Safe Speed Forums

Ferrari are launching a road safety campaign http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/050430/13/amo6.html

Some critics may say that the F1 teams have no idea about road safety& only promote speed & aggresive driving techniques. On the other hand I think that a lot of the features on F1 cars could improve road safety. As an example look at what happens when an F1 car has a 150mph collision, and do the same to my A6

Car manufacturers have often looked towards F1 for cutting edge technological advances, and I hope this campaign has a positive effect.

Of course the Ferrari F1 engine strapped into my car would be interesting

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'Detritus, get yer stoney arse over ere'

F1 used to have 3+ fatalities a year in the late 60s and early 70s. Before Senna the sport had not had a driver death for more than 12 years, safety had advanced so far even though race speeds had reached over 200mph.

Says a lot for the progress in safety. If only this level of improvement could be carried over onto our roads.

Maybe F1 could teach us something.

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Speed camera policy Kills

My point exactly, imagine if car manufactureres could encase the driver and passengers in the same sort of shell Schumy and co. have. This sort of thing though would no doubt cause car prices to sour, but as a familly man it would be a strong selling point for me.

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'Detritus, get yer stoney arse over ere'

Don't forget that there's probably been as much work done on making the tracks safer. Unfortunately none of these improvements are self-financing.

i think doors cause a bit of a structural problem for this!... unless your family dont mind gettin in & out the sunroof

I am sure you could apply the principals of the design though.

The biggest weakness in the design of the car is the glass. Style has meant that this has got bigger.

Also the most dangerous collision is the side impact. You may have 5 feet of crumple zine in front of you but if someone hits you in the drivers door your pelvis is crushed and youy head goes out through the side window. Most racing cars (F1 and BTCC) have side head restraints and VERY strong side impact protection.

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Speed camera policy Kills

I think the main point is preventing collisions in the first place, rather than focusing on protecting car occupants in the event of a collision.
Not that such protection isn't important though.
In F1, regardless of how strong they make the driver cabin, the extreme G-forces involved in a 150mph collision are still going to hurt a lot.

Cheers
Peter

Obviously prevention is better than cure, but at 150mph in a family saloon (a fast one at that!) you won't walk away. I was astonished to hear the other day that the encap tests don't cover rear end collisions! These must be amongst the most common types of collisions on our roads
It really does seem to be getting better though, as car manufacturers realise how much of a priority safety is to the consumer.
What are you opinions, would you compromise safety over looks/performance.
Next year I'm buying an Audi A4 2.4 V6 , which I think is a happy compromise on all areas. In reality though with 2 boys in the back, I should be looking towards a 5 star car like the Megan. The main thing stopping me doing that is that the thing has looks only its mother could love, and it’s French. I simply don't like french cars, but I'm sure plenty would differ.

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'Detritus, get yer stoney arse over ere'

A couple of years ago my daughter wanted to come out for a track day at Donnington in the Fiesta RS Turbo we used to race. It was a 260bhp turbo but race only so had a 5 point harness in both front seats and a full roll cage. The main driver took the car out with my daughter in the passenges seat.

The car hit an oil patch and spun off at about 80 miles per hour, hitting the gravel side on it flipped the car over and over about half a dozen times. An ambulance was deployed and the driver and pasenges were extracted from the wreck. I was horrified as I had seen it all from the control tower video system.

After a check over in the ambulance both the driver and my daughter walked away. Just a bit shaken up.

The point I am trying to make is that even 15 year old road car based racing cars are much safer than their modern road going counterparts. The shell is much stronger and the harness more effective. Both were wearing helmets with visors to protect their eyes from flying glass.

It is possible to walk away from horrific crashes if the safety equipment is up to the job.....but on most cars it isn't. Euro NCAP or not.

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Speed camera policy Kills

Two points:

1. Racetrack crashes are very rarely side-on collisions which account for a lot of KSIs on the road
2. Do you not think drivers might risk-compensate a teeny-weeny bit if required to wear a 5-point harness in a normal road car?

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

As are head-on collisions, and collisions with poles, trees and pedestrians.



Bit off-topic, but why is it that the term risk-compensation is used almost exclusively in relation to drivers - never pedestrians and the like?
Do pedestrians not take bigger risks when the traffic is moving slower?

Cheers
Peter


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Yes, fair point, pedestrians undoubtedly do - which is why pedestrian safety gains from 20 mph zones are illusory.

But I don't believe giving all road vehicles the impact protection of race cars is a safety panacea. Cars are already like armoured cars compared to their counterparts of 30 or 40 years ago.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Not true.....The most common "serous" accident is when a car spins infront....then gets t-boned.

Thats why drivers where neck braces, often have window nets and SUBSTANTIAL door bars.

Been involved in racing for 20 years...have seen a thing or two.

This is the T-bone accident that cost Zanardi both his legs. After that car design was changed to avoid the "bullet" effect of the nose cone hitting another car.

http://ukf1.simracingnetwork.com/crash_pics/CART_Germany_2001_Zanardi_Horror_Crash.jpg

http://www.freeweb.hu/brutalvideos/zanardi_crash.jpg

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Speed camera policy Kills

Yes, I thought that was something of an omission. They cover what happens if you run into something or something runs into the side of you but pay no regard to what happens if you are the poor guy up the back of the queue when that sleepy artic driver arrives through the fog.

Compare the EU tests to the US ones. Cars gaining a full five stars in the US get a measley one or two here. The tests don't look substantially different so it's obviously down to the rating system.

Have to disagree with you on one point though. But the Germans do make exceedingly good beer.

Although my E36 M3 is a relatively "safe" car I have a full roll cage, race seats and harnesses and I drive it on the road most of the time.

It's worth the inconvenience of the cage & seatbelts but I draw the line at wearing a helmet on the roads

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Ross

Yes I'm a hoon, but only on the track!!!!

Unfortunatly us motorcyclists don't get the choice..

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Speed camera policy Kills