| Author |
Message |
Randy (Schatten)
Member
Username: Schatten
Post Number: 489
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 10:01 pm: | |
The accident was only an exmple of how cars.. or rather, trucks by the big three are built. They are built not to get in a wreck and not have any damage.
Regarding the accident, no there were no injuries. This was merely a thought that I had on how to promote better cars from manufacturers.
Sure, cars these days are more safe. But lets look at it this way - race cars are also more safe these days. They used to be steel cans with no crushing point. Now, they crumble to assist the driver's safety. In turn, this also assists other drivers so that they 'share' the impact.
Of course, at my stance, I have no way to change the car makers who will rebadge a successful name or successful model in which they profit greatly by cost, margins, and of course taxes (from the gov't by making suv's 'trucks', etc.). |
TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member
Username: Tifosi
Post Number: 1908
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 7:44 am: | |
right on Chuck - why is this so strange to people here - in italy everyone stays to the right |
Chuck Babel (Chuck_98_rt10)
Junior Member
Username: Chuck_98_rt10
Post Number: 130
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 7:42 am: | |
You didn�t mention if there were any injuries.
TomD is right. Cars are much safer today. They look horrible after an accident but often the passengers walk away with minor injuries. Compared to some of those tanks in the 70s when the car was repairable but the passengers were not. It�s the biggest reason the 55mph speed limit was eliminated. Now, if people would just observe �SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT�
|
TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member
Username: Tifosi
Post Number: 1906
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 7:25 am: | |
Randy
hard to look at just one accident. To my knowledge all recent cars are built with crumble zones - which are suppose to absorb the shock of an accident and take impact off the occupants. It is not ideal to have a stiff vehicle that does not absord anything because that just puts all the impact on the occupants. That side there are many theories on this. I am out of my league here but I am sure others can add |
Randy (Schatten)
Member
Username: Schatten
Post Number: 488
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 7:16 am: | |
After viewing a new H2 commercial, of a woman driving through the city and hearing messages about "more steel" it brings to mind the perspective on safety that manufacturers have when marketing cars. Its "you need this car so you can be safe!"
However, no one, besides the companies of Volvo and Mercedes that I can think of at the moment, think about the other cars, and how they are impacted - literally - with other cars. When MB designed their SUV, they made sure the bumper would hit a passenger side car, not go over it.
Trucks are built to be tough, except for the plastic-tupperware version of the Avalanche of course. It seems none of them fold.
Just two weeks ago my friend was in an accident - as a passenger. The line up from the stop light - saturn, celica, firebird, honda accord (early 80's). A drunk college kid in a Chevy 2500 sped down the feeder and slammed into them. The accord was demolished - no back seat, no rear end, no gas tank - that was in the passenger seat actually. The firebird - bent frame, demolished rear end. Celica - bumpers are both toast - now in shop to verify if frame is ok. And the Saturn - some scrapes on the rear bumper. The truck - nothing damaged at all, only a bit of the plastics underneath the bumper. Other than that, it was perfectly solid.
The point being - the truck didn't collapse at all, which might have _shared_ the impact with these other cars. But they aren't built that way - why is that?
Why not build cars not only to be safe, but for other people on the road to feel safe with them on it as well? Instead of concentrating on "I want to be safe." Why not concentrate on a strategy in which the motto is more along the lines of, "Improving the safety of the driver and other cars around you."
No one wants to be targeted as "the careless unattentive driver on the cell phone" [that just ran me off the road]. |
|