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Wife survives 70mph crash -- testimony to car safety, I suppose

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Stevewoods, Apr 3, 2016.

  1. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Hyundai Elantra 2016 model year weighing in at 3,800 pounds T-Boned by a Class 6 Single-Axle van - 24,000 pounds plus.

    She sustained minor bruises, a few minor strains and a pair of broken eyeglasses.

    I never gave much thought to the safety ratings of vehicles -- the 2016 Elantra ranks Five-Star top of class in safety by the way, according to the NHTSA -- but I may consider it in future purchases.

    Car is tentatively declared a total loss. Again, she basically seems to be fine -- and it is nearly three weeks out now (I realize injuries can surface several months down the line).

    She was on vacation in a rental car. They had been stopped at a red light, light turned green, they checked traffic and proceeded through when the van blew through the red light at an estimated 70 mph. They were probably at about 10mph?

    Impact point was barely touching the edge of the drivers door and then across the side of the car -- rear door and trunk/rear fender.

    Impact spun the Hyundai in more than a 180-degree circle. Driver of van is now claiming he had the green light (I may also think about investing in a couple of Go-Pro dash cams :D).

    If the van had hit the driver's door dead-on, it may have been a fatal or at least much more serious injuries, but I do believe that the safety features of the modern sedan probably helped mitigate bodily injuries also.

    The various model year Prius vehicles seem to generally hit the Four-Star safety mark -- certainly a decent rating -- but I don't know how much difference there is from four to five stars -- I tried poking around a few government web sites, as well as Edmunds and Consumer Reports but did not readily find any answer to what the difference is between four or five stars, etc.
     
  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Thank goodness hope she is fully uninjured..perhaps Gen4 will be 5 stars?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    glad she's okay! hopefully there's a cam at the intersection.
     
  4. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Glad to hear wife is uninjured.

    Were there no non-biased witness (drivers of other cars, pedestrians) to be a witness for your wife? That sucks.

    Search better by asking a question or searing for the meaning behind the data.
    "How does iihs measure crash results" produces this 7th link, which for you is meaningful and simplified:
    Crash Tests and Safety Ratings: What Does It All Mean? | Esurance Blog

    NHTSA.gov, "Vehicle Safety" at the top, with a sublink to "Vehicle Safety Home," and you see Safercar.gov link.
    At Safercar.gov, you see "Vehicle Shoppers," then "5-Star Safety Ratings," then "What is the 5-Star Safety Ratings Program?"

    IMO (In My Opinion), IIHS (Insurance Institue for Highway Safety), is a better gauge of vehicle safety, b/c of the front offset crash testing they perform. Pretty much all vehicles perfrom well enough with the FULL frontal crash test; the entire width of the car absorbs the energy of the crash. Now ask a vehicle to perform well when a little less than 1/2 of the front is impacted (moderate overlap test/frontal offset test), or hardest to do well when 1/3 to 1/4 of the front is impacted (small offset test). Suffice it to say, when IIHS began performing the small offset front crash test in 2012, NO manufactures did well; it was not and still is not a NHTSA crash test requirement. Over time, the auto manufactures made design changes to perform better for this specific crash test, b/c consumers want safer cars and it will likely become a NHTSA requirement in the near future.

    IIHS Front Crash info: how performed, parameters assessed to determine safety. Frontal crash tests


    2016 Hundai Elanta crash safety results from IIHS. Vehicle details


    2016 Prius and Prius vagon did very well in the small offset crash test and other crash parameters, earning the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) Top Safety Pick+ award. Vehicle details

    2016 Prius c rated "acceptable" for the small offset crash test. No Top Safety Pick+ or Top Safety Pick award by IIHS.


    NHTSA hasn't rated all crash parameters for the 2016 Prius line.
    2011 & Newer - Search Results | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
     
  5. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    70 mph, really? what was the speed limit? i hope there were some witnesses. good idea about the dash recorder. i need to do it in all my cars too.
    do you have pictures?
     
  6. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    Of course the car design made a difference.

    Consider a 1962 Impala (or any other car of it's era)
    • windshield glass breaks jagged
    • metal dash - no padding anywhere in the car
    • no airbags
    • maybe seatbelts - no shoulder harness or annoying beeps if you don't use it
    • steel non-collapsible steering wheel that likely will impact into driver's heart
    • front of car does not crumple, so occupants absorb the full impact
    • no headrests on seats
    • no ABS
    • no rack-and-pinion steering
    Back then, it was quite possible to be killed driving at 40 mph.
     
  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    We had a tragic multiple fatality wreck during this year's spring break involving a 2013 Elantra and an 18 wheeler on a stretch of 75 mph interstate.
     
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    You're right, information is limited. This is all I could find.

    Found more info on the IIHS site. See attached PDF.
     

    Attached Files:

    #8 Tideland Prius, Apr 5, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2016
  9. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Once you consider that crashes outside the lab can have unseen variables and ones simply seen but can't be covered by lab tests, it is probably best to view the NHTSA ratings as 1 and 2 stars as fail, and 3 and 4 as pass. Then enjoy not stressing about the slight differences.
     
  10. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    the 70mph came from the police -- the speed limit was 60mph. SOME of us theorize the driver sped up to make it through before the light went red.

    Very "sketchy" area of town where the incident occurred. There were a few folks who stopped and some people on the street, but wifey said it took law enforcement forever to get there and they were not too interested when they did -- and by then anyone who would admit to seeing anything was gone. Of course, the ladies were not quite thinking about getting witness names, etc., right after the accident.

    Having been in a couple of accidents in my younger days (none for a couple of decades now -- at least that I admit to :whistle:), I know enough to howl, scream fall on the ground, get names of witnesses and make lots of complaints of pain, even if I don't go right to hospital.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Dashcam.

    Bob Wilson
     
  12. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    Very relieved to hear your wife is OK.
    Side impacts are the absolute worst as there is so little space for a crumple zone.
    No standardized test is going to tell you exactly how a car will stand up to a real life accident.
    However, they will give pretty good indications.

    For the best picture, look into any details about each test.
    Small differences can make a huge difference.

    I once saw a story about a highway head on collision. One driver died at the scene, the other was treated for minor injuries at the scene. The difference weren't small in this case (3000 vs 5000lbs cars) but it shows how a manufacturers concern for safety makes a difference.
     
  13. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),Highlander HYB Plat,B52-D,G,F,H

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    Hyundai did make some solid cars with high strength steel. Have not owned one since 2000 but a safe car. So the question comes up again "are we getting more safety in the new Prius (with all the safety stuff and options) than we lose with a heavier built car?"

    I guess an answer is to drive a Hummer with a foot ball outfit on. Or a dump truck.

    School buses are really safe. Gut one and pimp it out.