[Personal Safety] America's Most- And Least-Stolen Cars

1. To summarize it all, big trucks and SUVs are among the most appealing to car thieves. Don't trust me? In the past few years, big, bold SUVs have become almost synonymous with the success of entertainment and sports stars. You make it big, you buy an Escalade. Or a Hummer. Hopefully, there's money left over to hire a full-time driver who can watch over the car, because these two vehicles are among the most likely to be stolen.

2. The 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV, a full-size luxury SUV, has the highest theft-claim frequency of any vehicle by a long shot. It's 15 times more likely to end up in the hands of thieves than the least-stolen car, the luxurious Mercedes E Class sedan, according to the theft-claim frequency report for 2005-07 model year cars, SUVs and light trucks, produced by the Highway Loss Data Institute (an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) - IIHS. The E Class, Buick Rainer and Subaru Forester have the lowest theft-claim frequency reports.

3. While the Escalade is the most coveted among thieves, the Hummer H2 and the Hummer H2 SUT (a sport utility truck with a small pickup bed in the rear compartment), are also highly desirable--and among the top 10 vehicles with the highest theft claim frequencies. Given a choice between a Hummer and a small car like the Ford Focus or a wagon like the Volvo V70, a thief is eight times more likely to go for the SUV.

4. To generate lists of the most- and least-stolen cars, the IIHS annually reviews insurance-claim reports to determine theft-frequency rates based on the number of claims filed for every 1,000 vehicles insured each year. The 2008 report, released in October, only includes 2005, 2006 and 2007 model-year cars, light trucks and SUVs, with the exception of the Cadillac Escalades (only the 2007 model is included because it was redesigned for that model year) and the Dodge Charger (only the 2006 and 2007 models are included since it was not available in the 2005 model year). Based on the claims filed, the IIHS also calculates the average loss payment--the amount paid to the consumer by the insurance company--made for each claim filed. Although there are plenty of sedans and smaller models that are attractive to thieves, most of the vehicles comprising the list of the top 10 most-stolen cars are big trucks and SUVs. So be careful if you did have this kind of vehicels :D

What is Debt Consolidation?

1. Barrack Obama has been appointed to be the most powerful man on earth (is it?) when he won the United States’ presidency election recently. However, that winning will bring him a lot of problems or positively said, “challenges” to solve especially when the country’s economy is shacking hard and collapsing uncontrollably.

2. The impact not only damaged the finance industry but also affected the greatest auto industry. Thus, don’t only put the weight on the shoulder of Obama; we must act too to improve our debt consolidation, which is the key to help our economy.

3. When talk about debt consolidation, lots of people feel uncomfortable and try to run. Don’t run brother; learn a little bit and you will find that this thing is not that bad. Debt consolidation will actually help you to lower your payments by having good credit consultancy or counseling. Without you know it, you will have one simple monthly payment and periodically you will be debt free.

4. It’s easier to talk rather than to do it. For the start, why don’t you saving your money, slowly but surely. There is some good Chinese people advice on how to be millionaire by saving USD200 per month. Time doesn’t matter, what’s really matter is the method to achieve a millionaire goal. Same goes with debt consolidation concept. You need to slowly remove you debts, one by one and at the same time, not taking any new debts. Good luck!

Confused Signage Will Lead to Unsafety Drive

1. I got this picture from Collegehumor. Pretty nice joke. Guess what is the title of the picture? Lazy? I know you guys lazy huhu. The title is Only one path leads to glory. The others lead to certain doom.

2. This is indeed a confused signage and those who made this is really stupid (if this thing really exists). This will implicitly lead to unsafety drive. If you happen to found this signage, so please choose properly, which way you want to go? or just stop and kick this stupid signage away haha.

Military Tanker Crashed!

