Big boys small toys

[Speedbag]

When I did auto body work we had customers that were much more seriously injured than that.

Chemical burns were common from the propellants, and one lady had several broken bones.

It was several years ago and I believe some advances have been made, but people need to realize that when a violent explosion takes place inches from you there will be repercussions.

Cars aren't built for the primary purpose of crashing anyway.

+1

My Mom lost the tip of a finger via the steering wheel airbag trying to correct their path in the crash that claimed my Dad, who had slumped over at the wheel.

[LMT]

People sit to close to the steering wheel. Smaller people.  The arms, extended straight out, should just break at the wrist, at the wheel.

I saw lots of people damage from airbags due to the driver being to close.

[stopintime]

5 stars is 5 stars

this rating is achieved using crash test dummies that ar full of sensors that check impact points

thats not to say a 5 star rated big car isnt safer

the problem lies in what the min requirement rating is , and that the fact that there is now many cars reaching the highest level

so what happens next , the min rating will increase

While we're already off topic - you're not entirely correct. The frontal crash is measured against an object of similar mass, which only seldom is the case if you're in a small car hitting another car. The other small/large-depending tests are rated against a fixed mass, that's correct.

[GAAN]

Several years ago

a saw a BMW 3 series that hit a Chrysler 300M head on

Crumple zones, Airbags, Seatbelt Pretensioners, High Tensile side impact beams, ABS,

All the safety devices were in place and used

Everybody died anyway

3 in the BMW

2 in the 300M

Safety ratings and high tech gadgets don't work near as well as simply slowing down

[supertjeduc]

It's about 30 years ago when had my last car crash
It wasn't my foult then
And i don't care for safety only for fun
This abarth is al about fun , different tuners already can get about
250 hp out of this small engine
And thats what i like

[sbrguy]

My biggest complaint about the smaller cars is that I can't understand the safety. It doesn't look like there is any room for crush zones to allow energy absorption. I've seen crash tests for the smart car so I understand that they can make a rock solid car but what happens to the people inside the car when it gets plowed by hummer. It's like a helmet: too hard is not good for the squishies inside.

I'd rock it if you could justify my safety concerns.

yeap but you have to remember you always make tradeoffs.

you buy a hummer ok , well it eats gas like crazy and is expensive, or you buy a smller car and save.  so which one do you buy?

it depends on the person's wants and needs, obviously if you are planning for worste case all the time you would have to drive a tank and nothing else, but it wouldn't be very practical or such so there are tradeoffs.

[Howie]

Many of the air bag related injuries in the US were due to mandated air bags that were too big and too powerful. Pretensioning seat belts, in many cases didn't hit the seen yet.  In recent years the size and power have been reduced, and sometimes is dependent on the severity of the crash.  As Mary also pointed out, seating position plays an important part too.  Wrist injuries can be reduced by driving with your hands at the 20 to 8 position instead of a quarter to 3 or 10 to 2.  Also, get yourself back in the seat far enough so your arms are almost straight.  Most important, wear your seat belt.

Oh, in addition to what mother says, if people understood wonderful (said sarcastically) devices like stability control and radar braking will not necessarily save their dumb asses and a five star crash rating is not guaranteed to save you from serious injury i think you would see both less accidents, death and injury.

[erkishhorde]

Lol, looks like we've drifted into a safety debate. I'm interested in the rating. Is a small car rated differently than a larger car in Europe or America? I don't really know anything about any of the the safety ratings. I'd prefer to have 1 larger scale that goes from 1 to 10 and group small and large vehicles together rather than have 2 separate ratings because in reality, you're not only gonna crash into things of the same size. If it is different scales, a high rating is misleading on the lower scale when you don't know the reference point to the other scale.

[Howie]

Lol, looks like we've drifted into a safety debate. I'm interested in the rating. Is a small car rated differently than a larger car in Europe or America? I don't really know anything about any of the the safety ratings. I'd prefer to have 1 larger scale that goes from 1 to 10 and group small and large vehicles together rather than have 2 separate ratings because in reality, you're not only gonna crash into things of the same size. If it is different scales, a high rating is misleading on the lower scale when you don't know the reference point to the other scale.

I have no idea about present European ratings, but in the US all are rated the same way. 

[erkishhorde]

Many of the air bag related injuries in the US were due to mandated air bags that were too big and too powerful. Pretensioning seat belts, in many cases didn't hit the seen yet.  In recent years the size and power have been reduced, and sometimes is dependent on the severity of the crash.  As Mary also pointed out, seating position plays an important part too.  Wrist injuries can be reduced by driving with your hands at the 20 to 8 position instead of a quarter to 3 or 10 to 2.  Also, get yourself back in the seat far enough so your arms are almost straight.  Most important, wear your seat belt.

I wanna see crash injury results from those idiots that put their feet on the dash or out the window.

[J5]

While we're already off topic - you're not entirely correct. The frontal crash is measured against an object of similar mass, which only seldom is the case if you're in a small car hitting another car. The other small/large-depending tests are rated against a fixed mass, that's correct.

this website expains all the Euro Ncap tests

http://www.euroncap.com/testprocedures.aspx

no mention of different tests for different cars

[J5]

Several years ago

a saw a BMW 3 series that hit a Chrysler 300M head on

Crumple zones, Airbags, Seatbelt Pretensioners, High Tensile side impact beams, ABS,

All the safety devices were in place and used

Everybody died anyway

3 in the BMW

2 in the 300M

Safety ratings and high tech gadgets don't work near as well as simply slowing down

how true, i remember watching top gear with a smart that went into a concrete barrier at 60 mph , it survied ok , drivers door could still be opened, but the statement was made that the occupants prob wouldnt survive from the sudden stop

[stopintime]

this website expains all the Euro Ncap tests

http://www.euroncap.com/testprocedures.aspx

no mention of different tests for different cars

From the website "frontal impact":

It simulates one car having a frontal impact with another car of similar mass.

[J5]

From the website "frontal impact":

It simulates one car having a frontal impact with another car of similar mass.

true but i feel thats just a discrepancy of the text as the diagram shows specific measurements of the object that the car hits

and in true standard testing form you dont have different crashes for different cars to meet a fixed standard , all vehicles must perform the exact same tests to meet a fixed standard

[stopintime]

If a small car hits a larger car, the small car will not only stop - it will be pushed backwards. Hitting a fixed object is like hitting a car of similar mass (speed, hit, stop). Hitting a larger car adds a reverse factor (speed, hit, stop, reverse). It's a difference - how much it matters is debatable.

.... and the Abarth is still very cool