The enviros will retort that “if everyone drives good ‘little’ cars, instead of half you obese jerks being in ‘evil’ SUVs, nobody will die when there’s a collision.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
This is best illustrated by a crash on the Colombus, OH, I-270 outerbelt about a decade ago. A Honda Civic trying to merge from the onramp got rear-ended by a Toyota Corolla that didn’t move left quite fast enough. Impact was a classic left rear-corner ram, combined impact velocity (due to vectors, etc.) was under 30 MPH (area is 55 zone, minimum speed on ramp is 35).
Both vehicles disintegrated. Of the four people in the Corolla and three in the Civic, four total died, the other three were badly injured. The Corolla driver and a front-right passenger in the Civic (both of whom survived) swore both cars were doing the speed limit, and OSHP investigation confirmed this.
In short, both vehicles (two of the safest compacts on the road, then and now, according to both J.D. Power and Consumer Reports) suffered massive structural failure in what should have been a “highly survivable” collision. The Corolla lost its front end back to the B-pillar on the right side, the Civic was spun sideways, rolled, and its roof collapsed.
The fact is, small cars do not survive impacts much above 25MPH, no matter what they hit, or what hits them. This includes them hitting each other. This is basic physics in action.
It is not physically possible to make a small car “crashworthy”. There simply is not sufficient internal volume for proper crush zones, and there is insufficient available mass for the other method of crash-survivability engineering, increased stiffening and thickening of major structural members.
Small, “ecologically responsible” vehicles kill people. And as they get smaller and “more responsible”, the death toll will increase.
I’m sure the “ecos’” solution will be to demand that we all ride the bus. Which is the next-least-safest form of road transport. They have a nasty tendency to roll in a crash, and their upperworks tend to collapse when they do. (Remember, they’ve all been “lightened” to improve their CAFE, too.)
Not that the “ecos” will care; they’ll still be riding in their chauffeured, alcohol-or-propane-fueled limousines, probably Maybachs. (Beemers and main-production Mercedes-Benz’ are so five minutes ago, you know.)
clear ether
eon