1. Who said the military tanker is so invisible and powerful? I might said before that the most safety vehicle should be tanker but the truth nobody is perfect. From the crash configuration we can say that the mammoth tanker got onto that position due to falling from the higher ground. Luckily, all occupants survived as most of them used 5.11 Tactical Jacket that slightly protect them from the severe injuries. Even small contribution counts on this kind of crash.

2. We are now should speculate of the reasons on how the tanker could fall in the first place. One reason might due to the "driver" had lack of sleep. All human has their own biological clock, even you were a well-trained soldier, you are still human. So how about us? Some of us are not going even 1 day of physical military intensive training, so how far we will go on driving at night or without enough sleep? So sleep is important and please don't take risk by driving when you feel so tired.

Prevention is Better than Cure

1. Prevention is better than cure is like the infamous an oldage Malay saying which is preparing your umbrella before the rain falling. Why the term is so important especially on the road safety? Let me give you the details.

2. I don't know to put it into words but I try but giving you an example. Let say, Mr X wants to arrive as soon as possible to his office because he has a significant meeting to attend. Thus, he drive his car fast on the road. Unluckily, he got into an accident. Not only he can't attend the meeting but also he lost his both legs and consequently, he can't work anymore.

3. So in this example, where the term prevention come? Prevention is drive safety. Cure is to treat his injury and lost of job (got into an accident). So to put into long statment. Drive safety is better than losing job or got into an injury. You got it?

4. Another example of prevention is wearing seatbelt if you were in the car or helmet while you were riding a motorcycle. Both device could save your life or at least lessen the injury you would got during an accident. So please think about it and you will find out many reasons not to rush and do stupid things on the road.

How Air Brake Works?

1. First we have to understand that air is everywhere, even you were hiding inside the coffin, you could still feel the air, am i right? However hydraulic press parts that use fluid isn't. Am i right?

2. Trains, buses and tractor-trailers use air-brake systems so they don’t have to rely on the hydraulic fluid in car braking systems, which can run out in the event of a leak. All of these types of transportation are weighed down by heavy passenger or cargo loads, so safety is of the utmost importance. A speeding locomotive that relied on hydraulic press rebuild or liquid brake would turn into a deadly steel bullet if the brake system suddenly busted a leak. There are 3 major steps on using air brake:

3. Charging: The system must be pressurized with air before the brakes will release. At rest, the brakes remain engaged. Once the system reaches its operating hydraulic press, the brakes are freed and ready to use.

4. Applying: As the brakes are applied, air pressure decreases. As the amount of air decreases, the valve allows air back into the reservoir tanks, while the brakes move to the applied position.

5. Releasing: Once the brakes are applied and the air escapes after braking, the increased pressure releases the brakes.

6. Diagram above shows the foundation brakes, which are the most common air-brake systems found in trucks and buses and work the same way as in rail cars. Using the triple-valve principle, air builds up inside the brake pipes or air lines, releasing the brakes. Virtually all of the roadgoing vehicles equipped with air brakes have a graduated release system where a partial increase in pressure dictates a proportional release in brakes.

The Top 5 Most Dangerous Holidays for Drivers

1. Holidays are supposed to be times for good food and good cheer, but an accident can quickly turn one into a family's worst nightmare. These five are the most dangerous holidays to be on the road, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) report on motor vehicle deaths over three- or four-day holiday periods from 2001 to 2006, as well as the percentage of fatal crashes caused by intoxication and the AAA-estimated number of cars on the road for each holiday period.

No. 5: New Year's Eve/Day
Average Vehicular Deaths: 421

2. Don't let the relatively low rank make you comfortable. Champagne and icy roads make Jan. 1 one of the single most dangerous days to be on the road all year. this is winter days anyway.

No. 4: Labor Day Weekend
Average Vehicular Deaths: 488

3. Another long summer weekend makes our list due to overcrowded roads and out-of-town travel. Be especially vigilant if the holiday falls on Sept. 1 or 2 — those two days are among the top 10 most dangerous days for driving.

