3 ms·
> Physics dictates that mass has a significant impact on safety I suspect that once you have enough mass though then it is velocity that determines the impact
by tzs 3y ago
> Physics dictates that mass has a significant impact on safety
I suspect that once you have enough mass though then it is velocity that determines the impact on safety. Getting hit at 50 mph by a Ford F-150 that has a total mass (truck plus cargo) of 9000 pounds is not going to be much more harmful to a pedestrian than getting hit by a similar shaped truck at the same speed that has half that mass.
Similarly on the other end if velocity is low enough mass won't matter. Consider for example getting hit by a freight train at 1 mph. Unless the collision knocks you over and you fall under the train it probably won't be fatal (and likely won't even injure you). Even though that freight train would have 300 times the momentum and 6 times the kinetic energy of the 50 mph 9000 pound truck it would be fine.
- alistairSH 3y agoTrue. Rivians scare me, as a pedestrian and cyclist. Not only heavy, but blazingly fast. In 5 years when they get handed down to teenagers, well, shit.
- wilg 3y agoIf biking or walking I'd worry less about a heavy new car than an old car that doesn't have automatic emergency braking.
- ImPostingOnHN 3y agoI suspect that total energy increases proportionally to mass, all other things (like velocity) equal, meaning an N*2 kg vehicle traveling at 100 kph has twice as much energy as an N kg vehicle traveling at 100 kph and since that energy factors strongly into the outcome for the other vehicle, I suspect that this means weight is what determines the impact on safety just as much, if not moreso (particularly since speeds are regulated already)