Are you a survivor?

ICBM

richardhomer said:

ToneControl said:

stickyfiddle said:

With air crashes I genuinely wonder if its partly down to expectations and planning.

I always try to reserve seats at the back, on the exit row

Plus the fact that they're not known for reversing into things....

That's true, but the seats with the best survival rates are pretty random. Essentially either you all die or it comes down to factors other than where you are on the plane, usually. Being at the back isn't safer, since the tail section often separates in semi-survivable crashes. Next to the exit might help, but only marginally.

The most important thing is not to be in a car crash on the way to the airport, which is far more likely.

octatonic

I've survived this long...

richardhomer

ICBM said:

richardhomer said:
Plus the fact that they're not known for reversing into things....

That's true, but the seats with the best survival rates are pretty random. Essentially either you all die or it comes down to factors other than where you are on the plane, usually. Being at the back isn't safer, since the tail section often separates in semi-survivable crashes. Next to the exit might help, but only marginally.

The most important thing is not to be in a car crash on the way to the airport, which is far more likely.

You do realise I was just going for a 'LOL'? 

Sporky

richardhomer said:

You do realise I was just going for a 'LOL'? 

And now your funnyplane has crashed into a mountain.

richardhomer

Sporky said:

richardhomer said:

You do realise I was just going for a 'LOL'? 

And now your funnyplane has crashed into a mountain.

No - 2 already....

Sporky

One of them was me.

richardhomer

Sporky said:

One of them was me.

Much appreciated!

Sporky

You're welcome.

menamestom

There's a book I read a while ago, 'You are not so smart', which has a chapter on this, it may or may not be the same book.  It's 'normalcy bias' I believe.  The plane crash was probably the 1977 Tenerife crash as there has been quite a lot of research about the passengers behaviour in the Pan Am Plane.  Normalcy bias relates to the fact we shut out masses of information, (otherwise we would be overloaded) and subconsciously select the most relevant information to go obout our business.  But in emergency circumstances some people shut out the vital alarm signals for survival and carry on with their normal thought process.  I'ts not so much not panicking in an emergency, but not realising there is an emergency going on when you have tomorrow's dinner to think about, which is exactly what your mind may think about when it faces a situation it can't cope with - play dead and the bad thing might just go away.

Roland

In 30 minutes this afternoon I had two traffic accidents occur right in front of me. First an idiot who attempted to jump the queue for a dual carriageway exit by swooping across from the outside lane at the last minute, except there wasn't a gap to swoop into. Ten minutes later a truck in the outside lane of the M1 lost part of its load. The two cars in front of me collided whilst trying to avoid it, and I missed them by inches. 

So I'll award myself a survivors medal, partly for keeping a safe distance, partly for noticing and reacting, but mainly for being lucky.

guitargeek62

I've been in one hotel fire, two road accidents where my vehicle was written off, a minor workshop accident resulting in (mild) nerve damage to two fingers, and have had ~20 broken bones for various events.

Life's not killed me yet.

koneguitarist

So far in my life, in every situation I have coped remarkably well no matter what happens. If anything I seem to go calmer than normal. Not sure why. I only think about it afterwards after situation is over, that's including threatening behaviour by some thugs who started on me and my brother, having bombs dropped on me by Argies, Car crash going through a fence across a field and flipping car over another fence landing on our side. And just laughing at passenger as he was scrambling to try and get out through door whilst I was saying calm down, there's no windscreen go out front way! 
Nerves kick in afterwards. No one truly knows what they will do until it happens. And from my experience, quite often it's the bigger rowdy ones who seem to panic more. 

ennspek

When something major happens I tend to shut down emotions, go all cold, break the situation up into little bits and deal with them as best I can.
After the situation I tend to collapse into a sobbing like of snot and dribble.

Sporky

Roland said:

mainly for being lucky.

Luck is, I would suggest, a combination of good planning and an understanding of statistics.

Ravenous

koneguitarist said:

Nerves kick in afterwards. No one truly knows what they will do until it happens.

How true. My pathetic "minor emergency" story:

I was at my Ma's place one Xmas eve. I smelt a weak gas smell while going through the garden - not in the house - we all got into a little debate about whether we should ring the emergency number, I asserted myself and rang them anyway.

On the phone was a lady/drone reading from a script so fast she confused me... when she asked to confirm the number I was ringing from I forgot. I forgot my own mother's phone number of 30 years, the Gas Drone had to read it back to me. That's how useless I was!

All was resolved, but the point is I debate what most of us normal guys would do in a real crisis.

PS - this xmas eve spare a thought for the Gas Guys & other utilities who have to spend the evening sober in case an emergency call comes in. I know they get paid for it, but hell you may be glad to see them one day.

guitargeek62

Sporky said:

Roland said:

mainly for being lucky.

Luck is, I would suggest, a combination of good planning and an understanding of statistics.

I don't know about that, some of my accidents could've been a lot worse if not for chance. I'd consider that lucky!

Moe_Zambeek

koneguitarist said:

So far in my life, in every situation I have coped remarkably well no matter what happens. If anything I seem to go calmer than normal. Not sure why. I only think about it afterwards after situation is over, that's including threatening behaviour by some thugs who started on me and my brother, having bombs dropped on me by Argies, Car crash going through a fence across a field and flipping car over another fence landing on our side. And just laughing at passenger as he was scrambling to try and get out through door whilst I was saying calm down, there's no windscreen go out front way! 
Nerves kick in afterwards. No one truly knows what they will do until it happens. And from my experience, quite often it's the bigger rowdy ones who seem to panic more. 

You're ex-military aren't you? Do you think that training has been useful in this regard?

Reverend

I work in a call centre and we have fire drill and alarms from time to time. 
the alarm is tested same time every week then you know that if it goes off any other time that it is not a test and we need to leave. Lots of staff have to be told to move. Then they don;t know where the fire exits (that they have been through before) are and last time a load of them just decided to head out the front door instead. Ignore the door next to them to head for the door 200 metres away and getting stuck in the queue with the hundreds of people from other parts of the building. 

Ravenous

Reverend said:

 Then they don;t know where the fire exits (that they have been through before)...

True, even rational people who know what they're doing will sometimes forget the drill; you have to be prepared for that unfortunately.

(And don't get me started on the cool people who insist on taking their coffee with them. They might wise up in a real emergency though, I hope.)

Heartfeltdawn

axisus said:

Are you a survivor?

After a seven year brain bleed culminating in a stroke, temporary paralysis, and several consultants expressing surprise that I was still alive, I think I am. 

Primarily though I'm a tosser.