No. 3: Memorial Day Weekend
Average Vehicular Deaths: 493

4. Hordes of beach-goers crowd the same coastal roadways on this holiday, when 38 million people hit the streets in search of a warm, out-of-town weekend.

No. 2: Independence Day
Average Vehicular Deaths: 505

5. Keep an eye out for heavy drinkers who didn't have the good sense to stay home and off the roads. An estimated 53% of fatal Fourth of July crashes involve at least one drunk driver.

No. 1: Thanksgiving
Average Vehicular Deaths: 573

6. Whether from postprandial exhaustion or a little too much wine with dinner, AAA's biggest travel holiday of the year saw 623 traffic fatalities in 2006, the most recent year on record.

Please Take Care of Your Body Safety

1. Never Sick Again. Is it cool the sound of this human diet's title? I got this from a guys in NIOSH forum email. To be truth I found it quite useful and start to implement it on my daily diet.

2. Lot's of people use small folding treadmill to get fitted and healthy, and some of the people run and jog early in the morning. Best thing about treadmill is you can do the exercise indoor and without much battling with your inner defense mechanism like "Go sleep, the bed is so warm, jog is only for losers". Anyway, both has some significant to our body, but without proper food diet, the efforts will just go to the vain. So use the diagram correctly and pretty much the chance of you to get sick will be lessen. :D

Another Tree Crashed 2000 Buick at Pennsylvania USA

1. Got this story from the internet. Something that almost resembles case of Toyota Vios hit a Palma tree where the Vios was bananized by the tree. This accident killed one, well only one in the car anyway. Lets hear the story and take the lesson from it.

2. It was 4am on Friday October 19, 2008 when we (rescue people) got a call for this accident off north Fifth Street in Pennsylvania USA. The driver was driving at a high rate of speed (how did the story teller know eh) when she went off the road, tried to correct herself and turn the wheel but did not and ended up sideways in the trees.

3. She was dead upon arrival. She was driving a 2000 Buick. No one had found her until 10 minutes after the accident had happen and there was nothing anyone could have done. The accident reconstruction team had never release what the cause was but myself and other fire fighters at the scene smelt alcohol there.

4. The cause of the impact sent the baby toys she had in the back seat from her granddaughter to fly about 100 ft from the car. Luckily it was not her granddaughter who the one fly out from the car.

5. Please don’t drink and drive because you leave many loved ones behind. And also please think safety, and make safety thought as one of our culture.

BMW X6-Series 2009 Officially Reviewed

1. Enough with pretty nasty pictures on the last post, now we are moving on to the most elegance car release ever, the new bmw x6 series. Before this we had our eye locked on 2008 BMW X5 releases where even the vehicle is so stylish and I could say beautiful, the price of the car has made us jaw dropped and feeling inferior. The car itself looks like 4wd or maybe I could say like SUV. But the newly X6 series is totally different as I understand it is sports activity coupe (SAC), the first version of BMW.

2. "What is the new thing on this x6 series?" The prominent change or new feature is implementation of V8 engine with Twin Turbo technology and direct gasoline injection which is, likewise making its world debut in the bmw x6. Displacing 4.4 liters, this eight-cylinder with maximum engine output of 400 hp and peak torque of 450 lb-ft available over an unusually large range of engine speed from 1,800-4,500 rpm, is the most powerful engine ever seen in a BMW X Model. Errr the only bad thing is the vehicle will eat a lot of your gas but positively, if you could buy the car, why not you can't pay the gas right?

3. "How about the design itselt, from the picture, it looks sleek and very stylish?" In its design, the BMW X6 definitely offers all the features of a genuine BMW X Model, interpreted however, in a brand-new, extremely sporting style, not like before which is, in the design of SUV or 4WD . The design language of this new model is indeed the authentic visualization of the outstanding driving characteristics offered by the BMW X6, mainly through intelligent BMW xDrive all-wheel-drive technology.

