What Causes Crashed Cars to Blast? Paul Walker’s Car Explosion Explained
All fans and love ones of Fast and Furious Hollywood star Paul Walker mourned over his tragic death. The car, where he was just a passenger, crashed into a tree, caught on fire, and exploded. The accident happened while Paul Walker and his friend were on their way to a charity event in South California. The exact cause of the car crash is yet to be revealed.
Before I proceed, I would also like to express my grief regarding the loss of one of the best Hollywood actors today. A person with a pure heart and will to help those who are in need.
Why did I choose this topic?
Is this the right time to write something about car crash even if we are still in shock about the famous celeb’s demise?
A big car explosion may happen when a vehicle hits a tree, concrete walls, light posts, or when it bumps into another car. But such thing can still be avoided if we are going to have enough knowledge about its causes. Although car blast incident is rare, it can still happen to anyone--whether you are the driver or just a passenger in the car.
Calvin Feist, instructor at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton listed some of the most important questions that would help us deal with car explosions.
“How many kilometres were on the car when it exploded?
"How was it running up to then?”
“Did the engine really blow up or did a part come flying out of it?”
Some of the most common causes of vehicle accident explosions according to Feist are the following:
Battery: “the battery could blow up, which would sound and look like the car exploded. This would normally be caused by the battery or charging system being defective.” A battery blast could happen if the battery is overcharged. Also, batteries release hydrogen – freed by electrolysis of the water – when they’re being charged or discharged. If a spark ignites the hydrogen, the battery could explode. Like the Hindenburg.
Fuel and oil leaks: If gas leaks and drips onto anything hot enough to ignite it, it’ll go “boom.” Fuel leaks are usually caused by parts – like the fuel tank, fuel pump or fuel line – getting removed or replaced and not reinstalled properly. These kinds of situations are extremely rare but have been known to happen in the movies and in insurance fraud cases.
Electrical: If the wiring shorts and gets too hot, it can cause a fire. “I have worked on a few vehicles that have had small electrical fires on them,” Feist says. “Some of them had been modified with big stereos and extra lights that were not properly installed.”
Though no one wants to meet an accident, it would still be better to check these out from the time to time to avoid car explosions when your vehicle hits into another massive object.