Quote:
Originally Posted by KXRM
I'll explain mostly because I am bored.
2 cars, traveling at 60kmph at each other is equal to one car crashing into a wall at 60 kmph. So the video actually shows what would happen if a head on collision occurred with both vehicles traveling at 120kmph directly at one another.
I am not sure where people get this idea that the force of 2 vehicles impacting one another in opposing directions equals half of the force of a solid body like a wall or barrier that does not give or break. I have also seen opposing viewpoints where people believe the force of a head on collision is double that of a collision with a wall. I had this discussion with a buddy of mine recently after he read a thread argument in some other forum. He simply never saw the light as I was trying to explain away his theory. Unraveling 30 years of inaccurate information is difficult for some it seems.
There is of course other factors involved in this discussion to make it true, such as the mass of both of the cars and the safety related crumple zone designs which can make things different. As well as road and crash conditions. But all things being equal, any event that takes you from 120kmph to 0kmph in less than a second will feel the same way. Whether it was a wall or an opposing car traveling the exact same speed.
To put some additional light into the discussion, you could say that this video illustrates what it is like to crash into a identical parked car going 240 kmph. Think about that for a second.  |
This is a good discussion.