"i'm Afraid They Won't See Me." Whine, Whine.....

[outsydthebox]

Being lighter may be a benefit in a crash. Its seems to me that being lighter allows the car to be more easily moved in a crash. This could result in it taking less impact force because the car would begin to move away sooner then a heavier car.

I could be completely wrong on this one, but it makes sense in my simple little brain. Any science type people smarter then me wanna chime in?

The important question is, how fast can the human body change directions?

 

[pistonboy]

Guys. Watch this video from Bliokart a few posts ago. They specifically talk about the affect of size in accidents.

This is a great video and right to the point.

 

[3wheelin]

Best solution is not to have a wife.

Problem solved!!!

 

[3wheelin]

Being lighter may be a benefit in a crash. Its seems to me that being lighter allows the car to be more easily moved in a crash. This could result in it taking less impact force because the car would begin to move away sooner then a heavier car.

I could be completely wrong on this one, but it makes sense in my simple little brain. Any science type people smarter then me wanna chime in?

It's simple physics- bigger MASS striking a SMALLER MASS, guess what's gonna happen? The smaller mass will get tossed around, flipped over, run over, etc and everything inside of it! That's why if all possible, I try to keep my distance on a semi, or anything bigger than my car because the life I save.....maybe my own!

 

[3wheelin]

Guys. Watch this video from Bliokart a few posts ago. They specifically talk about the affect of size in accidents.

This is a great video and right to the point.

That says it all! With that in mind, I'm willing to take the risk of driving my ELIO hoping to avoid any type of collision as I will be driving my baby inter city and interstate incuding local errands!

 

[slinches]

If you don't want to watch that whole video at least check out the last few seconds. It shows a crash between a mid-size sedan and a smart car. The smart car ends up going backwards, making a 40mph collision with that other car more like a 60mph collision with a brick wall.

All else being equal, the person in the heavier car will experience lower crash forces. That being said, technology has improved tremendously. I would rather not be in any crash, but if I had to and had a choice of a new mid-size sedan or a pre-1970 car that weighed twice as much, I'd choose the new one.

 

[Sethodine]

Although car wrecks are terrible things, the Mr. Spock in me is looking forward to the data from Elio car wrecks. Because people try to steer away from an impending accident, I can picture Elios getting involved in a lot of accidents that take off a front wheel but miss the actual body (or the body suffers a glancing blow instead of a head-on blow). Of course, when you don't see it coming then it's the same as any other.

Does anybody wonder how the triangular footprint will effect the movement of an Elio in a wreck? Like, do you think we might see more spinning than sliding? I can see the rear wheel sliding unevenly with the front in a side-impact, thereby transitioning a linear force into rotational force.

 

[Rob Croson]

Because people try to steer away from an impending accident, I can picture Elios getting involved in a lot of accidents that take off a front wheel but miss the actual body (or the body suffers a glancing blow instead of a head-on blow).

Oddly enough, the last several accidents I have been involved, this probably would have happened. In one, I clipped the back end of a minivan with my driver's side mirror. Tore my mirror off, and dented the back corner of the van. In the Elio, I would have barely missed it. In another, some guy in a pickup truck swerved at the last minute, and got my Saturn in the driver's side taillight. Only caught about 4" of the body. Again, in the Elio that would have been a miss. (At least of the body, not sure if he would have taken off the outrigger or not. I'd give it a 50/50.)

Of course, that brings up another point: How much damage would ripping off the outrigger cause? Is the connection to the vehicle made in such a way that the it can be replaced easily, or would it cause too much frame damage, and force the vehicle to he salvaged? It would also cause the vehicle to fall, and would that cause excessive damage to the undercarriage, and any unprotected components underneath?

 

[bowers baldwin]

Oddly enough, the last several accidents I have been involved, this probably would have happened. In one, I clipped the back end of a minivan with my driver's side mirror. Tore my mirror off, and dented the back corner of the van. In the Elio, I would have barely missed it. In another, some guy in a pickup truck swerved at the last minute, and got my Saturn in the driver's side taillight. Only caught about 4" of the body. Again, in the Elio that would have been a miss. (At least of the body, not sure if he would have taken off the outrigger or not. I'd give it a 50/50.)

Of course, that brings up another point: How much damage would ripping off the outrigger cause? Is the connection to the vehicle made in such a way that the it can be replaced easily, or would it cause too much frame damage, and force the vehicle to he salvaged? It would also cause the vehicle to fall, and would that cause excessive damage to the undercarriage, and any unprotected components underneath?

I've been in some minor fender benders, and they were at the $4K-$6K range, so anything beyond a bump will be a total write-off for the Elio.
That being said, whole unit replacement would be quicker and cheaper than getting it fixed, and they never fix them right (I worked in a body shop, I'm their worst nightmare).

 

[Trusting]

Oddly enough, the last several accidents I have been involved, this probably would have happened. In one, I clipped the back end of a minivan with my driver's side mirror. Tore my mirror off, and dented the back corner of the van. In the Elio, I would have barely missed it. In another, some guy in a pickup truck swerved at the last minute, and got my Saturn in the driver's side taillight. Only caught about 4" of the body. Again, in the Elio that would have been a miss. (At least of the body, not sure if he would have taken off the outrigger or not. I'd give it a 50/50.)

Of course, that brings up another point: How much damage would ripping off the outrigger cause? Is the connection to the vehicle made in such a way that the it can be replaced easily, or would it cause too much frame damage, and force the vehicle to he salvaged? It would also cause the vehicle to fall, and would that cause excessive damage to the undercarriage, and any unprotected components underneath?

"How much damage would ripping off the outrigger cause?"

I haven't got a clue how much damage it would cause, but it must be considerable. However, on a positive note, I'll bet it would cause the Elio to come to a halt pretty fast and probably, depending on your speed, the rear end would swing around to the side away from the damage. Maybe you engineering types would know for sure.