Automotive safety has made tremendous progress over the past decade thanks to improved materials and major upgrades in driver assistance technology. However, there is always a limit to what a vehicle can take. In this clip for France, watch a BMW 5 Series Touring go 150 kilometers per hour and hit a concrete wall. The damage is staggering.
For added security, guests equip the BMW with a remote control system. The person piloting the German wagon wears VR goggles and rides in a Tesla to stay within range.
The BMW picks up speed on the track. Then, he hits the wall, and the body collapses. The rear end swings up, so the hatch is level with the top of the obstacle. According to a sensor, the car experienced a force of 64G during the impact.
It’s hard to imagine a front passenger surviving a crash like this, as there seems to be nothing left of the car’s nose. While the rear section of the wagon is at least identifiable, experiencing the collision there doesn’t seem much more likely.
For reference, a speed of 93 mph is more than double the speed used by safety agencies when rating automobiles. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety sends a vehicle traveling at 40 mph (64 km/h) into an obstacle. NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program reduces that speed to 35 mph (56 km/h) for the frontal crash test.
Road deaths remain a major concern in the United States. From January to June 2022, 20,175 people died in motor vehicle crashes, according to the NHTSA Fatality Estimate Report. This is about 0.5% more than in the first half of 2021. It is also the highest number of deaths since the first half of 2006.
The numbers weren’t all bad, however. Looking only at the second quarter of 2022, it was the first quarter of the last seven to have a drop in the number of deaths.
In addition, the death rate from January to June 2022 fell to 1.27 deaths per 100 million kilometers traveled. This figure was down from 1.3 in the first half of 2021.
Automotive safety has made tremendous progress over the past decade thanks to improved materials and major upgrades in driver assistance technology. However, there is always a limit to what a vehicle can take. In this clip for France, watch a BMW 5 Series Touring go 150 kilometers per hour and hit a concrete wall. The damage is staggering.
For added security, guests equip the BMW with a remote control system. The person piloting the German wagon wears VR goggles and rides in a Tesla to stay within range.
The BMW picks up speed on the track. Then, he hits the wall, and the body collapses. The rear end swings up, so the hatch is level with the top of the obstacle. According to a sensor, the car experienced a force of 64G during the impact.
It’s hard to imagine a front passenger surviving a crash like this, as there seems to be nothing left of the car’s nose. While the rear section of the wagon is at least identifiable, experiencing the collision there doesn’t seem much more likely.
For reference, a speed of 93 mph is more than double the speed used by safety agencies when rating automobiles. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety sends a vehicle traveling at 40 mph (64 km/h) into an obstacle. NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program reduces that speed to 35 mph (56 km/h) for the frontal crash test.
Road deaths remain a major concern in the United States. From January to June 2022, 20,175 people died in motor vehicle crashes, according to the NHTSA Fatality Estimate Report. This is about 0.5% more than in the first half of 2021. It is also the highest number of deaths since the first half of 2006.
The numbers weren’t all bad, however. Looking only at the second quarter of 2022, it was the first quarter of the last seven to have a drop in the number of deaths.
In addition, the death rate from January to June 2022 fell to 1.27 deaths per 100 million kilometers traveled. This figure was down from 1.3 in the first half of 2021.
