Tuesday, March 29, 2011

What Do I Do When I've Had a Car Accident?



It can be very overwhelming when you're in an automobile accident. Collisions are disorienting, frightening, and confusing. It's important to prepare for the unfortunate eventuality of an auto accident, and by familiarize yourself with the steps you should take for your own safety and the safety of those around you. Your goal is to live through the accident, and these tips can help you do just that.

Be Prepared

Your responsibility in a crash may vary by state. Make sure you've read your state's driver's manual, and know what's required of you. You should also make sure you always have pen and paper in your car so that you can take down any information about the accident, particularly if it is with another vehicle. In some states, a collision with another motorist requires notifying the police.

Make sure you take down the contact information of any neutral witnesses at the scene. They can help verify your story and ensure that the correct circumstances of the accident are recorded.

Following the Accident

It's important that you follow these steps after you've been in an accident:

* Take a deep breath. A collision can be frightening and it's natural to be overcome at first. Take a moment to collect yourself before doing anything else.
* Shut off the engine and make sure that the car is in neutral/park with the parking brake on.
* Assess the situation. If you're injured, stay calm and wait for help. If you have any passengers, check to see if they are injured. Then check any other vehicles for any injured. If there are, call the police and EMTs.
* If you can smell gas or if either of the cars is on fire, get yourself and any other people out of the cars and to a safe distance before calling the fire department.
* If the accident isn't severe, put on the hazard lights and move the cars to a safe area. Make sure it's safe to exit the vehicle before doing so.
* Put up road flares if necessary and exchange information with the other driver.
* Contact your insurance company to report the accident. They will be in contact with you, the other driver, and any witnesses in order to sort out the matter.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3435512

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Rear facing vs forward facing position in the car



Correct position of the child's safety-seat in the car is very important. See the difference between forward facing and rear facing position in a frontal collision.

It is important that the child's height and weight correspond with the measures written on the safety-seat.

Monday, March 21, 2011

What You Should Know When Getting Your Vehicle Painted

Corbys Collision Vacaville

Sometimes there comes a time in a vehicle's "life" that it needs a little work. Usually this happens because the owner gets busy and puts off taking the proper car of a vehicle. Then most times they end up not realizing it until after the damage is done and some form of repair needs to be completed. Many times that repair that needs to be done is getting your vehicles painted either all over or in one or a few spots. Either way this can be a big task and you need to know what to consider when getting any kind of paint work done to your vehicle.

First of all, the first to consider is where you will get the work done. You absolutely need to find a shop that produces top quality work on their paint jobs. Getting your car painted or especially just an area painted is nothing to let an amateur do for you. A paint job can easily look bad if it is not done by a professional with experience. Leave this job to the pros!

Next you want to ensure that the auto body shop you choose uses the latest technology for matching your paint. This is why you don't just paint your car yourself. A good auto body shop should have the latest technology that matches the paint on your vehicle so that in the end no one will even be able to tell that you had any work done. This is the result you should be looking for.

You also want to make sure that the auto body shop is using high quality paints. Sure, if they use a cheaper paint it will cost less, however it will also not look as good. Even if it looks good at first you face the fact that it will most likely wear down easy and start to look bad sooner than later. So, spend a little extra and make sure that your vehicle is getting a high quality paint put on it. Otherwise you may end up spending more down the road when it needs to be fixed.

Paint is not only important for your vehicles appearance but also to protect the body of your car. The paint actually acts as a sealant for the steel or metal body that your car is comprised of. So, if that sealant is broken or nonexistent it will not be able to protect your car. Eventually that will lead to your car rusting and corroding. Which is not good for the body since its job is to protect you and your passengers. It will cause the body of your vehicle to be weakened. Also it will not look very good either. A little paint missing is one thing, but rust is quite another. If you want to keep your vehicles resale value and keep it safe for you and your passengers it is important that you get a quality paint job done from a professional! Get your vehicle looking great and riding safe today.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1511288

Friday, March 18, 2011

1989 "Pre-Crash" Vince and Larry Ad Council PSA



One of my favorite ads. Vince and Larry talk before the crash test. To promote seat belt use.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Paul Troutner, Owner of Corby's Collision Speaks About His Business


"Hands On" Owner / Operator Paul Troutner discusses happy customers and alignments.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Airbag Basics


All cars these days have at least a driver's side air bag. This is an important safety device which will allow you to stay safe in case of a collision. What happens is when you run into something a signal will be issued through your car to the deployment mechanism. It will be deployed through the use of compressed gas. The bag will deploy instantly and will help to keep you from going through the windshield or hitting your head on the steering wheel. There are a few other things you will need to know about them to maintain safety.

