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I've had a recent fascination with the NCAP tests, and a lot of people aren't aware that they change almost yearly. I saw this [1] recent video recently lookin

by dm319 5y ago

I've had a recent fascination with the NCAP tests, and a lot of people aren't aware that they change almost yearly. I saw this [1] recent video recently looking at some of the worst crash tests, and it really drills home that good safety is to do with a good design rather than the class of car. It's also a reminder of just how scary a 30mph collision is, especially at just the wrong angle. We had a death on the road I live on recently where a relatively modren Mercedes hit a tree. It happened in the early hours of the morning so I'm sure this was > 30mph collision, one dead and two in a critical state. It reminds you that at high speeds these tests don't mean that much. I wonder if they will start to look at the rear seats more, especially for children. There is a high rate of serious head injury for children in anything other than the middle seat, and I feel this is something that is only starting to be looked at. Not to mention the 3rd row of seats doesn't seem to tested at all. Another interesting point is that this testing is voluntary. There are some very expensive cars on the road that not tested! [1] https://youtu.be/uFQkRpeC294 https://youtu.be/uFQkRpeC294

perl4ever 5y ago
>It reminds you that at high speeds these tests don't mean that much. That's a glass-half-empty outlook. Another way to look at it, is that when you're going 60, 70 mph, or more, nothing will save you, so you might as well drive anything you feel like, from a classic car with no airbags to a motorcycle. And I don't doubt that Mercedes was going a lot faster than 30. I see people going at least 50 on city streets posted for 30 just to get in front for the next traffic light.
- dm319 5y ago
  The irrationality displayed on my daily commute made me so excited for self-driving cars - it's a shame we're further away from that than I realised. Yes, I alternate between a motorcycle and largish SUV to get to work. I had a hairy moment when my lane slowed suddenly from 70 > 20mph on the motorway. There was a car and a lorry in front of me, and car and lorry that looked like it was having trouble slowing behind me. To my right was a lane with a lorry doing 70 still, and to my left were barriers. For a split second I thought I was going to be crushed and there was nothing I could about it. Weirdly I fancied my chances better if I'd been on my bike as I could have moved to the side.

by dm319 5y ago

perl4ever 5y ago

>It reminds you that at high speeds these tests don't mean that much. That's a glass-half-empty outlook. Another way to look at it, is that when you're going 60, 70 mph, or more, nothing will save you, so you might as well drive anything you feel like, from a classic car with no airbags to a motorcycle. And I don't doubt that Mercedes was going a lot faster than 30. I see people going at least 50 on city streets posted for 30 just to get in front for the next traffic light.

dm319 5y ago
The irrationality displayed on my daily commute made me so excited for self-driving cars - it's a shame we're further away from that than I realised. Yes, I alternate between a motorcycle and largish SUV to get to work. I had a hairy moment when my lane slowed suddenly from 70 > 20mph on the motorway. There was a car and a lorry in front of me, and car and lorry that looked like it was having trouble slowing behind me. To my right was a lane with a lorry doing 70 still, and to my left were barriers. For a split second I thought I was going to be crushed and there was nothing I could about it. Weirdly I fancied my chances better if I'd been on my bike as I could have moved to the side.