that was in its upright position allowed the barrier to be much more functional than the one that was stowed.
Guys, these barriers can save your life. Think about this; if you are involved in a modest 30mph accident, a soft-sided tool bag that weighs just 12 pounds becomes a projectile with an effective weight of 360 pounds. In the same scenario, a 25 pound part or piece of test equipment becomes a missile with an effective weight of 750 pounds. As speed goes up, the force of implied on unsecured objects goes up almost exponentially. (For those interested, the equation for calculating the force of impact of an object in transitional motion is… Force = Mass X Change in speed / Change in time. There are many equations for g-force, etc, but the one mentioned here is agreed upon by experts to be the most accurate in vehicle accidents)
The bottom line: Install your barriers. Check them regularly to make sure they remain tight. And where possible, leave the rear seats in their upright position, and install the barrier against the backs of those seats. Finally, do not leave parts or tools in the area between the barrier and you, or it might be your head that stops that HV bleeder.”