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"...Massa also hit a wall of tires at 200+ kph. I know they were there to absorb the shock, still, try doing that in a regular car..." Is a Formula 1 car any b

"...Massa also hit a wall of tires at 200+ kph. I know they were there to absorb the shock, still, try doing that in a regular car..." Is a Formula 1 car any better in an impact than a modern car with, say, 5 Euro NCAP stars[1]? I had a quick Google and it seems that the most important safety feature in this situation is the head and neck support system: "The leading causes of death in auto racing accidents are skull and neck fractures resulting from rapid deceleration during accidents. The Head and Neck Support system (HANS) was designed to reduce these whiplash effects. The system consists of a collar that is attached to the safety belt and strapped to the helmet to hold the helmet in place during an accident. HANS usage became mandatory in Formula One racing in 2003." [2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_NCAP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_NCAP [2] http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_three_main_safety_features_of_an_F1_car http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_three_main_safety_fea...

scscsc 17y ago
Yes, F1 cars are designed to survive (or rather the driver to survive) even 300kph accidents. They are safer than 5* EURONCAP in this sense. Things to note are: a) F1 drivers are very fit as opposed to regular people (so they can endure damage more easily) b) you wouldn't want to drive an F1 on the street because of other safety issues
tetha 17y ago
You should look up the monocoque F1-cars use. They basically are a carbon case just around the driver which is designed to hodl of ridiculous forces from just about any direction. One can go as far as saying: there is pretty much no chance in hell that a F1-driver is somewhat crushed inside this monocoque. So, the F1-cars are damn secure, and I do mean damn secure and while it is true that there are some fairly ugly accidents out there in the F1-world, one has to keep in mind: that is a car travelling at 200+kph and hits a wall. In about any other car, the driver would be dead. So, keep in mind: security in F1 is something else (Survive!) as security in regular street cars (get out of there without injuries). cp eg here: http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport/5286.html http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport/52...

scscsc 17y ago

Yes, F1 cars are designed to survive (or rather the driver to survive) even 300kph accidents. They are safer than 5* EURONCAP in this sense. Things to note are: a) F1 drivers are very fit as opposed to regular people (so they can endure damage more easily) b) you wouldn't want to drive an F1 on the street because of other safety issues

tetha 17y ago

You should look up the monocoque F1-cars use. They basically are a carbon case just around the driver which is designed to hodl of ridiculous forces from just about any direction. One can go as far as saying: there is pretty much no chance in hell that a F1-driver is somewhat crushed inside this monocoque. So, the F1-cars are damn secure, and I do mean damn secure and while it is true that there are some fairly ugly accidents out there in the F1-world, one has to keep in mind: that is a car travelling at 200+kph and hits a wall. In about any other car, the driver would be dead. So, keep in mind: security in F1 is something else (Survive!) as security in regular street cars (get out of there without injuries). cp eg here: http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport/5286.html http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport/52...