think a big car will save you in a crash?

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-king-george-crash-trooper-killed,0,6083827.story

damn shame  nice guy was getting married in 2 weeks.  coulda been worse i guess no other serious injuries

[AmbulanceDriver]

From the description of the crash, it sounds like nothing short of an APC, or maybe a main battle tank would have saved his life....  No, a big car won't save you in a crash where the impact is so severe it splits the car in half.  But in less energetic crashes, yes, a big car will increase the odds of survival vs. a pregnant roller skate wrapped in tinfoil.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

yea  thats one of the worst wrecks i've seen.  i hate things like this.  and its always nice guys that seem to die

[Chuck Dye]

Wonder what a breakaway light pole might have contributed to that situation...

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i thought that too  i believe that pole is to the traffic signals  the cantilevered type  they have to be sturdier.

[Tallpine]

Tractor-trailer drivers die in wrecks too, especially when they run into trains 

[Jamisjockey]

Re: think a big car will save you in a crash?

 

A crown vic isn't that big.  And looking at the picture, the trooper had to be going quite fast.  No, I'm not placing blame on the trooper.  Not enough details in the story.
My gripe, though, is thread title fail.  The size of the trooper's car is a moot point, a strawman, and I'm really struggling to understand why you involved it in the post at all.  

[AJ Dual]

A crown vic isn't that big.  And looking at the picture, the trooper had to be going quite fast.  No, I'm not placing blame on the trooper.  Not enough details in the story.
My gripe, though, is thread title fail.  The size of the trooper's car is a moot point, a strawman, and I'm really struggling to understand why you involved it in the post at all.  

As if we don't struggle a lot about what C&SD posts?

I thought that was part of the charm... 

[PTK]

A crown vic isn't that big.  And looking at the picture, the trooper had to be going quite fast.  No, I'm not placing blame on the trooper.  Not enough details in the story.
My gripe, though, is thread title fail.  The size of the trooper's car is a moot point, a strawman, and I'm really struggling to understand why you involved it in the post at all. 

He must have a list of "things to prove", looking on the internet for stories, reports, and such that "prove" his list!

[CNYCacher]

A crown vic isn't that big.

It's almost as big as smaller SUV's  Certainly longer, probably wider, and only barely shorter.  As far as cars go, it's big.

It doesn't look big because it's shaped like a car, and you lose a little bit on scale, but put it next to a Blazer or a S-10 or Ranger

[CNYCacher]

But, yeah.  A big car won't necessarily save you in a crash. . . especially if it's old.


Crash Test 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air VS. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu (Frontal Offset) IIHS 50th Anniversary 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

He must have a list of "things to prove", looking on the internet for stories, reports, and such that "prove" his list!

or it could be i drove through the debris field and know his dad.  ymmv

[Perd Hapley]

My gripe, though, is thread title fail.  The size of the trooper's car is a moot point, a strawman, and I'm really struggling to understand why you involved it in the post at all. 

I choose to take it as a reminder not to put too much trust in the safety factor of a larger rig.

At first, though, I thought that the death of a war vet and LEO was being exploited to prove somebody's hobby horse. I hope that ain't so.

Edit: OK, I see that latest post now.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

he was one of those kids that would take a bullet to save someone else,  which is not surprising since his dad is like that too. two weeks before his wedding? its like a bad romance novel in real life

[PTK]

or it could be i drove through the debris field and know his dad.  ymmv

Take a joke as it is, friend.

Serious though, sorry to hear of his death. Too young. :(

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

definitely too young  you know you are getting old when cops look like they should still smell of similac.

[Brad Johnson]

Having owned a Vic and owing my lack of injuries in an accident to both its mass and engineering, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the car in that pic was NOT traveling anywhere near any kind of posted speed limit, residential or otherwise.  The orientation of the car tells me it was already on its side when it impacted the pole, top first.  For there to be enough energy to do that kind of damage, plus shear away a chunk of the car (I will presume the front, as that's where the majority of the mas is concentrated) the vehicle had to have been traveling at a very high rate of speed.  I would guesstimate somewhere well north of 80.  If the trooper was in pursuit, that's not unlikely.

