Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

Big US 4x4 meets stationary object…not good

StarCruiser

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Guru
Joined
Oct 7, 2014
Messages
12,042
Garage
Country Flag
uk
I found this rather sobering. It’s tempting to feel safe when inside a big strong vehicle, but there’s bigger stronger vehicles out there. This clearly didn’t end well.
 
I saw a single cab 2wd hilux ute with a tray on the back that had been hit in the rear on one side... at 70kmh whilst it was stationary at roadworks.

The chassis was bent, the tray had pushed into the B pillar and that had then popped the door (stayed closed) apart. Axle was at about a 20* angle to how it should have been.

Had it been a "normal" car, the rear would have deformed and cushioned the blow more - not reassuring, but it shows the difference in how vehicles perform in a collision.
 
Nasty ! Watching these crash tests at 35mph, it can be seen how the crumpling stops when the impact reaches the engine and then all the energy goes into the chassis. At high speed with an off centre impact all that energy would just rip through the body mounts.
 
I found this rather sobering. It’s tempting to feel safe when inside a big strong vehicle, but there’s bigger stronger vehicles out there. This clearly didn’t end well.

Theres a strong possibility that the truck did'nt look like that after the collision but the fire service cut the remains of the driver from the wreckage.
 
Theres a strong possibility that the truck did'nt look like that after the collision but the fire service cut the remains of the driver from the wreckage.
I rather think it was a glancing blow at speed straight into the bar at the back of the grader at such height and with such teeth being above the chassis that it just unwrapped the thing like a tin opener. There’s still bits impaled on the back end of the grader.

I wonder what caused the driver to be pointed at the back end of the grader in the first place.
 
Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them
Although people have anthe notion that 4x4s protect you better it is something of a myth, at least until recently. Whilst the structure of the car tends to survive better the occupants, as a direct result of poorer crumple zones tend to suffer higher levels of trauma
 
Last edited:
I wonder what caused the driver to be pointed at the back end of the grader in the first place.

From what the Police Officer was saying to camera - the Grader was stationary in the central reservation and the driver was out of the cab. It would therefore be adjacent to the equivalent of the overtaking lane on the driver's side (I know they overtake on any side in the USA).

I guess the driver mis-judged the width / wasn't paying attention while probably overtaking that other car that ploughed into the wreckage.

It appears that the impact ripped the body off the chassis.

Nasty.

Bob.
 
Sounds about right Bob. Nasty indeed. I wonder if the fact that pickup bodies are made in two parts has any bearing on their strength in collisions?
 
From what the Police Officer was saying to camera - the Grader was stationary in the central reservation and the driver was out of the cab. It would therefore be adjacent to the equivalent of the overtaking lane on the driver's side (I know they overtake on any side in the USA).

I guess the driver mis-judged the width / wasn't paying attention while probably overtaking that other car that ploughed into the wreckage.

It appears that the impact ripped the body off the chassis.

Nasty.

Bob.

Was it a Tesla? They seem to crash into stationary objects for fun
 
Yeah - sorry SC - realised that - I have a pet issue with autonomous vehicles and Tesla in particular. I could bore you to death with the details, but suffice to say, they shouldn't be on the roads. Running into stationary objects is the least of their problems.
 
Although people have anthe notion that 4x4s protect you better it is something of a myth, at least until recently. Whilst the structure of the car tends to survive better the occupants, as a direct result of poorer crumple zones tend to suffer higher levels of trauma
Agree with you there Moggy.. While watching the sometimes comical Dash Cam vids on you tube Im surprised how easily 4x4s flip over on to their roofs with such a low speed side impact.. I was following our farm manager on the A46 he was driving a fairly new MK 4 Hilux when he got clipped at no more than 20mph by a Truck on a roundabout.. It Flipped the Hi Lux onto its roof which just caved in. With one of the side posts breaking and piercing his head.. He was ok just a few stitches. But I was amazed how easily it just broke up... Scary..
 
I found this rather sobering. It’s tempting to feel safe when inside a big strong vehicle, but there’s bigger stronger vehicles out there. This clearly didn’t end well.
Bloody hell!!! Definitely looks like there was some considerable speed involved there too.... talk about a trail of devastation!!! This is why, no matter what you drive, anticipation and avoidance of trouble always the best approach... defensive driving always!
 
Bloody hell!!! Definitely looks like there was some considerable speed involved there too.... talk about a trail of devastation!!! This is why, no matter what you drive, anticipation and avoidance of trouble always the best approach... defensive driving always!
Couldn’t agree more there CB. It does make you think.
 
Yes, sure does!

An amusing aside... as a long time motorcycle rider (street and enduro racers) and just to stir my British friends up, I occasionally toss out the incendiary suggestion that the learner driving curriculum should be changed to make it compulsory for learners to first qualify for a motorcycle and spend 24 months out on the roads on a bike... and only after that should any remaining survivors be allowed to take the test for a motor car licence... :sweatsmile:

The thing about riding a bike, you can never safely assume a single thing.... it doesn't matter if you are in the right, it doesn't matter if the lights are green, it doesn't matter if a country road is dry... you yourself may be right but you could very easily end up 'dead right'!! Nothing ingrains defensive driving skills and road surface reading quite like being utterly and life-threateningly vulnerable to other road users' often inadvertent but potentially deadly mistakes! :fearscream:
 
I occasionally toss out the incendiary suggestion that the learner driving curriculum should be changed to make it compulsory for learners to first qualify for a motorcycle and spend 24 months out on the roads on a bike... and only after that should any remaining survivors be allowed to take the test for a motor car licence... :sweatsmile:

I'm inclined to agree.

I covered 100,000 miles on motorcycles before taking my car test (and passed first time). I've had a fairly uneventful driving career for the past 54 years.

Bob.
 
Back
Top