Crash Test Dummies

[zcacogp]

I think the point to be made here is that the knowledge about how a car deforms as it crashes simply wasn't around when the 924/44 was designed, and neither was the technology to improve things. And by technology I mean both the structural design to make crumple zones and strong passenger cabins, nor things like airbags and seat belt pretensioners and whatnot. The Volvo vs. Renault test is interesting because the Volvo was the height of late-1980's safety and yet it was annihilated by a cheap, light, flimsy Renault with crash technology from 15 years later. Bear in mind that that Volvo was bigger, heavier and stronger than our 944's, and the crash protection in that Renault will appear dated by modern standards now.

Will, thanks for the link. Those are very interesting photos (and worrying ones as well). While the photos are meaningless without information about the speed and force of the test, this one:

... clearly shows how weak the passenger cabin of the car is. It's a rear end crash, but you can see the roof has buckled above the driver's head, the rear wing has buckled badly some way in front of the wheel and (most worryingly) the sill has buckled below the door. In fact the whole sill-line seems to have been curved upwards and the door no longer fits the significantly deformed door aperture. I'm no structural engineer but that looks to me like a very weak passenger cabin.

Sobering indeed. This thread is making me slightly question my love for my 944. Yes, I'm serious.


Oli.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

It's a rear end crash, but you can see the roof has buckled above the driver's head, the rear wing has buckled badly some way in front of the wheel and (most worryingly) the sill has buckled below the door. In fact the whole sill-line seems to have been curved upwards and the door no longer fits the significantly deformed door aperture. I'm no structural engineer but that looks to me like a very weak passenger cabin.

Sobering indeed. This thread is making me slightly question my love for my 944. Yes, I'm serious.

I think it's unfair to compare the 944 to modern cars, full stop. Plenty of people drive old MGs, Triumphs, Fords etc. and they really are in a different league for crash protection! Taken to the logical conclusion, no-one should drive anything other than the newest models: is it really that necessary to change your 2012 Golf for a 2013 model, just because it's slightly safer and more economical, probably not. Is it reasonable to crash a new S-class in to a Triumph Herald and expect anything other than the obvious carnage? No. But people still enjoy their old Heralds, and probably don't have the option to buy a new S-class anyway.

I think you take your life in your hands getting out of bed every day, and driving a 944 isn't the biggest risk-factor I'll ever have to worry about. Having seen Gareth Husband's seriously rolled 944, Fat Albert's seriously rear-impacted 968, Smiffy's side-on accident, they hold up remarkably well IMO. The distortion of parts in the above pic looks as I''d expect, with the severe impact being transmitted along the length of the structural members and dissipated through the whole shell. That's a pretty big whack, it looks akin to being smacked up the rear by a truck whilst you're stationary, and that would be a serious accident whatever you were in. [&o]

 

[zcacogp]

McNulters,

You are, of course, right; just because the 944 isn't the most crash-worthy car is no reason not to own, drive and enjoy one. There are much greater risks in life than having a car crash, and a 944 will (I'd have thought) be quite a lot better than older classics such as a Spitfire or Herald in the event of a heavy stuff.

However if we are telling ourselves that a 944 is a safe car then I think we are kidding ourselves; by modern standards they are anything but safe. I know very little about crash testing of cars but logic says you want a strong bit for the occupants to sit in with as many soft bits to crumple around them as possible and bring everything to a gentle halt. On that basis, the passenger cell should stay as intact and undeformed as possible so pictures of it with crumpled rooves and sills are not good. The picture in question is also taken during the impact (of which we have no knowledge about the severity) so doesn't show the maximum deformation, which could be a LOT worse.

Let's hope that no members of this forum ever come to test these things in reality. (Maybe all those rusty sills are a good thing after all as a car that is scrapped through rust is one that hasn't been heavily crashed! [])


Oli.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Just heard the results of the crash I witnessed a year ago, where a Cayenne hit a stationary Almera on the motorway. A not-guilty for the Porsche driver on the death-by-dangerous driving charge. Modern and large car hitting old, small and poorly built car is not a pretty sight! []

Thankfully these massive accidents are rare, and the 80MPH test in the video is a bit unrealistic. Makes you think about the speed limits on country roads though, where the closing speed could be over 100 easily, compared to the motorway where it's not usually a high-speed impact as you don't get the head-on crashes.

 

[WBray]

Just seen this which made me laugh;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAeYJV5P0jk
then watching the original volvo vs renault video that was posted does the volvo even have an engine block in it?

 

[Fat Albert]

As someone who has performed a consumer test of the 968 in this area, all I can say is that I was glad I was in that car rather than a Euro grot-box, she really looked after me

My car ended up looking very similar to the 944 in the above photo, but there are 2 points to make that make me think that the car performed adequately in the scenario; firstly both doors were fully operational afterwards, secondly the rear seat was still completely intact and had not moved.

the only injury I sustained was to my hand where the Stereo hit it on its journey from the Din socket to the back seat....

I have had to go through an interrogation by an accident investigator as the Insurance co.s are iheading for court, so I can't say too much, but basically I was passing a lorry on a very wet Dual Carriageway, as I exited from the spray I was presented with a pool of water stretching from the verge to the central reservation, the back end departed left and I ended up reversing along the central reservation, got it off there, but then went backwards across both carriageways, up the bank and through a Lotus that had had the very same accident an hour earlier, luckily the police were taking her home and her recovery truck hadn't arrived yet....

As a sobering reminder:

close-ups of the damage:

It was a Cat B write off, but the thing that surprised the evaluator was that all 4 wheels were still pointing the right way and were able to turn...

 

[pse_SC]

people feel too safe and concentrate less

Definitely[]

 

[Ex Skyline]

I would like my Mother-in-Law to become a Crash Test Dummy [].