Wrecked (tow trucks)

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

You also have to look at the secondary impacts of the occupant's body with the interior of the car. Most newer cars restrain the occupant from moving in a far better and more controlled manner. Plus, cars are cheaper to replace than medical bills are to pay. Newer cars are designed to be rigid around the occupant space and sacrifice the ends of the car to decrease the force transmitted inside by acting as a cushion.

 

[Uncletruck]

It is the force that is transmitted to the occupant's body that causes death or injury in a car accident. When a car has crumple zones and air bags used to absorb the forces along with seat belts to keep the occupants in place, these keep as little of the impact force from reaching the occupants. The functionality and advantages of these devices is proven in crash simulations- you would have a much better chance of surviving an equal force crash in a 2008 Civic than you would in a G body. What the car looks like after an accident does not matter. What matters most is which cars do the best job of keeping the accident forces away from the occupants. A car built with tons of metal and no safety devices is only protecting the car, not what is inside of it.

-UT-

 

[pontiacgp]

It is the force that is transmitted to the occupant's body that causes death or injury in a car accident. When a car has crumple zones and air bags used to absorb the forces along with seat belts to keep the occupants in place, these keep as little of the impact force from reaching the occupants. The functionality and advantages of these devices is proven in crash simulations- you would have a much better chance of surviving an equal force crash in a 2008 Civic than you would in a G body. What the car looks like after an accident does not matter. What matters most is which cars do the best job of keeping the accident forces away from the occupants. A car built with tons of metal and no safety devices is only protecting the car, not what is inside of it.

-UT-

agreed to a certain point....mass also plays a role in an accident and when two cars collide the larger mass in itself causes the force of the impact to be delayed thus lessened...but then again the point of travel and impact also changes the results...

take a look at the crash tests for the Mercedes Smart car and another subcompact...you'll notice they point out the larger mass of the sub compact helped in lessening the damage to the car as the mass was able to move the concrete barrier...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I'd feel about as safe in a Smart car as I would in a VW bus. In other words, not very safe. There just isn't enough crush space for my taste. It is in all likelihood a much safer vehicle than a Type 2 transporter, but I doubt it's ability to absorb impact energy.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Here's another 5th gear video from Youtube. In it, an early 90's Volvo wagon is crashed into a subcompact Renault Modus (Nissan Versa). Which do you think is safer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

 

[pontiacgp]

Here's another 5th gear video from Youtube. In it, an early 90's Volvo wagon is crashed into a subcompact Renault Modus (Nissan Versa). Which do you think is safer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

to evaluate which driver suffered more injuries you'd have to measure the g force on the two....just because the driver of the subcompact did not appear to have suffered more injuries the internal organs of a person can only withstand so much force. The subcompact didn't absorb as much structural damage but did that help the driver?

 

[andrewmp6]

be happy you never met a airbag the gen 1 ones where nasty i had one break 3 of my ribs from it opening too late.Took 3 weeks before the ringing left my ears and had burns on my hands and face.The worse part of that wreck was my hand hit the windshield tell this day 4 years later im still popping glass out of my hand.It was a 96 ford i had that wreck in i was rear ended by a old woman at about 30mph i would have been fine it the air bag worked right or didn't open.Want to see why i drive a truck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ReZ0C_UF-8 more newer one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBNiQWTZ ... re=related Watch and listen to this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz-s1sIoLhU even the Institute for Highway Safety said a bigger car is safer then a smaller one.