This AM I was out walking and a car turns right from an intersection with what looked like a Toyota emblem on the front but when I turned to see what was on the rear it looked like a Scion emblem. The car may have been smaller than a Mercedes Smart Car (hard to believe ANY car could be that smaller than a Smart Car!). I'm thinking it may have been a Scion iQ. I couldn't help but wonder about accident safety, especially if a large garbage truck or dump truck took the iQ in the side. YIKES!!!

2013 Scion iQ Safety | U.S. News Best Cars

...and still only gets mid-30 mpg. What's the point?

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

if a large garbage truck or dumptruck took any vehicle in the side, its gonna be bad news, unless its another large municipal vehicle.

In that scenario the IQ might do ok, as if it didn't immediately get crushed, its light enough to go flying instead, vs something heavier that might not bounce off as easily.

Either way, things would be grim were it a suburban or IQ

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Different strokes for different folks. I recently read a news letter from an insurance company that said that the number one determining factor for injuries sustained in a vehicle accident is the WEIGHT of the vehicles involved.

In almost every accident investigated, people who were in the heavier vehicle sustained less injuries than those who were in the lighter vehicle. The article mentioned something called "physics", but that concept went over my head........

no shlt.

Your comparison against a dump truck or garbage truck is weird. Id be a lot more worried about being whacked by a SUV. I find drivers of commercial trucks to be on average excellent and more aware of their surroundings than the usual person in a full size SUV.

Just pointing out that an average garbage truck is in excess of 25 tons. It makes little difference if you are in a car that weighs just over a ton, or a truck just over 2.5 tons.

Call it the difference between hitting a dog or a squirrel with your car. Either way, they are both probably dead.

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While mass and velocity are important aspects to calculating human injury, biomechanics also highly factors in energy distribution via deflection and absorption when assessing injury potential. That's why older cars tend to be death traps, but need fewer repairs, while modern cars are often totaled, but occupant fatalities and serious injuries are at historically low levels.

Any vehicle which sits higher than a car has an advantage in an accident. I recently saw with my own eyes a 126 that had been rear ended by a very large commercial dump truck (ten wheels on the ground). The driver of the 126 was stopped at a stop sign when the dump truck hit the 126 while traveling around 60 MPH. The impact launched the benz over 200 feet. The entire rear of the benz was crushed up to and even with where the bottom of the rear window begins. The rest of the car didn't suffer any damage. The driver of the 126 walked away with very few injuries, mainly minor bruises and scratches.

Another associate of mine was in a 1970 series Chevrolet Impala. They were traveling in their lane when a commercial ten wheel dump truck traveling towards them lost TOTAL control of it's steering and crossed over and hit my friend's Impala on the driver's side. The bumper of the dump truck entered the driver's window and came within inches of killing my friend.

The cops came and determined that the front suspension tie rod ends had never been lubricated or serviced which caused the tie rod end to literally FALL OFF.

Look! I found the pic of that W126 hit from behind by a truck going 60 . . .

I wish I had taken photographs because the rear of the car was REALLY smashed in....the car was definitely totaled.

The truck driver may have been a McCain/Palin supporter . . .

City parking.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I totally believe that you were present when a truck rear ended a mercedes 126 at 60mph that was sitting at a stop sign. That must have been so shocking! and how totally relevant to this discussion this little anecdote turns out to be, almost as if it were tailor made! designed to support! ready for JUST this type of conversation

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I wasn't present when the accident occurred. I only witnessed the aftermath of the wreck.

good thing a mercedes can take this kind of hit with only crushing the trunk!

Those Germans, thinking of every possibility.

60mph is nearly highway speed.

Rear End from HELL - YouTube

you think maybe your speed estimate might be BS? possibly. More likely the truck was stopping and tapped the 126 at 15mph or below, if that actually happened, and crushed in the rear end

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