SUV up a guy wire

[MoonCat]

I'll bet you've never done this with your car

[Pixilated]

No, and I sincerely hope I never do!

[PepperElf]

O my. You know normally I just make fun of Buffalo drivers because of the habit of leaving a foot of snow on top of the cars before hitting the roads. ... but this... this rather takes the cake.

[Chanlin]

I'm trying to figure out the odds of the physics on this one and its breaking my brain.

I'm just glad it wasn't the result of a stupid driver.

[Food Lady]

Creative angels taking care of that lady. (Yes, I do believe in them.)

[bhskittykatt]

Creative angels taking care of that lady. (Yes, I do believe in them.)

I must agree.

Probably a good thing the driver remained unconscious. If she'd woken up like that, I can see her panicking and throwing off the balance. Eesh. That's a thing so crazy that you'll probably never see again.

[lordlundar]

After reading the article, That SUV had do be going at a pretty decent clip prior considering it's a front wheel drive.

[JustaCashier]

This one made me think of Smokey and the Bandit and similar flicks;

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1334140



Mike

[wolfie]

After reading the article, That SUV had do be going at a pretty decent clip prior considering it's a front wheel drive.

Not necessarily.

Potential energy = mgH
Kinetic energy = 1/2 mV^2

where m=mass, g=gravitational constant (9.81), H=height of center of gravity, and V=velocity.

Assuming no friction, the car's kinetic energy due to forward velocity is transformed into potential energy by raising its center of gravity.

mgH = 1/2 mV^2

We can get rid of m because it appears on both sides of the equation. Also, from the picture it appears that the center of gravity has been raised somewhere between 2 and 3 meters.

2(9.81) < 1/2 V^2 < 3(9.81)

Since this is approximate, I'll use 10 for the gravitational constant to make it easier.

20 < 1/2 V^2 < 30

40 < V^2 < 60

6.3 < V < 7.8

The car's forward speed is somewhere between 6.3 and 7.8 meters per second, assuming no losses due to friction. Since 1 m/s = 3.6 km/h, the speed is between 23 and 28 km/h, or 14 and 18 MPH. This is assuming no friction (i.e. all kinetic energy turned into potential energy), but since the story said the car was pretty much undamaged I'd say losses due to friction were minimal - after all, it takes energy to bend or shred metal. Could have happened even at significantly less than the city speed limit (50 km/h or 30 MPH is common).

[Crossbow]

Having lived in Buffalo for a long time before getting the hell out, I can say that this has happened before. Several times. I'm willing to bet it's happened before elsewhere, too.

Trust me, if you think there's no way that someone could screw up so bad as to get their car some place specific, you're wrong. They'll manage, somehow, to screw up amazingly.

[sms001]

I'll bet you've never done this with your car

I had a buddy who did it with a VW microbus. Had just come home after delivering papers, went to turn into his driveway, ice in just the wrong spot.... Made the front page. Of the paper he delivers.