Small can be safe

[SuperTrooper]

Originally Posted by bbjsw10

AAAhhhh here we go again.

Popcorn please!

We need an "eating popcorn" smily.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by ConnClark

Small and light will never be safe. Its just a matter of physics.

Crap, pure and simple... No, let me rephrase that: it's the same old crap, recycled so many times your nose has almost gotten used to the smell.

So let's deal in some reality here.

Fact #1: The safest car is one that you don't collide with other cars or stationary objects, and that doesn't roll over in obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or when you get a simple flat tire, etc. Small cars, especially small cars with a low center of gravity, are a lot better at all this than your SUV.

Fact #2: Small cars with well-designed protective structures are as safe in collisions as any other size. Consider for instance the survival rate of Formula car drivers hitting obstacles at high speeds.

Fact #3: Highway safety is not just a matter of what you alone are driving. Sure, you might increase your own safety by being the only person out there in a Hummer. Once a large number of people start thinking that way and driving oversized SUVs of their own, everyone's safety takes a sharp drop.

[SuperTrooper]

We've beaten this to death before.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...trap-3507.html

[cfg83]

SuperTrooper -

Thanks for the URL. Maybe it's a Zombie-thread and just won't die.

Yuze takez your chancez. Some people ride motorcycles and trade convenience (parking) and MPG for safety. I *know* my car is 1989 or 1996 at best in terms of safety design. MPG Rock Stars like CRX's, Metros, and Honda VX's are the same.

I forget where I read it, but I think the statistic is that the driver is in control af about 90% of his/her own safety on the road (i.e. defensive driving). The other 10% is where the other drivers and physics takes over. Volvo's by engineering and reputation have specialized in covering that other 10% pretty well.

CarloSW2

[Formula413]

Originally Posted by bbjsw10

God decides who lives/dies not your car.

My own beliefs aside, this is a technical forum...

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Fact #1: The safest car is one that you don't collide with other cars or stationary objects, and that doesn't roll over in obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or when you get a simple flat tire, etc. Small cars, especially small cars with a low center of gravity, are a lot better at all this than your SUV.

Bingo. You are much better off avoiding the accident in the fist place, and a 2000 pound "death trap" is infinitely better at this than an SUV.

[Yaristock]

Originally Posted by ConnClark

You are saying people who knowingly buy a top heavy vehicle have no reason to gripe when it rolls over on them.

So then people who buy a small car should have no reason to gripe when they are hit by an SUV.

For the first one yes. More than likely they are not skilled enough to control the vehicle when it becomes unstable. Listening to someone complain about a top heavy vehicle roll over is just as annoying as listening to a low slung car driver complain about scraping; you knew it was gonna happen.

When you are in a small car hit by another vehicle you can gripe. In this scenario you have added a variable other than the single driver. You have added the human variable of another driver whose competency is now questionable. Its much harder not to gripe when someone else is either involved in the accident or the cause. As the old saying goes, its easier to be mad at myself than others.

[ConnClark]

Lets straighten out some of your facts and half truths

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Fact #1: The safest car is one that you don't collide with other cars or stationary objects, and that doesn't roll over in obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or when you get a simple flat tire, etc. Small cars, especially small cars with a low center of gravity, are a lot better at all this than your SUV.

Actually a car with a large wheel base and a low center of gravity is far better than a small car. Look at race cars. The only cars you see raced that have short wheel bases are ones that are restricted by rules such as midget race cars( which are famous for tumbling end over end in wrecks). Also I don't own an SUV

Fact #2: Small cars with well-designed protective structures are as safe in collisions as any other size.

as tested how? In the flawed test where they are crashed into objects that weight just as much as they do and not into objects that are the typical weight of the average vehicle on the road?

Consider for instance the survival rate of Formula car drivers hitting obstacles at high speeds.

Formula one cars are anything but compact cars. They have long and wide wheel bases. The also have a crumple zone to passenger cabin space ratio that is second to none. They also never travel on a road with oncoming traffic traveling on the other side of the road with no safety barrier. I also have to wonder how ordinary car accident victims would do with emergency rooms and doctors with in a mile and a half as well as a medivac helicopter standing by.

Fact #3: Highway safety is not just a matter of what you alone are driving. Sure, you might increase your own safety by being the only person out there in a Hummer. Once a large number of people start thinking that way and driving oversized SUVs of their own, everyone's safety takes a sharp drop.

No, only those who drive cars that can't provide safety from a collision with one.

[tjts1]

So you think you can rewrite the laws of physics with airbags?

Fiat 500: Euro NCAP 5 stars
vs
Audi Q7: Euro NCAP 4 stars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pVF1Wr7GLQ

Keep dreaming.

[ConnClark]

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II

Euro NCAP 1,000,000 star rating

[bbjsw10]

Originally Posted by tjts1

So you think you can rewrite the laws of physics with airbags?

Fiat 500: Euro NCAP 5 stars
vs
Audi Q7: Euro NCAP 4 stars

Keep dreaming.

I would rather be driving the smaller car I would rather be killed than take out a Dad, Mom and kids with a monster SUV. I would not be able to live with my self if I drove a big ole' Escalade into a family packed in a Aveo. Maybe that is just me. This is what I want people to think about everytime they climb into their "Highway Yacht" Rather than driving like they one the road instilling fear into others around them. Almost everyone of them behind me will ride my tail all day long and not move back. I think they watch too much Monster Jam.