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If I weigh 200 pounds am I more likely to be fatally injured in a car crash than if I way 150? A car that weighs more is safer because its velocity changes are
by harshreality 13y ago
If I weigh 200 pounds am I more likely to be fatally injured in a car crash than if I way 150?
A car that weighs more is safer because its velocity changes are slower (barring collision with an immovable object) and because it will usually have better crumple zones that absorb more energy before turning the passenger compartment into a compactor.
If higher kinetic energy or momentum caused higher lethality, heavier people would die more often and/or heavier cars would be more lethal (for its own occupants) in wrecks at the same speed.
Since it's not always possible to know what speed a car was going when it crashed, and since I haven't found any tables or graphs of either speed or KE [or momentum for that matter] vs lethality, I doubt there's enough data to draw any conclusions about KE being better at predicting lethality. I don't understand what the focus on collision energy is for.
- bagels 13y agoThis is a good point, however: Crumple zones can be independent of weight. A lighter car is more able to stop (less energy for brakes to dissipate) or avoid a crash (can sustain higher cornering forces, tires being the same).