4. About the safety features, the new bmw x6 not only includes front and side airbags as standard, but also curtain-type Head Protection System airbags at the side, protecting the occupants both front and rear from injury. Additional features include: three-point inertia-reel belts on each seat, with belt force limiters together with a belt tightener on the front seat; crash-activated headrests to prevent cervical spine injury in the event of a collision from behind, that come standard on the front seats. So what are you waiting for? Stand still like me eh..

Used Safety Vehicle for Winter Holidays Hot Deals!

Today is such a busy day yet I still have time to write something. My boss asks me to plan for rear underrun survey on multiple types of heavy vehicles on the road. I got this headache just to think about man power (enumerator) to do all thing things. Another issue is to rent good car for transportation. I remembered during my old day at Minnesota, it was so easy to rent a car or even buying used car. I didn’t say new car because the new car’s price is way too expensive for me as a student afford to buy. So used car is the only option for means of transportation for doing groceries, shopping and travelling.

At that time, I didn’t think much of safety. I just bought whatever deal that suit me best. If I ever could turn back time, I would love to buy used 4WD. Not only the vehicle is looking tough, it also providing optimum safety features to the occupants. One place to buy that kind of safety car is at Preowned cars Wilmington NC. The shop will offer you such a great deals, especially during this winter break. You know, if you want travel during this time, you need such reliable and safety car. So the choice is yours. Happy holidays!

Don't Park Your Car Near Fire Hydrant

1. This is what's going to happen to you in California the next time you park by the fire hydrant and a fire breaks out!

2. As we all know, recently the fire again breaking out in California and sweeping a large of housing areas. The wild nature fire is indeed unbeatable. Thus, you have to park your car accordingly as this thing might be happening to you. There is always a reason on why authority asked you not to park your car near fire hydrant :D

Benefits of Online Degree

Last 3 weeks I met Prof Dato’ Ir Radin Umar Radin, who is currently a Director General of Malaysian High Education Ministry (KPT) at MIROS Bowling Tournament. He told me that actually Malaysia’s level of high education is not that bad. Our famous universities like UM, UPM, USM have ranking of top 200 in the best international universities rank. Why he said not bad because there are 300,000 universities and colleges, even online degree colleges worldwide submit on that infamous rank and position 200/300,000 is indeed something that needs to be proud off.

Plus, something you need to know is the rank is basically surveyed based on perception. So it’s kind of bias in the first place. So now you can be proud of your country. Something that I forget to ask him is about the integrity of online degree that I believe everybody has seen the ads at many places, especially on the internet. In the verge of economy collapse in many countries, the one area that has very least affected is online business. This implies that there is definitely a vast job opportunities and earning potentials on the area which significantly need of online degree.

Many of us didn’t have much time as we are working during the days, so implicitly defines our impossibility on furthering our study for better education. One thing I notice is online degree really has flexible time schedule and really works well on people who want to further study but don’t have much time. You can also use this DegreeHound’s School Search Wizard to find the right school which work best with your interest. Maybe later I’ll ask Prof Radin about this matter. Till then, I’ll update you guys more.

How Airbags Work?

1. For years, the trusty seat belt provided the sole form of passive restraint in our cars. There were debates about their safety, especially relating to children, but over time, much of the country adopted mandatory seat-belt laws. Statistics have shown that the use of seatbelts has saved thousands of lives that might have been lost in collisions.

2. How about an airbags? What an airbag wants to do is to slow the passenger's speed to zero with little or no damage. The constraints that it has to work within are huge. The airbag has the space between the passenger and the steering wheel or dashboard and a fraction of a second to work with. Even that tiny amount of space and time is valuable, however, if the system can slow the passenger evenly rather than forcing an abrupt halt to his or her motion.

3. The goal of an airbag is to slow the passenger's forward motion as evenly as possible in a fraction of a second. There are three parts to an airbag that help to accomplish this feat:

4. The bag itself is made of a thin, nylon fabric, which is folded into the steering wheel or dashboard or, more recently, the seat or door.

