When does a car stop being safe?
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- Опубликовано: 13 май 2024
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Old cars are dangerous...new cars are safer. How old is too old? I spent months figuring out how car safety actually works and I’ll share those details with you.
IIHS Safe Vehicles for Teens: www.iihs.org/ratings/safe-veh...
The IIHS website is great but it provides no guidance for “when a vehicle becomes dangerous”. I think this guide gives you a great cutoff and a way to judge what vehicle to buy.
Big big thanks to Drekken Pownz @ProBotsAI for his help with the storyline. Thanks to @excessorizeme for lending me his GoPros.
My amazing thumbnail designer, David Lamata: dangerous.industries/thumbnai...
Table of Contents:
0:00 When a big car is worse than a tiny car
1:10 Early car safety was funny
2:56 Steering Wheels Were Deadly...Until We Fixed It
4:48 Proton Mail - Sponsor
6:25 Why Your Car is No Longer Pancaked in a Crash
8:00 How Explosives Inside Your Seatbelt Fixed Airbags
9:05 Let's Blow up a Seatbelt!
11:10 Exploding an Airbag
13:05 Why Car Insurance Companies Built a $100M Crash Center
13:48 How Car Insurance Companies Shamed Automakers into Making Safer Cars
14:48 Why the newer and smaller car beat the bigger Volvo from the 90s
16:53 How I figured out my 10 year car is just barely safe enough to drive 
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There is no privacy to be gained from Proton. They literally give data to government agencies like the FBI
By law in any country in the world you are not allowed to encypt data in such manner that the goverment cant decrypt it, mening all that privacy is bs
@@averagedev7768 False.
You let yourself act a little too uninhibited. People liked you better before. Beware, this will stop you from amassing any more viewers.
Go buy a Subaru. Along with its most dependable AWD system, you will get the best known safety from a Subaru.
Fun fact from an industry insider: in many cases, the automakers had already identified and designed solutions for the problems that IIHS testing would later bring to light.
The automakers calculated that they would lose money if they implemented these changes, however, so it's a good thing that testing authorities like the IIHS called the public's attention to these issues, since otherwise they might have never gotten solved!
they just still use the old design just in other markets. Example: renault sells old european dacias with current 1 star ratings as renault in latam.
Reminds me of Fight Club
I don't know if this translates correctly. In Germany, we say " a horse only jumps as high as nessasary"
Or in other words, why should you spend money on something that nobody cares when burying this car.
Agreed, it would never have left the engineering labs if it weren't for outside forces pushing for change.
There was a nhtsa study on the total cost of safety improves including research and implementation costs and it was something like under a $1000 a vehicle. Economics of scale.
It probably was a money loser until they all agreed (and consumers) that cars could be more expensive. Also why they're all so expensive now.
Thanks for the inside perspective!
Edit: $1000 in 2002, $2000 in 2012. Source: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/Publication/812354
I just some how wish we could make older cars safer too :\
The one thing that is often ignored in the US and leads to a ton of SUVs and trucks is that crash tests rarely involve persons outside the car. Yet cars crashing into pedestrians and cyclists at low speed is super common! Adipositas cars (SUVs) usually fare badly here.
But the US is the land of the free and the selfish. So they still choose to drive tanks.
Good observation! In the US suv's and trucks tend to receive higher crash ratings because of this, hence the trend of more and more large vehicles on the road in the US. Other countries and testing standards actually rate them far lower due to their mass and size and damage they can cause. US crash tests tend to only focus on the occupant of the car.
where did you read crashes into pedestrians and cyclists are "super common" in the US?
@@MiroBG359 "GHSA projects at least 7,508 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2022, continuing the upward trend in recent years. This would be the most pedestrian deaths since 1981."
US population: 333M (V2022, Census Bureau)
US pedestrian fatalities: 7,508 (2022) - increasing sharply over time (more than 50% in a 10 year period)
US pedestrian fatality rate per 1 billion vehicle miles traveled (VMT): 2.37*
US pedestrian fatality rate per 1 million population: 22.5*
*Based on GHSA projections
EU population: 513M (EU-28, 1 January 2018, reported 10 July 2018)
EU pedestrian fatalities: 4,763 (2018) - declining over time as member states adopt safety measures
EU pedestrian fatality rate per 1 million population: 9.3
This would be even higher if more than 3% percent of people ever actually walked or cycled in the US (Census Bureau).
I can't see my hood at all. If you were short I wouldn't see you either. I hit a 4 foot post and couldn't see it at all. I really don't like it, I used to have cars where you could see down the hood to the bumper.
