Squashed tuna cans

[Jim B.]

Was it really worth it just to save a few gallons of gas?


A Mercedes Benz is unarguably safer than what is here.






The aftermath of a 50 car pile up cause by fog on the north bound Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass Wednesday June 10, 2009. (LaFonzo Carter/ Staff Photographer)
Authorities attend to the injured after a multi-vehicle collision in the heavy fog at the Cajon Pass on Interstate 15 near Oak Hills, Calif., Wednesday, June 10, 2009. As many as 50 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction accident early Wednesday in fog on a mountain highway, with injuries reported and wreckage scattered for a half-mile, authorities said. (AP Photo/Eric Reed)


Blinding fog triggered a 30-car pileup Wednesday morning on the 15 Freeway through the Cajon Pass, injuring 10 motorists and forcing the closure of northbound lanes for hours.
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Cajon Pass pileup
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Commuters heading to work in the High Desert found themselves in a miles-long backup as paramedics and California Highway Patrol officers weaved through snarled traffic.

"They pretty much have to walk from car to car because it's such a long pileup," said CHP Officer Hope Maxson.

The incident began about 7:30 a.m. with a collision between two tractor trailers on the northbound 15 south of Oak Hill Road near Hesperia. That set off a chain-reaction involving dozens of other cars and motorcycles, who crashed into fenders and the sides of vehicles.

[Kuan]

Typical. That pass is notorious for multi car crashes.

[MTI]

I'm not sure what the OP is getting at, but if you take a look at the passenger cabins of the cars, they all appear to be wholly intact, while the crumple zones absorbed the bulk of the impact and likely reducing injury. To me, that's a safe car.

[TMAllison]

You must not be seeing the green car on the far left or the white car on the far right behind the silver 4 door with AZ plates and in front of the 1 ton???

[aklim]

Originally Posted by MTI

I'm not sure what the OP is getting at, but if you take a look at the passenger cabins of the cars, they all appear to be wholly intact, while the crumple zones absorbed the bulk of the impact and likely reducing injury. To me, that's a safe car.

It might reduce injury from a door being embedded into your body but when it comes to a larger mass hitting a smaller mass, even if that crumple zone absorbs some impact, isn't larger going to fare better?

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by aklim

It might reduce injury from a door being embedded into your body but when it comes to a larger mass hitting a smaller mass, even if that crumple zone absorbs some impact, isn't larger going to fare better?

a picture speaks a thousand words...

[MTI]

Originally Posted by TMAllison

You must not be seeing the green car on the far left or the white car on the far right behind the silver 4 door with AZ plates and in front of the 1 ton???

Yes, I can see those cars . . . but I also see very little deformity in the passenger cabin/cell and I believe I see door frames that are likely to still be operable, just as I would in a Mercedes design. I guess we're still applying old points of view to modern engineering, when the amount of property damage may not have the same correlation with how well the car was built or the survivability of the collisions.

As for a larger envelope providing more "protection" . . . I have no disagreement with that, however it's also the design of the crumple zones, the use of energy absorbing components in addition to the size, that makes a modern car safe. Some of those vehicles in the picture might be comparable, size wise, with a current C-Class.

[TheDon]

I see those Toyota's did just fine in this incident.

[OldPokey]

I think it's more dependent on the quality and engineering that goes into the car than sheer size. As is the case with so much of the stuff out of China these days, their cars look OK, but are death traps when it comes to crumple zones.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Crash-Test-Chinese-Car_151645.htm

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by TMAllison

You must not be seeing the green car on the far left or the white car on the far right behind the silver 4 door with AZ plates and in front of the 1 ton???

You mean that little white 4'x4' accordion cube of steel and plastic embedded in the trunk?

[MTI]

OIC . . . had to use a picture editor to see the door mirrors! According to the news reports there were two "critical" injuries, so I have to assume that that's at least one of them.

[TMAllison]

The rest of the cars all look fine. The green and the white cars took significant damage IMO. Occupants probably didn't walk away on their own from those two.

Would an MB have done any better? Perhaps a newer model would as they would likely ahve more air bags and newer safety features engineered into the design than other cars might. I wouldn't want to test it though.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by TMAllison

The rest of the cars all look fine. The green and the white cars took significant damage IMO. Occupants probably didn't walk away on their own from those two.

Would an MB have done any better? Perhaps a newer model would as they would likely ahve more air bags and newer safety features engineered into the design than other cars might. I wouldn't want to test it though.

I have tested a 99 C280. I know what happens when an 04 Honda Civic hits T-Bones you at about 55. You fare better.

[TMAllison]

Originally Posted by aklim

I have tested a 99 C280. I know what happens when an 04 Honda Civic hits T-Bones you at about 55. You fare better.

Yeah, I "tested" a 99 MBW 528i. Popped 6 of 8 air bags and walked away scratched up and sore. Gotta love German engineering.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by TMAllison

Yeah, I "tested" a 99 MBW 528i. Popped 6 of 8 air bags and walked away scratched up and sore. Gotta love German engineering.

My C280 popped off the side airbag. I had a Semi Pubic Rami Fracture, Stable Sacral fracture and a little orange piss. The other girl had a few broken ribs, arms and spent a week in the hospital.