5. The sensor is the device that tells the bag to inflate. Inflation happens when there is a collision force equal to running into a brick wall at 10 to 15 miles per hour (16 to 24 km per hour) or in other delta V. A mechanical switch is flipped when there is a mass shift that closes an electrical contact, telling the sensors that a crash has occurred. The sensors receive information from an accelerometer built into a microchip.

6. The airbag's inflation system reacts sodium azide (NaN3) with potassium nitrate (KNO3) to produce nitrogen gas. Hot blasts of the nitrogen inflate the airbag.

7. So this is basic idea you need to know. I'll post more about airbag, the consequence of airbag during the crash.

Safety Plumbing Thought

My friend who just recently went to United States for training has a little Dallas Plumbing problem a month ago. He told me that the snowbird upstairs his room had returned from her real home and decided to wash her dishes. The water emptied into his closet and this really pissing him off.

She just acted like nothing happening, so he called Dallas Plumber which is a local company that runs a lot of advertising. They came over and determined the old drain pipe in his ceiling is cracked. They fixed it charged him quite a good deal. But he said he doesn't want to pay since he just rent the room. It is the landlord responsibility to pay the bills. Yeah, that's making sense to me. The landlord later with reluctancy paid the bill.

I told my friend that money can't buy health. Safety is important that prevention is better than cure. So, why bothered spending some money on your safety. If we think deeper, the cost of medical treatment is helluva more expensive than the cost you spend to prevent it. So safety is important and don't stingy to spend on preventing injury occurance.

New Proton MPV Tester Spotted at Putra Height

1. Reader from Paultan blog has spotted and take a shacky video on Proton MPV tester at Putra Heights last week, and it seems that the MPV has been sighted in the area quite frequently for 3 consecutive days.

2. He also claims the MPV was quite fast to accelerate way from his Proton Waja 1.6, despite having about 3-4 occupants in it. The video is quite shaky at first but later there is a close-up, including a shot of the Proton MPV travelling next to what appears to be a red Perodua Kelisa towards the end.

3. At first glace, looks like a morgue wagon (I dunno to translate kereta mayat haha), later we would say "oh thats MPV". Not too bad eh. For more about Proton's posts, go HERE.

Rear Seatbelts Would Have Saved 2,200 From Injury

KUALA LUMPUR: Of the 6,282 road accidents last year, more than 2,200 rear-seat passengers would not have died or sustained injuries if they had worn seat belts. Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said 360 fatalities last year were the result of rear-seat passengers not buckling up, while 700 more people suffered serious injury because of the same reason.

“We take it seriously if people have not buckled up in all seats in the vehicles,” he said before launching a road safety campaign together with Toyota Motors at the Sungei Besi toll plaza here yesterday.

The rear-seat-belt ruling will be enforced from Jan 1. From Dec 16, the police and the Road Transport Department will carry out an exercise to educate and remind drivers and passengers of the ruling. Mock summonses would also be issued during this exercise. Suret and UMW executive director (strategic marketing group) Aminar Rashid Salleh later presented motorists at the toll plaza with Toyota’s road safety seat headrest bands, which carry a message for rear-seat passengers to buckle up.

1. Got this from TheStar Online today. Interesting title where rear seatbelts could saved 2200 from injury. I wonder where the number is coming from. As far as I know, the police data collection form didnt have anything column/place to fill on related to wearing seatbelt. Maybe the number coming from hospital database but I still have doubt on it.

2. Lots need to be done as currently Malaysia used its own Malaysian Standards (MS) to code for different type of seatbelt which is quite different compared to most country code. So its kinda difficult for researchers to identify whether our Malaysian seatbelts are really up to international standard or not.