I'm quite surprised how you don't mention EuroNCAP at all. It's what Europe has been using for deciding what kind of cars are safe, and which most likely mutually helped the US crash tests.
I had to set limits on the scope of the video, the research alone for this was difficult. If I had to do Europe and weave a storyline, this video would have taken a year to finish. I am looking at European standards in the future
NCAP focuses to much on ADAS these days. It's irrelevant for crash-worthiness. You could have a 4 star vehicle that crashes better(meaning it provides more safety to everyone) than a 5 start one, simply because the 4 star one doesn't have all the bling bling gimmicky features of lane assist, auto braking, and other things like that which also bug a lot and are not even proven to actually reduce crashes.
@@Paul.V.29auto braking is mainly designed to reduce the severity of a collision. If it prevents it, great
@@Paul.V.29 Lane assist is kinda dangerous in winter conditions. My -17 Golf often misinterprets lane markings when the road is covered in snow, and tries to steer into oncoming traffic or into ditch.
IIHS is much more strict than euroncap.
Two years ago my 2010 Honda Fit got hit almost identically to the small offset test. I was sitting in the left turn only lane with a red light. A small suv coming the opposite way wasnt paying attention and veered across the intersection probably going at least 35mph. Hit me driver side corner. This was my first real collision after almost 20 years of driving. It was crazy violent.
Air bags went off, glass shattered. Car was totalled. After all of that the only injury I had was a small scrape on my left arm. I was around corner from the golf course which was my destination. After the police took the report and the car was towed away, i took my golf bag, walked over and played.
These safety features are incredible.
Priorities.
The tests from the IIHS focus on half of the equation : the injuries sustained by occupants of the car considered by the test. What is missing is: what is the potential damage to occupants of the other car? If you don't consider that side of the problem, then you could end up in a "race to the biggest, heaviest car", which would be terrible for other road users. Not only other cars, which won't be able to absorb the energy from being hit by a heavier car, but pedestrians and other road users. Those bigger cars are often higher, and offer poor visibility on their immediate surroundings. We would probably all be safer overall if that "other half of the problem" was considered by regulators.
Yhea, my cars crash structures won't do much if I get tboned by a truck so tall the bottom of its bumper starts at my window line.
Yes, they also only consider how it survives a crash, not how it can avoid a crash. Cars have decreased visibility, more mass, and are harder to control. I'd rather have a car that does slightly worse in a frontal impact if it can stop 20' shorter from 60mph.
The fact that they needed to introduce the SUV side impact test says a lot.
Its already a big problem in the United States, in the EU crash safety tests require evaluation on safety of the occupant of the other car, and in the case of pedestrian strikes, the united states and IHS does not test for either of those, hence why theres a trend towards large suvs and trucks in the US as they receive the highest crash ratings. Good observation!
@@danbert8 not true. Part of IIHS Safety Pick designations now include crash avoidance technology and headlight visibility testing
I was involved in an accident like a month ago, and it was a small overlap type crash. I was riding in a small suv going to my home at around 50kph (30mph) when a drunk guy in a sedan hit me at around 140kph (~86mph), I was going uphill so the other car kind of slides under mine but still manage to impact like the test in your Honda fit. The floor of the car took the impact and broke one of the seat attachments, my car ended up like the shot at 16:41 but way worse in the underside, the A pillar actually held on pretty well leaving some space to not be absolutely crushed like in the test.
Luckily, I only sustain minor damages with the worst things being that I broke a little bit of the lumbar area of the spine and broke my left foot, all recovering fine btw.
Anyway cars are pretty safe nowadays, I also have an old Fiat with no safety features, so glad I wasn't driving it that day. Yours is too, just remember to wear your seatbelt, just don't crash that way 🤠
Sorry for my English, my first language is Spanish, Love your content, and keep it up!
Glad you're okay.
glad you're recovering well, and your english is great! dont even worry about it :)
that's the thing about classic & small cars,
they're simply cool
but very unsafe unfortunately:\
What happened to the driver of the Sedan? What were the 2 cars?
Glad you're ok, sounds like the height saved your life, maybe even theirs if the cabin wasn't crashed. Thanks for enjoying my videos!
As a bicyclist, motorcyclist, and 80s-00s car enthusiast (smaller cars with few or no airbags), I would say minimizing distractions while driving and having good tires and brakes go a very long way in improving your survivability, as well as improving the survivability of the pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists out there as well. I hope someone doesn't kill me while road raging in a Cybertruck one day ...
