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

And good luck to them. If I have to choose between something that keeps me safe and something that keeps other safer under certain conditions. Yeah it’s not something I’m going to spend a lot of time debating.

My SUV weighs 1600kg, is top rated for protection in accidents, automatically slows down if an obstacle is too close to the front of the car. I was driving on to the estate I live in when a child who was no more than 3 ran out in to the road, I was able to stop well before I would have run in to him. I will admit I had a few choice words for the child's mother who strolled along without a care in the world about keeping hold of him.

Weight's not the only factor (though if we're really all supposed to be shifting to EVs, it's worth bearing their weight in mind). For instance, modern cars are designed with crumple zones to protect both occupants and pedestrians. So in your system, would old cars have to drive slower too?

I think the bigger issue is that so many driving these vehicles appear to be extremely poor drivers who simply can’t handle a larger vehicle.

I assume that’s what the poster who made the disgusting suggestion that people not driving these vehicles should ‘plan accordingly’ meant - plan for appalling driving and a disgraceful selfish attitude.

Funny how the OP harps on about weights of SUVs, yet says nothing about the heavier weights of EVs that need more stopping distances to counteract the batteries they carry.

For examply, my relatives new Tesla Model 3 comes in at 2.4t (2400kg) - nearly 800kg MORE than my SUV.

Go figure.

But yeah, dont let FACTs get in the way of your bullshittery. 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️🙄

Exactly. They're touted as 'safer' so a lot of parents especially buy them but the thinking stops there. People think safer for themselves, without thinking about the damage they can do to others. And why should they? It'd be some weird sort of martyrdom virtue signalling to drive around in a cardboard box to 'keep others safer...'

My EV is 1502kg.

What about people that want to be safer in a crash?

My compact SUV weighs 1035kg. Less than a mini. Similar to a basic corsa or fiat 500. Smaller footprint than a mini.

It's not always straightforward. Placing restrictions by size or weight would have to be across the board.

There is a much great emphasis on 20 is plenty but many activists are against this as apparently it’s difficult to drive that slow

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/debate-over-20mph-speed-limits-27059553

yet reduction of server it’s of crashes is 70% https://content.tfl.gov.uk/research-summary-no2-20mph-zones.pdf

An impact to the legs often results in the head hitting the windscreen, which rarely ends well.

Exactly . Another day another SUV bashing . I love my SUV and when it's due for renewal I'll buy another .
I had a crash in a mini which just crumpled. I feel safe in my SUV .

At least the modern SUVs are bristling with the latest collision avoidance tech to help avoid such tragedies.

This is part of the issue. People who feel safer take more risks. Which is why following distances got shorter after anti-lock brakes came in. People 'correct' their behaviour to what they perceive to be an acceptable risk.

SUVs are more likely to be at fault in a crash because the drivers feel safer. It makes them worse. And worse drivers stay on the roads because the risk is someone else's. If my aunt (who is a shockingly poor driver) had to ride a motorbike, I guarantee she'd have stopped decades ago. But her BMV SUV means everyone else is at risk, not her. So she continues to drive. She feels safe.

Which means bigger vehicles on the roads with worse drivers. Unless we all want to eventually drive tanks, it makes sense to limit this arms race. Especially as there are lots of humans around without metal armour on. Cyclists, pedestrians, children.

It really is simple psychology and statistics, and as the OP says, mathematics. Do people want more pedestrian deaths or fewer?

Cars will probably end up being taxed on weight soon enough anyway. How else are governments going to repair the wear and tear to roads caused by the increased weight of EVs and SUVs.

I can see where you are coming from and agree to a point. I have a small car but am going to get something medium sized for my next one. I drive kids around all the time so want a bit more car around my family for safety. Especially as I was just about run into another car when a huge car didn’t see me. My dh has a huge truck like car and I wouldn’t drive something like that because I don’t have the skill, I wouldn’t let him get a Bull bar in case he hits someone. But I don’t feel safe in a small car because of the big ones, so rather than put my family at risk I am getting a bigger car.

But I don’t feel safe in a small car because of the big ones, so rather than put my family at risk I am getting a bigger car.

This is what I mean by arms race.

It's like driving position. If everyone drives a car where the driver is three feet off the ground, everyone can see. If someone chooses to be four feet off the ground they can see better but everyone else can't see any more.

Eventually everyone is driving cranes. It's ridiculous.

And how would you suggest pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists ‘plan accordingly’?

That isn’t the choice. There are plenty of non-SUVs that will keep you and your family safe.

EVs are a big problem because of weight, but they aren’t as big a problem as either fossil fuel SUVs or electric SUVs. Body shape and height also matter in terms of injury outcomes. But yeah, don’t let facts get in the way of your bullshittery.

Nonsense. That’s exactly what you want in the crash. By the time the head hits the windscreen, the body should have been slowed right down by the distance travelled across the bonnet + crumple zones.

What you definitely don’t want is the soft tissue and vital organs of the torso being hit first when the crash velocity is highest. And then you definitely don’t want the person being pushed under the wheels of the car and squashed by 1-3 tons of car.

Hitting the head on the windscreen is the least worst option in a car - pedestrian collision.

My SUV has a substantially better pedestrian safety (“vulnerable road users”) rating than a Fiat 500.

As are their smaller, lighter, lower non-SUV counterparts.

At least very soon driver monitoring systems will be mandatory so all the god awful useless drivers will be overruled by their cars.

It’s supposed to crumple. That’s what takes the energy - and thus danger - out of a crash. What you want to look at is the intrusion into the passenger area. All modern cars fair really well on this.

You need to think about kinetic energy at the time of impact not at the speed limit. Breaking system and preventive technology can be used so by the time the SUV reaches the point of impact it's actually traveling slower than the little super mini on rubbish breaks. The Disco has a pedestrian airbag aswell which is an improvement over the super mini, I'm surprised they haven't become standard technology to be honest.