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I think it all depends upon the directions of impact. Posted by geoguy [Email]  (#711) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from geoguy) on Wed, 9 Jan 2008 10:15:29
In Reply to: How safe are our cars being 10 years old?, masupra, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 07:49:52 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The accident that Ari describes is a best case situation. Most cars are going to be sturdiest when struck from the front or back. With a side impact, there is much less crush distance, & therefore more likelihood of injury to a vehicle's occupants.
My wife & I lost two of our closest friends to an accident in New Jersey almost two years ago. A full-size pickup truck (3/4-ton or 1-ton, I forget which) ran a stop sign at just under 40 mph, & struck our friends' Volvo V70 wagon on the passenger side.
The Volvo turned roughly 90 degrees clockwise, skidded into the oncoming traffic lane, & was struck at the driver's door by a Ford Ranger pickup. The three vehicles remained in the four-way intersection where the accident originated, so a lot of kinetic energy was expended in a very short distance. Both of our friends died at the scene, from internal injuries caused by the two sudden accelerations/decelerations. Neither of the other two drivers, nor the passenger in the pickup that caused this mess, were injured. Even the dog that Steve & Jane were transporting to an animal hospital survived this wreck (it was in the wagon's cargo area, away from both impacts).
The Volvo was a '98 model, & did not have side-impact airbags. Those bags might have helped Jane in the passenger seat, but wouldn't have done a thing for Steve in the drivers seat. The Volvo's drivers seat was pushed nearly to the middle of the car, & the roof was buckled through the center of the sunroof. I was stunned when I saw it in the police department's impound lot.
Frankly, I doubt that the occupants of a 2007 Volvo wagon, with all the modern safety bells & whistles, would have survived much better in the same situation.
I regularly drive a '05 Volvo wagon, a '97 9000, and a couple of Ford super-duty work trucks. I don't feel particularly unsafe in the 9000, but since that accident I am more aware of the need to do whatever possible to avoid a side-impact, regardless of the car or truck that I'm driving.
I'm not trying to scare anyone with this post . . . but I think the outcome depends as much on the nature of an accident, as it does on the make/model/year of the vehicles involved.
- Mark
, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 20:32:30, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 22:43:01, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 10:15:29 <-- Viewing This Message
, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 10:42:15, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 09:15:36, Wed, 9 Jan 2008 23:18:18
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