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Military airplanes have ejection seats for the pilots to leave their aircraft in an emergency. Why not give automobiles the same protection? The driver's seat could be mounted to the floor in one place, via a magnetic locking system. Located just to the left of the steering wheel would be a large handle
for the ejection seat.
When the handle was pulled, the seat would disconnect from the car floor. Small explosive charges around a panel in the roof over the seat would detonate and blow the panel away, providing a clear route up. Pressurized air canisters underneath the seat would shoot the seat (and driver) 300 feet out of the car. A parachute device on the back of the seat would then guide the driver to a safe landing. There could even be an inflatable airbag-type device also underneath the seat to further cushion the impact. This could save lives in collisions where a driver has one or two seconds to react, such as skidding on ice towards a cliff.
However, the driver would have to be buckled or ejecting would result in death when the driver detaches from the seat in mid-air. Also, this would add a lot of cost to the automobile. Maybe for the next luxury car?
attach seat to personal jet pack
http://www.pushback...g/FAQ/jet-pack.html
jet pack as in James Bond film (which one, have not a clue) [po, Jan 27 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]
James Bond's Aston Martin
http://www.klast.net/bond/db5.html#nando
Goldfinger, he's the man with the golden ejection seat... [mighty_cheese, Jan 27 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]
Why this all seems familiar.
http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Submarining
Car ejector seats mentioned by Wes in an annotation. Consequences of overpasses noted by PotatoStew [st3f, Jan 28 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]
[link]
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Overpasses are why cars don't have ejection seats. |
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And underground carparks. |
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Yeah, next one you should do is "Soundtrack For Your Life" |
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Nonsense. If there's been another car ejection seat idea at all, it escaped my notice. There's been at least one other ejection seat idea though, most notably from helicopters, and _that_ is an old joke; the other commonly suggested security device I can think of is the personal airbag. |
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[Yes, I know both exist, but the people who post them usually don't. Please let's not all rehash it here?] |
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hehehehe Believe it or not, helicopter ejection seats exist. |
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Yeah, they jettison the rotor blades first. A couple Russian attack helicoptors are equipped with an ejection system. It uses a tractor rocket to pull the crew out after explosive bolts jettison the rotors. It can be used at zero altitude. I imagine it's not very fun. |
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This features in James Bond films on a regular basis. |
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I remember there being a car ejection seat idea too... |
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Minor problem with this particular idea is that some idiot would pull it then sue the company. Or someone's brat would. |
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Major problem is, as mentioned in the original idea, the need to have time to do it... |
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Hey, UB, "Soundtrack For Your Life" was my sixth or seventh idea! (and don't bother looking for my version, I deleted it due to it's over halfbakedness long ago) |
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But, on track with the idea, I don't think that a parachute would have time to open with such a small drop. Even if it did I would not want to eject into four lane highway trafic. |
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Especially with lower back injuries from being belted up the arse by a rocket-powered seat unit. |
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You'd also need self-tightening bowyangs (leg restraints) as they flail about a bit in ejection from aircraft. Putting them on as you enter the vehicle is going to be an issue for a nation of people who rebel against wearing seatbelts or motorcycle helmets. |
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why won't it eject for oldsters and youngsters? |
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I think you misread that annotation, thumbwax. Fat people won't get ejected because probably the mechanism won't be strong enough; For old people and youngsters, the strong jerk of the motion required for ejection would probably prove fatal. |
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Or probably it was I who misread it . . . |
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'I don't think that a parachute would have time to open with such a small drop.' ([NeverDie], Jan 27th)
I heard, from someone whose word I trust, that he witnessed someone ejecting from a Sea Harrier as it was leaving the take-off ramp of an aircraft carrier. The pilot landed safely on the deck, having claimed the record for the Royal Navy's lowest-altitude ejection ever (nine feet). Meanwhile, several million pounds worth of aircraft fell into the Atlantic. (The guy who told me this story also recounted his instructor's wise words: "If I say 'Eject', don't ask why because you'll be talking to yourself.") |
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Here's why this is not feasible. They are not even feasible for passengers in commercial aircraft. |
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Ejection seats are complex devices which when used in military service have proven to be quite successful at saving the lives of aircrew. As complex devices they require much maintainance and training to function with a high degree of success. Even though modern ejection seats are designed for fully automatic function after initiation, the occupant requires training to use the seat effectively and safely. Ejection seats are designed to cause an occupant to seperate from the aircraft at a high enough rate of speed to clear any part of the aircraft structure. This requirement necessitates a high impulse force to be used to launch the seat and its occupant. Military seats are fired with an impulse in the Z axis of between 12 and 22Gz epending on the seat design. This impulse varies with the type of seat propulsion with the rocket/catapult seat being the lower value, and the pure gun type being the higher. This value, however, is also influenced by the weight of the occupant, and the values quoted above are based on a seat occupant in the 150-200 lb weight range. Military aircraft carry ejection systems ata cost in excess of USD$100,000 per unit. |
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Do a Google for "ejection seat costs" and you'll find some pretty good stuff. |
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Not worth the trouble! Ejection seats only matter when it costs hundreds of thousands to train the pilots and they are worth saving. Who cares when any joe blow can get a driver's license? |
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I'm not so sure that many of them actually have... |
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There should be a law against using this with the Steering-wheel spike. further down on the list |
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I think if a driver had controll over this it might be over used in a small accident or something of the sort of it could even be used in criminal acts or by teens with nothing to do..... just a though |
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I think if a driver had controll over this it might be over used in a small accident or something of the sort of it could even be used in criminal acts or by teens with nothing to do..... just a thought |
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Generally your safer inside the roll cage of a car in any type of crash then if you were to leave the vehicle durring the crash. one problem would be what if the vehicle suddenly rolled over... your dead... also, what if there were power lines overhead... your also dead... and if you landed in the middle of a highway... you will probably get hit, especally if you have a huge parachute to slow you down so you couldn't run off of the highway fast enough to avoid getting hit. Vehicle collisions have way too many variables and the general public is stupid and wouldn't have the training required to know when and/or where to use the ejector seat. Fighter pilots do however have some training in that regard... however that would be a last ditch attempt for them to save their lives. In an airplane you dont have much choice when its about to explode, you either die, or try to save yourself by leaving the plane, which is extremely dangerous in itself (and doesn't always save the pilots life). In a car your safer sitting there trapped in your vehicle and waiting for the fire department to extricate you then being abruptly ejected into the unknown. |
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plus, you think replacing an airbag would be expensive.... imagine replacing a ejector seat system. |
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