Exactly that. As a new driver I can say that it's so much easier to utilize everything we can to drive safer instead of crying on the internet about how cars are dangerous
Road raging? Hell an idiot could screw up the brake and accelerator pedal, and make you experience a 60 mph crash because their 3 ton electric accelerates faster than most sports cars did for the last 20 years.
Touchscreen computers in cars these days are a major distraction which still is left untouched by safety regulations.
and keeping distance...... :D:D that saved my ass and car X times.
yes! having good brakes will help prevent you from causing secondary collisions, good tires will help prevent hydroplaning or sliding on ice (but you should drive slower in those conditions regardless bc you can still hydroplane/slide with the best tires ever), etc. i’m so wary of new cars with safety features like lane assist because people driving those vehicles get used to not needing certain driving skills & would cause hell in a vehicle without aforementioned features. don’t get me wrong, i think they’re great, i just also think their existence encourages people to learn only the bare minimum. my car’s only driver assisting feature is cruise control but i don’t ever use it because i live in georgia and no roads here are straight enough to properly use cruise control
The answer to your title question is: ...as soon as a human sits inside the car, the car stops being safe...
Masterfully put together, another great video, so glad you released it! Im European and we have EuroNCAP in place of IIHS and they constantly change their tests, the latest one is highly focusing on other road users like bikers or pedestrians . It relegated a ton of previously highly rated cars into low or non existant score since they lack safery festures to avoid hitting external third parties. I believe this is the only way to improve safety in our cars and thats a good thing! Keep the fascinating topics and videos coming !
Will do! Thanks!
Bikers cause more traffic accidents involving cars than cars do.
@@Zorro9129source?
Any verifiable data to support that claim?@@Zorro9129
@@Zorro9129exactly, and these fools saying that biking is safer than driving, it’s not
I ride a motorcycle, so I don’t care about safety
Ayyyy lessgo
"I ride a motorcycle, I don't care about the people around me."
The world needs donors too. Thank you for your service.
Same 🤚😅
@@Husshhh713 a motorcycle driver is usually more danger to himself than any kind of people who are also on the road
There are few exceptions like bike and people walking but majority drive a car and they are far more dangerous to anyone on the road especially motorcycle and bikes
I absolutely love your videos! Some of the best, most interesting deep dives out there on these kinds of topics. Please keep making these videos!
Thanks Phoenix!
Welcome back! 🎉
I'm a collision repair tech and you would be surprised at how much engineering goes into crash safety, also many of the very first safety features ie. Three point seat belts, proper headrests and even backup cameras, were introduced by Volvo who had their own safety design division in the 50s! They were also kind enough to not patent the designs allowing other manufacturers to use it for an easy safety increase thus creating a universal standard without having to enforce it (at least initially). UHSS was a big step in the right direction for passenger safety ensuring the safety cage is massively stronger than the rest of the car, and I'm glad more and more people are getting to see this stuff online.
Also keep in mind Your Airbags NEED Maintenance Every 10 Years!
On a side note being a car enthusiast myself I have to say, if you are going to modify any safety equipment, please replace it with something of equal or greater protection capabilities. For example replacing seatbelts and airbags with a cage and harness, even the pro's crash but the pro's are driving cars designed to crash at 100+ mph and be fine, your 30 year old miata would fail 90% of current test standards and wouldn't hold up well to a new F-150.
Didn't know that about volvo thats actually really cool!
What maintenance do airbags require after 10 years?
@@AlexandarHullRichter . Mostly checking the airbags condition (visual inspection) and looking for any software errors (SRS light), but airbags can have failures without any warning, stuff like water intrusion, dust, physical damage and corrosion are serious possibilities and some newer cars even have a timer for the SRS light to engage to prevent owner neglect from causing major problems when the bags fire ala Takata recall. And while it may seem doable for the average diy-er to check, know that without a proper scan tool you won't be able to diagnose any SRS codes and keep in mind there could be anywhere from 1 to over 20 SRS devices just in the interior.
@@terracar2003
I don't quite recall, but can't the explosives also fail over time?
It was something about the compound is somewhat unstable, and will slowly degrade or denature overtime, meaning the force of the detonation decreases, as well as the chance of it successfully+completely going off. (I do not think it can cause premature detonation)
But I can't recall if this is a pattern, rule of thumb, or exception. Have you heard of this as well or know anything about it. (I believe the lifetime of the explosive compound is also about 10-15 years)
@@XenocraftGalaxy .Yes the compound used in older airbag systems had this problem of degradation, luckily it is a binary explosive meaning it cannot fire without an electric impulse, I don't recall the specific lifespan of the compound but it is meant to survive past the life of the vehicle so easily 20 years and the newer compound is much more stable and no longer degrades as much over time so you get a significantly longer lifespan and as long as you keep up on maintenance you should never have to worry about the explosives having a misfire even 50+ years down the road.