3. One thing I notice during my crashed car inspection is Toyota Fortuner's driver seatbelt code is Ar4m (very basic) only. Most of Europe cars/passenger vehicles have at least code of Aer4mp (has more safety features) for driver's seatbelt. They have Ar4m for only rear passenger, but still very rare to be found as normally for rear passenger their standard is Aer4m. So what this supposed to mean? Think about it. Our driver seatbelt is the same with rear passengers at Europe. So meaning our rear passenger seatbelt is the same with what in the Europe????. Think.

Find Way to be Financial Freedom

1. This is a picture of crashed Toyota Harrier which took 5 lives instantly after having head on collision with a truck. Majority of the people understand that things happen with a reason. Without further discussing the reason itself, they are all assuming life must move on. It is indeed hard thing to do by people who involved or even indirectly involved with such unlucky events. The implication worsen when there are huge amounts of money to settle. This is where people need to be in Debt Relief all the time as a method of precaution.

2. One way to start is first, you need to reduce your debt in a package called debt reduction. Your credit cards wont be affected, so you have least to worry about but all you need to do is having consultation with specific finance consultant about your accumulating debts. "Dude, will IRS nail me on this package?" No. I never heard such case happening but for safety precaution, why don't you call IRS yourselves.

3. Besides this, there are couple more options where you can ensure your Debt Relief freedom such as debt consolidation, bankrupcy and credit counseling. All these programs are designed specifically for own financial freedom and I really recommended that. Last but not least, it is back to your decision, everybody has great plans that work but if you don't try, it is useless. So act now! You are not only taking this for your own benefits but also for those significant figures around you if anything bad happening.

A New Joystick-Controlled Mercedes Benz SCL600 Car

1. The newly introduce Benz is very different....really different.

2. If you do not know, this is new Mercedes Benz SCL600. The car is really different.

3. Look at the car boot now! It is indeed a different one! But not too weird right? Now coming to the most bizzare and grotesque parts...


4. No Steering wheel, you drive with a joystick. No pedals either! Can you drive with a joystick? Your kids and grand kids probably can. The influence of video games in our lives has really arrived. Wouldnt you say?

5. Got this from the email. So I digg around and found out that this news is indeed TRUE. But this car is made for a futuristic automobile research, not for sale. Maybe in couple of years, we can use this kind of technology, driving using a mere joystick! This design has been introduced at Paris Motor Show 1996 to show off groundbreaking systems for improving safety and comfort in a passenger car. For more details, go google DaimlerChrysler's F 200 Concept Study.

MIROS Library Overview

1. Behind all organization, lies humbly a library that supports all the findings and assisting on all the discoveries. The MIROS library established the same month as MIROS temporarily headquarters at Kajang which is about 11 months back. From stacking older books borrowed from University Putra Malaysia (UPM), now the library has like 2000+ new books and journals, relating to the road safety.

2. But world has moving fast to the next stage where everything has been digitalized. MIROS will look outdated if the library didn’t follow the technology trend. But technology is useless without proper maintenance of the system. This is where a system called 8xu file extension, new data format for digital files. Sorting thousand and millions of data files are really painstaking job without help from any software.

3. But for me, it is really helpful in the future that the journals and stuffs in the library can be accessed online from the workstation. Huh, what the heck am I rambling about? My head at the moment is pounding hard. So many things to do, yet very short time left. So I wrote carelessly about things in random. The year is almost coming to the end which implicitly means lots of projects need outputs and results. Day off is not an option.

Future Car: Introducing Audi O Concept

1. The new Audi O conception intentional by European based specialist Ondrej Jirec combines a chic and sports car with a reigning frequency system. Tho' the outside uses the customary Audi styling, especially the frame which is neatly placed between the headlights; the mirror windows in the doors are extending to the underside adding to the boilersuit programme of the vehicle. This is indeed a very nice 'toy' for you to use during long distance travel.

2. The specializer says that product includes the previous Audi posture, i-pod and euphony. It features an frequency method, bluetooth and internet connectivity and a collective in 650 GB petrified ride. So be it a close or unsound journeying you are never out of music.

