Dropping dead...

archangel

archangel

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Mike
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Over the last number of months I have had a few miles to cover on the great british tarmac...when a thought came to me...I am amazed that there is not a lot more accidents caused by people dropping dead whilst driving...Mrs Archangel uncle died this way but luckily no one else was involved...but considering the number of people driving today I would have expected more fatalities.....according to Google, thankfully not
 
I wanna die like my uncle with a smile on my face ,not screaming like I the passengers on his coach as it went over the cliff :exit::woot:
 
When I'm driving on the 'Great British tarmac' I'm surprised there aren't more accidents at all considering how people drive on the motorways!
 
Driving an average of 200 - 300 miles every day, this is something that often crosses my mind.
Somehow by some miracle, we seem to get this driving thing just about right (mostly).
I rarely see accidents during my job which I've been doing for 20 years now and it's something that does surprise me at times:)
 
archangel said:
Over the last number of months I have had a few miles to cover on the great british tarmac...when a thought came to me...I am amazed that there is not a lot more accidents caused by people dropping dead whilst driving...Mrs Archangel uncle died this way but luckily no one else was involved...but considering the number of people driving today I would have expected more fatalities.....according to Google, thankfully not
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There is nothing great about the British Tarmac, but maybe that is what keeps them alive. All those bumps and lumps and unevenness and patching up, its got to keep people awake and shaken alive again....
 
The other version is;
I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming like the passengers on his bus.
 
Llamaman said:
The other version is;
I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming like the passengers on his bus.
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Thanks for the explanation because I didn't have a clue what Jeff was on about :lol:
 
I think Jeff had a psychotic uncle.
 
Interesting thought, Mike. Given the number of vehicles on all the roads during it does seem likely that it would occur. However, the Heart Research Institute ( http://www.hriuk.org/about-heart-disease/heart-facts/ ) says, on average, 224 people die from heart attack each day. The chances of any of those 224 driving a vehicle rather than somewhere else (sitting at home, in bed, on the way to work, at work, doing the shoppping, as a passenger on a bus, train or plane, in hospital etc) then the chance looks much smaller and there are also those who do not drive.

In 2010 about 20% of males and 33% of females in GB did not hold a full driving licence ( https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/8933/nts2010-02.pdf ) but the proportion of older drivers has increased recently.

Dave
 
ah you guessed it was just a variation on a theme :beer:.but in all truth in 50+ years of driving a lot of that time spent driving as part of my job/jobs i can only actually re-call hearing of /seeing one accident where the driver had a heart attack at the wheel .and you take that as read i have travelled well over a million miles in that time .
best one i ever actually witnessed was many years ago on the old A4 at reading ,where a motorbike had come around a roundabout to fast and the rider had come off . a few cars a a couple of lorries had pulled up to help him myself included ,and a articulated lorry had pulled up as well ,as we were attending to the biker who was only slightly injured a car came flying round the roundabout very quickly ,i can still remember the driver looking at us and laughing at the motorbike as he ploughed into the back of the arctic and was decapitated instantly . gruesome but it happened so quickly no one had time to warn him
 
There was an accident when I lived in Oswestry where an old bloke had a heart attack whilst driving, failed to stop at the bottom of the hill and knocked over a further pair of old folk. I Think everyone survived by some miracle. (long time ago now)
 
Statistically this risk would be proportional to the time spent in the car during the day. Also there is little physical stress attached to driving so overall chances are probably closer to 1/100. Still that looks fairly likely one or two would end up this way in any given day.
 
i was coming back from a bike rally in darkest Yorkshire last year with 10 other lads, travelling along the A49 the lad in front Tony decided to pull into a lay-by to stop for a jimmy riddle, badger who was riding second in the pack was saying he didn't really feel well had a banging head ache and was light headed, i thought at first he was larking about but eventually i had a quick shufty at him(i'm a nurse), his pulse was bounding and by this time he was sat on the floor unable to stand, we quickly called an ambulance despite his protestations he was ok and able to ride and thankfully it didn't take long to get him off to hospital, after being admitted to Bradford general infirmary they discovered a clot in his carotid artery and would of probably stroked off if the ambulance hadn't given him treatment in time...i shudder to think what could of happened if this had happened when we were riding, no doubt it would of caused him to crash and no doubt brought down most of the rest of the lads riding behind him...someone up there was looking out for us that day i can tell you
 
Over the years I have attended a number of fatalities and post mortem examinations where the deceased has died at a time and place probably not of his / her choosing. This has included autoerotic deaths, hotel liaisons etc etc. Death is always tragic but to hear of the circumstances particularly in the Coroners Court can be very upsetting for the families.
 
Tringa said:
Interesting thought, Mike. Given the number of vehicles on all the roads during it does seem likely that it would occur. However, the Heart Research Institute ( http://www.hriuk.org/about-heart-disease/heart-facts/ ) says, on average, 224 people die from heart attack each day. The chances of any of those 224 driving a vehicle rather than somewhere else (sitting at home, in bed, on the way to work, at work, doing the shoppping, as a passenger on a bus, train or plane, in hospital etc) then the chance looks much smaller and there are also those who do not drive.

In 2010 about 20% of males and 33% of females in GB did not hold a full driving licence ( https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/8933/nts2010-02.pdf ) but the proportion of older drivers has increased recently.

Dave
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Also, you have to bear in mind that most people who die from heart attacks (or from any other cause) don't just "drop dead" out of the blue. Going into cardiac arrest (at which point you'd be unconscious) very rapidly from the onset of symptoms, or without any symptoms at all, does happen but it's not at all common.
So most people who die of acute heart problems have quite marked symptoms that would last several minutes or hours before they lost consciousness. I think it's safe to assume that if they were struck by these symptoms while driving they'd be pulling over to seek help.
 
TBH I've known of more people being killed and causing other deaths and injuries falling asleep at the wheel.
A lorry driving friend had this happen, a nurse going home from night shift came straight across the road, he was unhurt, sadly she died,
not a nice experience
 
A lorry driver from work died from a heart attack at the wheel a few years ago. Mind you it was as a result of kids throwing a paving slab off a footbridge over a motorway as he was about to drive underneath. The slab went through the cab windscreen, fortunately the driver was able to get the lorry onto the hard shoulder and stop before he died.
 
ghoti said:
Also, you have to bear in mind that most people who die from heart attacks (or from any other cause) don't just "drop dead" out of the blue. Going into cardiac arrest (at which point you'd be unconscious) very rapidly from the onset of symptoms, or without any symptoms at all, does happen but it's not at all common.
So most people who die of acute heart problems have quite marked symptoms that would last several minutes or hours before they lost consciousness. I think it's safe to assume that if they were struck by these symptoms while driving they'd be pulling over to seek help.
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Indeed, my dad the silly man drove himself to hospital when he recognised the symptoms. His reasoning was that it was only five minutes away from hospital, and that he had plenty of time to deal with it, and it would be quicker than waiting on an ambulance. I can understand his reasoning but still thought it was irresponsible. My mum was sitting next to him in the car whilst he drove ;)
 
I want to die.......just after.......and before I think of the wife!
 
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