Re: crash data (and some empirical data!)

[Lee Levitt <wheelman@shore.net>]

On Sat, 10 Aug 1996, Randall C. Markarian painfully wrote:

> So you are both right, the greater the impact area between the cars, the 
> less concentrated the force and therfore lesser deformation of the car and the 
> less severe the injury.

Randall,

Thanks for the comment...and sorry to hear about your loss. Must have
been tough for you to share your thoughts with us...

WRT collisionforces, I think the statement above, tho, should be explored.

Cars are designed to deform, and in in doing so, they allow the moving
mass to progressively deccelerate, thus lowering the potential for harm.
My point in my earlier post simply was that the 4 or 5 *feet* of front end
can do a better job in helping occupants to survive, than the 6 inches or
so of side panel.

In collisions, deformation of the auto is good...cars are *always*
expendable.

And...I just have to say that I was surprised at my own reaction to my
minor mishap this evening. After checking my kids to make sure that they
were okay, I got out of the car and spent a good 10-20 seconds surveying
the back end of my wife's car *before* I asked the other driver if *she*
was okay. She clearly was...she had gotten out of her car and was standing
there looking at her front end and my back end (ahem)...but it surprised
me nonetheless that I checked my car before I asked about her well-being.

I learned a lesson as well...

Lee Levitt
wheelman@shore.ent
1990 Audi 200
1988 Volvo 745T