I wish my city had safe cycling infrastructure. I feel like I'm risking my life everyday on my car commute.
same here. i walk to work everyday and i have to cross this big fucking 5-lane road to get across the street. ive almost been hit more times than i can count.
You’re absolutely right. I’m also tired of risking my life in a car.
You dont want safe cycling infrastructure you want good, neigh the best. An underground bike highway is safe infrastructure, but when it’s only got 2 points to enter and exit it’s not good. Good infrastructure is in Amsterdam but that just my thoughts I say this as someone who cycles home daily and has 0 cycling infrastructure. 30% grades suck
@@caesthoffe that's just a stroad,
@stefan3225 I use my car
Andrew : there aren't many channels on RUclips producing video ls at that level of quality, being entertaining and so informative. Clearly you are putting a ton of time into this. There should be a way to support your work with a bit more than just a subscription...
Really appreciate it, while there's a donation link in my profile, I need to up my own production speed and even the bonuses I deliver my fans like you before I promote it. I want to deliver consistently. Getting there though!
@@Lam I don't know much on how the RUclips algorithm works, but I really appreciate the quality of your work. Do what it takes to make your channel successful, but I don't mind the lower frequency if it's interesting (it is!). Heck, Mark Rober makes one video a month!
I've just "bought you some coffee". I wish I could make it automatically recurrent. Is that doable on their platform? Anyway, you should mention that link in your video!
You did miss one thing, the lack of crash compatibility tests. Not Just Bikes mentioned it in his video about trucks but it goes a bit further than that. As big trucks and SUVs get more popular these crashes will also get more common, in effect making smaller cars even more unsafe through no fault of their own. And it is not just cars either as Semi-trucks also have the same problem, the small clip at 13:36 shows what could happen. I do not remember where I saw it but this is still a flaw in modern trailers as most of those crash bars are not tested to be able to hold back a crash and the height on most of them are too high to be of any use to small cars.
I deliberately skipped it. It's an important issue for sure and it would have taken it off the testing angle I was focusing on.
This is why I’m always afraid to drive in front of or behind a a semi.
@@Wasabi9111 i wouldnt worry about being behind one. just keep proper following distance. my motto is if i crash its gonna be hard enough to kill me, so im either driving like a maniac or a grandma. no inbetween
All semi trailers on the road these days are either equipped with an ICC bumper or an IIHS guard. The forces required to fold one of those under the trailer is going to kill the driver. They can take the impact of a civic plowing into them at 60mph and still keep you from underriding
I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that I appreciate your setup and the execution of your videos! I love how you edit so that there's a great flow to all of the presentation and the information shared. I'm entertained and enlightened by your efforts, and even though I normally watch RUclips on my TV I felt compelled to get my phone out to thank you for being one of the best content creators. I hope that you are having a fantastic day.
Wow, thank you! That means a lot when viewers like you appreciate the structure and flow. I spend a lot of time making sure that's done well. Hope you are having a fantastic day too!
One of the reason you had a more efficient research in crash-tests is also the technological progress of simulations. while you will always need physical, real crash tests, the advancements in simulated material behavior helps saving a ton of money as (just for a rough example) instead of crashing 100 cars, you only crash 20 to get to satifying, in-charts results.
Yup!
A couple of years ago I responded to a head on crash between a honda fit and a buick enclave. The Fit was torn in half and the engine was ejected into the ditch, passengers made it but barely..The enclave was smashed a bit but not much, its occupants walked away- big vehicles dont play fair
More modern one's do. They're designed to be softer, and the smaller cars are now stiffer. This is to improve the crash compatibility between the different groups.
Love the demonstration of how the seatbelt elements work. I didn't realize how complicated modern seatbelts are. All but one of my cars are 40+ years old, so they have really basic seatbelts that are either basic ratcheting mechanisms or just straight up straps that you set the tightness manually.
Yeah, it's surprising how much there is! I left out the electric motors that some vehicles have.
Just found your channel and it's SO GOOD! It shows how much research you put into these videos. They're wildly informative! Please don't stop making them :)
Will do! Thanks!
Will do! Thanks!