Selecting Safety Ceiling Fans

1. My body temperature feels so hot at the moment and I'm really feeling not well. The weather is so unpredictable recently with rain and hot day keep switching back and forth. I just return from investigating a road crash case at Johor Bharu and unluckily, the rain dropped cats and dogs when we were inspecting the scene of accident. So later, it leaves me no choice other than switching off the room hotel air conditioner and turning on a beautiful Tommy Bahama Ceiling Fan provided by the room service.

2. During my last summer days at Minnesota, I remembered that my room had quite interesting ceiling fan too, but still incomparable with any 5 stars hotel’s ceiling fans. If I were not mistaken, the brand is Hunter ceiling fans. The design was so classic and unique that in one glace, people will think that the price is very expensive, but the truth is it is affordable.

3. But if you looking for modern design, I suggest you to consider Minka Aire Ceiling Fans. Not only the price is cheaper, the design is gorgeous too. Huh how come I went too far talking about type of interesting ceiling fans. Actually the point I want to make here is when shopping for any device, please put safety thought during the selection. Even you afford to buy the most beautiful fans design, without safety features, it is useless and hazardous to yourself.

New Honda City Malaysia Released on Mid December 2008!

1. According to Paultan, Honda Malaysia has officially announced that the new 2009 Honda City will be launched in mid-December 2008! No more wait for 2009 to come, you can grab it this year!

2. They will be having a pre-launch competition soon where you’ll be able to win passes to the launch and the latest generation iPod Nano but the contest website (Excitement in the City) isn’t up yet at the moment, due only to be online this Friday. So get ready to participate.

3. For more Honda news, new release or jokes, crash or whatever, please visit HERE. I'll update more.

Report Annoying Phone Calls for Safety

1. Have you ever got an annoying call from a mysterious person? I don’t get it yet, well, as far as I know. But if you do, please go Phone Number Reporting. They can trace who are the caller and after that you can report it to the police if the person harassing you or whatever. This is not related to the road safety but I think this is a good countermeasure to ensure your safety at home or work.

2. I should think something that can benefit to the road safety. Ok how about this, n the case of wrong caller or well known as false call. The authorities can used this to trace those irresponsible persons and caught them. I heard the government losing some money because of this. I just heard though, so dont take my word heavily.

Old School Road Safety Ads: Interesting!

1. I got this road safety ads from the infamous youtube website. Well, a friend of mine sending the link to me when looking for road safety ads. It is quite shocked that Malaysia is already starting the road safety campaign many many of years earlier, might be even before our road safety expert (Prof Radin) being born yet.

2. For me, this is the best road safety ads ever. Why spend millions dollars when there are free one available? Not only free, but this is indeed an interesting one. Enjoy!

Modified NGV Burst and Killed a Person at Malacca

1. Shocked! As reported in the news, a trader who turned COOKING GAS CYLINDER into a natural gas vehicle (NGV) storage unit to power his van died hours after the tank exploded at a petrol station. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a spark from the engine, which was running at that time. The self-modified cooking gas cylinder was placed under the driver's seat and covered with a canvas. Looks how creative Malaysian is. This is one example of creativity that leads to deaths.

2. After reading the news report, a member of OSHA (Daud Sulaiman) has written things to differ the reason for the explosion written in the news. These are the facts which obviously are not available to the reporters.

3. An LPG cylinder is designed to maximum 20 bar - or 300 psi, to contain liquefied Propane (70%) and Butane (30%). The pressure only comes from the propane, as the butane has almost no pressure. Check your cigarette lighter. Pressure can build up only if the liquid is vaporised.

4. This is important. The NGV cylinder is something like a BA (breathing apparatus), with similar pressures. The steel tank is normally designed for 200 bar - or 3,000 psi, 10 times the pressure for the LPG! If you want more gas, you will have to use an even higher pressure but that will increase the thickness of the cylinder required, and the weight will become prohibitive. In which case, composite material is the alternative.