Lots of cops owe their lives to the sturdy and reliable Vic.  Notwithstanding the rear impact issue of a couple years ago (the vast majority of which could be directly atributed to the veritable warehouse of equipment mounted to the bulkhead in the trunk with self-tapping, and gas tank puncturing, sheet metal screws) the Vic is a tank and can absorb a heckuva lot of impact energy before the transmitted levels get to occupant-inury zone.

Brad

[Jamisjockey]

Having owned a Vic and owing my lack of injuries in an accident to both its mass and engineering, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the car in that pic was NOT traveling anywhere near any kind of posted speed limit, residential or otherwise.  The orientation of the car tells me it was already on its side when it impacted the pole, top first.  For their to be enough energy to do that kind of damage, plus shear away a chunk of the car (I will presume the front, as that's where the majority of the concentrated mass is) the vehicle had to have been traveling at a very high rate of speed.  I would guesstimate somewhere well north of 80.  If the trooper was in pursuit, that's not unlikely.

Lots of cops owe their lives to the sturdy and reliable Vic.  Notwithstanding the rear impact issue of a couple years ago (the vast majority of which could be directly atributed to the veritable warehouse of equipment mounted to the bulkhead in the trunk with self-tapping sheet metal screws) the Vic is a tank and can absorb a heckuva lot of impact energy before the transmitted levels get to occupant-inury zone.

Brad

Not that I agree with police being kitted up like para military JBT's.....
But most cars are designed for standard highway use.  Crash testing usually only goes to highway speeds at best.  And cars aren't tested in a multiple impact scenerio.  Bounce off a few things at 90mph and then sideswipe a light pole, and there isn't much of the car left.  Police are involved in high speed pursuits and sometimes required to respond at a high rate of speed to scenes.  The risk is, the cars aren't built to tolerate this level of damage.
Couple that with the fact that many officers do not wear a seat belt. 
IMHO, of all the "specialized" gear that is out there, the biggest thing overlooked is the police car. 

[Tallpine]

I like how they crash car A and car B into a barricade and measure the results.

But most of us don't go running into barricades.  Try crashing car A into car B and observe which one comes out better 

[roo_ster]

I like how they crash car A and car B into a barricade and measure the results.

But most of us don't go running into barricades.  Try crashing car A into car B and observe which one comes out better 

When A & B are of different masses, it undercuts the EPA and other folks who push for lighter autos.  Much better to give a star rating and ignore relative crash-worthiness.  After all, isn't every other auto on the road identical to yours?

[HankB]

The Crown Vic is big by today's standards, but at one time it was more or less an intermediate, noticeably smaller than (for example) a Lincoln Town Car, a Pontiac Bonneville, and various Cadillacs from the late '60s through at least the early '70s.

And NO car will provide perfect safety, especially in a crash that will tear it in half. (And doesn't the CV have an actual FRAME, not just a unibody? Takes a LOT of energy to tear a frame in half.)

A larger car improves your odds in a crash, much like carrying a gun improves your odds in an assault - but neither is a magic talisman that makes you invincible.

[seeker_two]

One good thing about modern big cars is that they have more crumple-zone area than smaller cars....great for front or rear collisions....but meaningless in side impacts.....

...this guy wouldn't have had a chance if he'd been in a Humvee.....

[KD5NRH]

I choose to take it as a reminder not to put too much trust in the safety factor of a larger rig.

I'd rather have better designed than larger any day.  Five-point harness (Can't reach the phone while strapped in?  Tough.  Pay attention to the road.) and a real cage rather than theoretically-locking three point and some extra stamped sheet metal.  Look at the number of times NASCAR drivers have walked away from wrecks that wouldn't have left an identifiable corpse in any normal production car.

Cases in point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIotGXqBH0Y  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3VLkAK5CsI  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXwpsaHueUk  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVgQjoW7iTo  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ4LEUmfSp0  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZivo1SMLQ