Terrifying Footage Emerges Of Car Flying Into Petrol Station

- in Cars

If the Grand Theft Auto gaming franchise has taught us anything (apart from teaching autonomous systems how to drive), it’s this; if you crash into a petrol pump with a car, you will blow up and surely cease to exist.

But, somewhat surprisingly, this isn’t actually the case. Or rather, it wasn’t the case for a Baltimore man who steamed head first into a service station on Monday morning – directly into a petrol pump.

The crash happened at almost 5.00am, and involved a 64-year-old man and his 2007 Mercury Milan (think fancy Ford Focus sedan with a cheese-grater grill). It’s unknown what caused the car to lose control. Alcohol was reportedly not an issue, and the driver is now in critical condition.

What can be confirmed is that the car caused a fair whack of devastation to the station forecourt; taking out a pump and its protective hoops, before getting stopped by the beam holding up the station roof.

So, why wasn’t there an enormous explosion?

Well, shear valves are what we have to thank. Also known as crash or fire valve, the live at the base of the typical petrol pump. If they detect a collision or a force on the pump (or indeed a fire), they activate and close the line to the fuel underneath. In this case, they thankfully worked.

Source : http://www.driven.co.nz/