5. What happened in this incident is that the LPG sphere was filled beyond its capacity and exploded - this is a physical explosion! The gas released was ignited almost immediately by the engine which was running - and this caused a second fire explosion! But the timing could be very fast and almost simultaneous. Most people would not have identified it as 2 explosions.

6. As a result the public must be made aware of the fact that any LPG cylinder is 10 times inferior to the NGV cylinder, in terms of pressure. Use the LPG cylinder, and you will have a time bomb in your hands.

Top 5 Expensive Car Crashes Ever

1. Whenever someone wrecks a car, it's always a sad situation. They have to deal with insurance and repairs which usually cost up to a few thousand dollars. What's even sadder is when someone wrecks an exotic car. That's when the repair costs start to make you weep. These wrecks are in a league of their own. They involve cars that are so unique and rare, only billionaires can easily afford them. Presenting you top 5 expensive car crashes ever.

Crash No. 5. Ferrari Enzo - $1.3 Million

The Ferrari Enzo sure seems to attract a lot of crashes. This is surprising considering the price tag. You would think the owners would be more careful, but we've documented at least 14 crashes involving the Enzo. That's nearly $20 million worth of crashes! The most famous was the Malibu crash of 2005, when the driver, "Fat Steven" Eriksson crashed the car at 196 mph.

Crash No. 4. Bugatti Veyron - $1.6 Million

The Bugatti Veyron is the most expensive production car in history. And unbelievably, it didn't even make the top three on this list. Only 300 are expected to be produced and already two have crashed. Below is the first one. The driver thought it was okay to speed at 100 mph in the rain. He only had the car for one week.

Crash No. 3. 1959 Ferrari 250 GT TDF - $1.65 Million

Now we start getting into the extremely rare classic cars. The owners who are willing to take these machines on the road are just plain crazy. The ones that take them on the track are even crazier. This 1959 Ferrari 250 GT "Tour de France" crashed into a wall at the Shell Ferrari-Maserati Historic Challenge back in 2003.

Crash No. 2. Ferrari 250 GT Spyder - $10 Million

Just when you thought it couldn't get much more expensive, the damage has been multiplied. The record price for a 1961 250 GT California Spyder at auction was set on May 18, 2008 when a black one was sold for $10,894,900. So what is one doing buried in the sand? The unlucky owner had it stored near the beach when a Hurricane hit.

Crash No. 1. Ferrari 250 GTO - $28.5 Million

We now present you with the most expensive car crash ever. Touted as the Ferrari that most successfully embodies the traits of the marque, the 1962-64 Ferrari 250 GTO became the most valuable car in the world. In 2008 an anonymous English buyer bought a 250 GTO at auction for a record $28,500,000. The crash below represents a car worth more than the combined value of all 14 Enzos involved in accidents. It is simply unbelievable that an owner would even dare take this car on the road. After a track event involving historic cars, the owner of this rare beast rammed into the back of another car after traffic slowed down.

New Proton MPV 2009 Design Submitted to UK Patent Office

1. I think all the mystery of new Proton MPV will be answered. According to Paul Tan blog (thanks!), Proton has filed the design of the new Proton MPV with the UK Intellectual Property Office on the 24th of October 2008 and it was approved on the 4th of November 2008.

2. So meaning the patent and design has been finalized. And the patent looks as above. Don't trust me? What the heck engineers sending draft patent to the patent office if it is not being finalized right?

3. We can now see in full detail of how the new Proton MPV will look like, though it’s only the low resolution sketches that are available from the public UK IPO website. It looks pretty much similiar to the images of the model that appeared to be snapped in a Proton facility. Everything matches, including the chrome bar at the rear. The Proton MPV is scheduled to be released in early 2009.

4. Great or bad, pretty or ugly, this is our first national MPV. Be proud ok. To learn more about Proton news, go HERE. Till then. Jyane!