Warnings issued after woman killed by laptop

[hausman]

Warnings issued after woman killed by laptop

SURREY, B.C. — Mounties in Surrey, B.C., say a woman who died in a car accident last month appears to have been killed by her laptop computer. Heather Storey, 25, was driving to work March 16 when her vehicle was hit by a tow truck. Storey’s laptop was sitting unsecured in her back seat and RCMP spokesman Sgt. Roger Morrow says the vehicle’s abrupt stop sent the computer flying into the back of Storey’s head.

The force of the blow was so severe that it shattered the computer’s screen and bent the frame. [So it probably wasn't a ThinkPad.] The coroner determined that Storey died as a result of blunt force trauma. Morrow says investigators believe the accident was survivable and that police are warning the public to secure their belongings while driving.

Many years ago my then boss warned me not to put my briefcase on the seat behind me for this very reason. I used to think he was a bit too cautious about this. Obviously not.

[rkawakami]

Digging into the story...

http://www.educationforthedrivingmasses ... crash.html

The vehicle was a Volkswagen Golf and was hit by a commercial tow truck. It isn't clear to me exactly where the laptop was stored but the possibility exists that it was simply placed (unsecured) atop some luggage in the back seat. I generally travel with a Targus two-laptop bag (fully loaded with two systems, in their own zippered compartments), placed on the floor behind the driver's seat. If I get hit with enough force to throw the (20lbs) laptop bag up over the headrest in a 2000 3-series BMW, then a flying laptop would be the least of my worries.

Edit: This might be a picture of the deadly laptop:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/images/laptop_projectile.jpg

[archer6]

I generally travel with a Targus two-laptop bag (fully loaded with two systems, in their own zippered compartments), placed on the floor behind the driver's seat.

I carry my 15" T series in exactly the same spot you describe. My car _was_ a 2001 M5, that was hit head on by a drunk driver traveling 40mph as he whipped across from the oncoming lane at noon on a sunny day. I was hospitalized, the car totaled, the T series uninjured.
.
ThinkPads....simply amazing.

[hausman]

It isn't clear to me exactly where the laptop was stored but the possibility exists that it was simply placed (unsecured) atop some luggage in the back seat.

The article I posted says, "Storey’s laptop was sitting unsecured in her back seat." It's not clear how they know that with any certainty since Storey didn't survive. ISTM the Mounties are trying to discourage people from putting unsecured stuff, especially hard, dense items, on the back seat. Such items would include not just notebook computers but hard luggage, groceries, etc. as well as unbelted passengers.

FWIW I also stow my ThinkPad on the floor behind the driver's seat or in the trunk.

[Tõnis]

Many years ago my then boss warned me not to put my briefcase on the seat behind me for this very reason. I used to think he was a bit too cautious about this. Obviously not.

My mother has been warning me since I started driving that even the smallest unsecured things can become deadly projectiles within a vehicle's passenger compartment in the event of an accident. Have I paid attention? Nah ... I have numerous loose things in my vehicle which could kill me.