Impact of SUVs in a crash

[MassiveCars]

Recently there was a terrible accident involving a 2 ton car
What stood out was the mention of the weight of the vehicle
So I did a couple of calcs
An SUV of 1972kg doing 30mph has the same Kinetic Energy of a small car of 1221kg doing 38mph
A larger SUV of 2598kg has the same Kinetic Energy of a small car of 1221kg doing 44mph
All these large SUVs doing 30mph create the same damage as a smaller car doing 38mph to 44mph
There must be enough maths & physics teachers on here to check this out
I did think of mentioning the small car and the big car types ?

But large SUVs (=large weight) are a much more serious danger to kids at 30mph than your small cars at 30mph

There is great emphasis on 30mph, perhaps we should enforce slower speeds for heavier vehicles if safety is the objective

Not everyone owns a car

Have a look at Dutch road design. They decided back in the 1970’s that they didn’t want car centric design, and are reaping the benefits today.

London also has much better cycling infrastructure, Manchester has a CYCLOPs junction and Cambridge has Dutch-style roundabouts.

LTN1/20 is the advisory good cycle infrastructure handbook for the UK, with examples of how it should be done.

Quite, the general principle should be that life should be as easy for pedestrians and cyclists as possible. Making the cars go the long way rather than corralling everyone else.

The problem is that so many manufacturers are now selling mainly SUV, Ford, now that the Fiesta & Mondeo aren't being made only have the Focus that isn't an SUV. I'm on Motability & 75% of the cars on the list are SUV, I'm due to change mine & am having a nightmare as I don't want another SUV as I struggle to get in & out.

I disagree. I think priority should be based on numbers, not mode of transport.

In places where pedestrians and cyclists outnumber drivers or in similar numbers using that particular place, then absolutely yes, prioritise those.

But in places where you've a long queue of slow/standing traffic, maybe hundreds of people in the queue, which is caused by a pedestrian crossing where maybe a handful of people cross every few minutes causing the traffic mayhem, then absolutely not. The handful of people should wait a few more minutes to let far higher numbers of drivers/passengers be on their way and shorten the queue/congestion.

The whole point of the Dutch approach is that by making things easier for pedestrians/cyclists - often at the expense of motorists - you can force a change in those numbers.

So how are you going to get people out of their cars?

And what about when prioritising volumes of cars and ease of access for motorists, is at the expense of pedestrian and cyclist health and safety (e.g. higher vehicle speeds, air pollution?)

It is generally no effort at all for a car to go an extra 200 meters. That's a far bigger change for a pedestrian or cyclist.

Speaking of collisions, some twat hit the rear of my car earlier and drove off without giving me details. You would think with my yellow diamond dashcam front and rear sign that he'd have followed me somewhere safe to give his details! 🤦‍♂️

Ah well, I've reported him to the peelers and he'll be done for failing to stop.

Then it's onto the insurance company to report it.

Some people like to learn the hard way...

I'm amazed they've cancelled the Fiesta given it's the UK's most popular car and head and shoulders the most popular hot hatch. I'd have expected an electric fiesta. It's like Apple stopping making the iPad.

Basic supply-demand going on here.

OEMs are giving people what they want. Fiesta et al, is clearly not what customers seek these days.

The British Parking Association have expressed concern that older MSCPs which were built for much lighter vehicles may buckle under the weight of EVs in the future, and have requested that urgent structural surveys be carried out.

Do you have a link for that?

Anyone can see that it's complete nonsense, given SUV's have been able to park freely and often weigh 2000+ kg. How many times do we all park and see rows of huge SUV's?

Cars have been increasing in size and weight for aeons now. The solution is quite simple and would save millions in rebuilding etc.

As a structural engineer myself, inspections are mandatory for old structures and car parks/bridges are no exception. Quite the opposite.

Quick quiz. Do you have an idea of how to solve this simple problem and still allow EV's to park in these old buildings?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/07/electric-vehicles-33-per-cent-heavier-bridges-collapse/

🤷🏻‍♀️

Do you have an idea of how to solve this simple problem and still allow EV's to park in these old buildings

Does the answer involve making lighter EVs or reducing the parking capacity?

If so, either option will create an another problem somewhere else.

It was widely reported only recently, I suggest you google so you can pick your own source of choice. The point was, I believe, that as ownership of EVs expands, the total load placed upon these structures (some of which are quite old) will increase.

Since any problems identified will obviously cause their members inconvenience, costs and maybe even potential threats to their businesses, I doubt they did it lightly. It needs to be checked.

Sure but it's still nonsense and I'd suggest doing your own googling to see how different EV's are to their counterparts. It's not straightforward and there is no definitive answer. Easy to ask me to Google. Do it yourself and actually get a balanced view on it.

We've been through this before in previous pages but a typical range rover is well over 2000kg. Some similar sized EV's are exactly the same. A Leaf is about the same as an equivalent sized hatchback. Some cars are of course heavier but others are not.

The problem isn't EV's. The problem is the popularity of SUV sized vehicles. Look at every manufacturer and 2000+kg options are significantly more available than EV's and have been for the last 20 years. Yet during all this time, noone has batted an eyelid. This tells you all you need to know about the anti EV press that's prevalent right now. These people are totally forgetting that battery density is going to reduce over time, not increase.

Legislation needs to be introduced, like Japan, to limit the size of vehicles, not bulldoze existing infrastructure because of fear mongering and fake news. This is an issue with cars in general and is not EV specific.

Old car parks already have issues when a range rover is parked next to an X5/XC90/Q7/Landcruiser etc etc. Existing ICE cars that are so wide you can't open the doors. But it's obvious when people post such nonsense that they're devoid of critical thinking.

@SeatonCarew

Apologies, I wasn't meaning that you weren't capable of critical thinking! Just that very little critical thinking takes place when posting articles online, or by the authors.

wrt critical thinking
when somebody puts a point of view on here with or without critical thinking
we all have narrow views, its the responses which can reinforce that view or blow it up or somewhere in between
I know other peoples views sometimes make you think in ways you just didnt think of even if you agree or not or change your mind 180