Video: When an SUV rams a smaller car

[Peakster]

Now I know why North Americans love their SUVs. This video shows several crashes when cars aren't at matching heights in a collision. The final crash with the Range Rover and Honda Civic is absolutely terrifying .

And the sad thing is, most of the comments left on the video were like "this is why I drive a Hummer H1". I think it would be worse to survive the crash and go with the guilt of the consequences .

[Hockey4mnhs]

that was a nice honda why did they have to do that

[The Toecutter]

A roll cage could do a lot to help.

[GasSavers_Randy]

That's not too unusual. The small car suffers obvious, severe damage nobody could survive. The SUV is slightly bruised, but kills everyone inside and out.

There is a problem with crash compatibility, and it lies totally on the SUV. They increase the damage to cars without decreasing their own. So they 'win' by killing the other guy, not by saving their own. Not as anti-social as suicide bombers, but still not very productive.

Until recently an SUV broadsiding you was like a 40-ton semi broadsiding you. Yes, it could happen, but it was rare. Now they test for it, and expect the small car to do well.

Cars still do far better in the leading cause of death, the single-vehicle accident. SUV's are way tougher than you, and will turtle on a drop of the hat. The net result is that you're safer in a Miata than an F350 (check out the IIHS for proof).

[Silveredwings]

"So they win by being suicide bombers." I like that. I see all that saudi oil hasn't poisened our culture one little bit.

[GasSavers_TomO]

man, that one hits home, especially since my VX is based of the same chassis that was annihilated by that SUV, which happens to be an old Isuzu Trooper by the looks of it here in the states. I'm seriously considering installing a rollcage now in my civic. I do autocross once in a while still so would help. I also carry my now 17 month old daughter with me in the mornings and afternoons to a dn from daycare.

Here in MN, I belive that the SUV population is more around 40% than the 33% they suggested as a whole for the states. Could be even higher for all I know.

[JanGeo]

So . . . what have we learned by this video . . . no parking your cars sideways on a highway.


Hummm . . . my xB is both low to the ground and tall so I guess it covers all heights of vehicle impact.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

If anyone's looking into roll cages, make sure to integrate them into the frame w/ some padding or else you may split your head open on one in a 15mph crash. If not, then wear a helmet everywhere, can't go wrong there...

[Maillemann]

Two words: Accident Avoidance

"Are the best performers the biggest and heaviest vehicles on the road? Not at all. Among the safest cars are the midsize imports, like the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Or consider the extraordinary performance of some subcompacts, like the Volkswagen Jetta. Drivers of the tiny Jetta die at a rate of just forty-seven per million, which is in the same range as drivers of the five-thousand-pound Chevrolet Suburban and almost half that of popular S.U.V. models like the Ford Explorer or the GMC Jimmy. In a head-on crash, an Explorer or a Suburban would crush a Jetta or a Camry. But, clearly, the drivers of Camrys and Jettas are finding a way to avoid head-on crashes with Explorers and Suburbans. The benefits of being nimble—of being in an automobile that's capable of staying out of trouble—are in many cases greater than the benefits of being big."

"Then there's this notion that you need to be up high. That's a contradiction, because the people who buy these S.U.V.s know at the cortex level that if you are high there is more chance of a rollover. But at the reptilian level they think that if I am bigger and taller I'm safer. You feel secure because you are higher and dominate and look down. That you can look down is psychologically a very powerful notion. And what was the key element of safety when you were a child? It was that your mother fed you, and there was warm liquid. That's why cupholders are absolutely crucial for safety. If there is a car that has no cupholder, it is not safe. If I can put my coffee there, if I can have my food, if everything is round, if it's soft, and if I'm high, then I feel safe. It's amazing that intelligent, educated women will look at a car and the first thing they will look at is how many cupholders it has."
-The New Yorker

"Ironically, SUVs are particularly dangerous for children, whose safety is often the rationale for buying them in the first place. Because these beasts are so big and hard to see around (and often equipped with dark-tinted glass that's illegal in cars), SUV drivers have a troubling tendency to run over their own kids. Just recently, in October, a wealthy Long Island doctor made headlines after he ran over and killed his two-year-old in the driveway with his BMW X5. He told police he thought he'd hit the curb."
-Washington Monthly

[Snax]

Originally Posted by Maillemann

Two words: Accident Avoidance

Agreed. I believe it was WRC rally champ Collin McRae who said 'complacence kills'. And that is what it boils down to no matter what you drive. Even lacking the maneuverability of a small car, just assuming that other drivers will screw up can mitigate a fatality or accident altogether.

Just two days ago, I was driving 20 mph through a school zone after hours where people normally do 30 or more when a 8-9 year old boy ran out in front of me. Even at my slow speed, had I not been assuming the worst, this kid, who was completely obstructed from my view by a much larger child until he bolted, would have been F150 meat. Anybody else who had actually waited to ride the brake pedal until the kid started running would have flattened him.

I'm not arguing that I am the safest driver in the world as a justification to drive my gas guzzling kiddie muncher, but people should at least aspire to be because THAT is what makes the biggest difference of all.

. . . And what was the key element of safety when you were a child? It was that your mother fed you, and there was warm liquid. That's why cupholders are absolutely crucial for safety. If there is a car that has no cupholder, it is not safe. . .

I love it. Remarkably, it's probably true that cupholders reduce accidents. I can't count the number of 32 oz. sodas that spilled in my old work truck for lack of a cup holder. Fortunately I always had the presence of mind to just let it go, but there's allot of dried up soda saturating that truck.

"Ironically, SUVs are particularly dangerous for children, whose safety is often the rationale for buying them in the first place. Because these beasts are so big and hard to see around (and often equipped with dark-tinted glass that's illegal in cars), SUV drivers have a troubling tendency to run over their own kids. Just recently, in October, a wealthy Long Island doctor made headlines after he ran over and killed his two-year-old in the driveway with his BMW X5. He told police he thought he'd hit the curb."

Again, an issue of complacence. I ask myself what the worst that could happen is every time I back up and this keeps me exceptionally paranoid. If my two year old is anywhere outside, I won't even move our truck unless I can see him. I'd be suicidal if anything happened. It's simply not a result that I could live with.