Changing Driving Habits
While air bags are designed to keep you safe in case of an accident, there are certain things you should be doing in order to keep yourself safe when you are driving in a car that has air bags, The first thing you need to be aware of is how close you are sitting to the steering wheel. It is designed to inflate to full capacity. It will not make concessions for people that prefer to drive with their chest right up to the steering wheel. If this is the way that you drive, you are likely to come away from the accident with a broken nose at least.

The recommendation of the industry is that when driving cars with air bags that you drive at least an arms distance from the steering wheel. This will leave a significant gap between yourself and the air bag. This way when there is an accident, you will fall into the bag rather than the bag pushing you back from where you are sitting in the seat. If it is a height thing, consider elevating the seat or using a pillow under you so that you will be elevated rather than moving closer to the wheel.

Another thing you should watch out for is the way you grip the wheel. This is because if you are holding the wheel in such a manner where your arm crosses the middle of the steering wheel, you will run the risk of your arm being broken when they are deployed. The old standards of 10 and 2 still apply for more reasons than just making sure that you are keeping both hands on the wheel at the same time.

Getting Air Bags Inspected
It is a good idea to get the air bag system inspected from time to time. This is because you do not want for the system to malfunction at any given time. Remember that you do not want to get the system inspected too often of you run the risk of the system malfunctioning as well as the fact that you will spend a lot of money unnecessarily. You should, however get the system check at least every five years if it has not been used. This will make sure that the gas is ready to go and that the bag is still packed correctly.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Alignment Changes Video



We do alignments for several other body companies. Give us a call at 707-448-1696 for an appointment.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Top Notch Alignments - The Chiropractor For Your Machine!


Corby's Collision is a Full Service Body Shop. We do everything from repairs to alignments. We are one of maybe only 2 body shops in Solano County that have an alignment rack. By owning this piece of equipment, we not only can be full service but, we save our customers a lot of time and are able to return their vehicle to them in a more timely manner.

We use the top of the line Hunter Engineering alignment machine. This machine features the latest in alignment system technology including the new DSP600 Digital Imaging Alignment sensors for Picture Perfect® alignment.

Give Paul Troutner, owner of Corby's Collision a call today and set an appointment for the best alignment your car or truck ever had! Call him at 707-448-1696, and visit the website at www.corbysvacaville.com

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Airbags And You


Most people simply take for granted and have little appreciation for the technology that's contained in an automotive safety airbag. Still yet, another commonality that virtually all people share is the collective desire that their airbag goes unused for the life of their vehicle.

Consider this. Of all the parts on your car, only your airbag is designed and manufactured to have a zero tolerance failure rate. This means that if there is one part on your car that simply must work when it is called on to do so with "no exception", that is your airbag.
So then just what are the series of events that transpire to inflate your airbag in the event of an accident? Also how are all of the components designed to be foolproof and at the tail end, what actually happens when an airbag goes off.

Amazingly, believe it not, it is a relatively sizable explosion that happens just inches from a person's face that actually inflates the airbag itself. This is the very reason why, in spite of the concept being around since the 1950s, it took years for working models to be developed.
The difficulty all along has been how to contain and control an explosion of this magnitude, so close to a person's face. In a fraction of a second, the explosion goes off, fills the bag and then is safely dissipated. All in the time it takes you to snap your fingers.

It all begins with a sensor that is designed to be tripped by inertia. A simple description would be a metal ball contained in a tube that is forced forward by the force of an impact. A device of this type is foolproof because it requires the sudden stop of forward motion to be activated.

In a fraction of a second, before the occupant who's involved in the crash has time to make contact with the dashboard of their vehicle, an electrical impulse is sent from the sensor to the trigger located inside the airbag. The explosion is then activated.

It's not a normal explosion as one might imagine. You see, rather than a heat activated reaction, such as you would see when a firecracker explodes, a chemical reaction is used. It's the same type of explosion you would see if you were to drop Alka-Seltzer tablets in a bottle of soda pop.
Sodium aside and potassium nitrate are combined to instantly create a large volume of nitrogen gas that fills the airbag. So heat is a byproduct as this chemical reaction is exothermic but nowhere near the amount of heat as other explosive reactions would produce.

So now the bag is filled. However; one problem that had hindered the development of Airbags for so long was preventing the bag itself from causing injuries. Yes it's a soft bag but just like water, when it is impacted at a high speed, it has the same effect as hitting concrete.

The problem was solved by developing an airbag that has a series of holes in it. These gas release holes are sized and positioned in such a way that they allow the bag to be filled as quickly as is needed, yet deflate and recess as the person's body impacts it.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com