Great breakdown! It was always interesting seeing these things evolve as I grew up. It was like cars getting AC and CD players as factory default options.
I remember when they started showing those crash tests in all the car ads too.
I was in a low overlapping head-on, like your fatal flaw. He popped out of the fog and I hit my breaks and immediately slid so I switched and punched the gas. That made my tail swing out more and the angle of contact changed at the last possible instant and I spun when we connected. I slid sideways out of the seatbelt and was stuffed into the rear passenger footwell headfirst. Totaled both cars.
I guess I should add I got charged for criminal negligence because I was passing a few cars going very, very slow. Too slow for conditions, but fog has a way of changing to soup in an instant. I was found not to be. Mostly because I had the car 3 days and hadn't had time to take off the very bald tires that were on it and that was the first time I drove it in the rain. I tried to slow down and get back in my lane. But like I said, I just slid immediately, like I was on ice. I was stuffed the instant I hit the breaks. A consequence of not being rich more than any culpable intent.
For your mental image,; I was turning right away from him and on contact my car spun left into it. The hit was 20% overlap on the driver's side for both of us. With a 30° offset for my car to his going parallel down the road. So, if the center line points to 12 o'clock on the horizon, I was pointing at 2 o'clock.
My SEAT Leon ST (VW Golf 8) from 2021 has extended passenger protection, so it will tension the seatbelts (electric motors) and roll up the windows almost all the way up if open to avoid lems to fall outside but still let the pressure from the airbags to exit.
A pretty cool option that should be standard on all new cars 🙂
Andrew, I love your videos. You deserve much more recognition, for these well-edited, interesting dives into history of automotive and logistic safety. Hoping for more content.
This is both entertaining and informative. Keep up the good work! However, the fact that the IIHS does not consider lightweight vehicles as safe is indicative of a larger problem, wherein cars are being designed to be dangerous to other motorists, as well as those outside of motor vehicles due to excessive weight.
Ps. Nice Canadian rubles :)
Thanks! Agreed, as I was making this video I was thinking a lot about "bikes not cars" video on "these things are killing us". The idea that bigger is better can cause a lot of issues. Even vehicle to vehicle compatibility issues that I didn't address in this video.
*Tries to convert those rubles to American bling, gets $2. Gotcha!
@@Lam I think you meant notjustbikes?
It's always good to see you post a video. I've been rewatching your dash cam videos and I just can't find anyone as informative as you. Anyways, thank you for an incredible video! I appreciate the dedication and knowledge used to put this video together.
Thank you for your support and I'm glad you enjoyed my videos!
Amazing video essay from you always! Been following you since your first video essay. Your presentation style is easy to grasp, and very interesting to follow. I can understand almost the whole video in just one watch. I might adapt those elements for my future presentations in the university!
I used to work for a tuning company that also did car repairings. One time a havily crashed Renault Modus came to the shop, and it was running. I even turned it off and started againg without hasitating. The design of the Modus is pretty much like the one in the A class. When in severe frontal impact the engine would tend to go under the seat in order to prevent foot/leg damage therefore the engine itself doesnt get totally crashed.
Love the direction this channel is going in, keep up these awesome videos!
I'm impressed how much research, source and content you put into videos which truly makes them a masterpiece worth watching. Concise and clear information. Also, if I saw someone in a garden with a teddy bear strapped in a chair hooked up to a car battery I would question his intentions
hahah, thanks. I was wondering how it would look to any neighbors who could see down into the backyard area.
Dude! How did i just now find your channel, the hands on, the explainging. Everything. Even your editing is fantastic!!!!! Subscribed for more awesome videos like this!
Thank you so much! It's the algorithm. I'm amazed by all the creators in my own niche that I've never heard of.
Also, knowing the dangers in your vehicle can allow you to adjust how you strike something if its unavoidable.
Well sometimes this can be impossible. Imagine you are not moving, someone rear end you, and your car is sent to the other side of the road with an incoming vehicle… only the car structure can save you
Great coverage on the development history of vehicle passive safety features.
I think there's more to be covered. Active safety features are important as well. Anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control also play important roles in car safety. IIHS recommends cars with electronic stability control for teenage drivers even for the used ones. Now, we also have automatic braking and back up cameras too. These active safety features prevent car collisions and injuries from happening in the first place. I think this would be a good topic for one of your future videos.
Yeah, and then the teenagers learn how to drive a vehicle that coddles them and are screwed if they ever drive something older, be it for a job or otherwise. Unless the conditions are really bad or there's a lot of traffic, I sometimes like to drive a little aggressively in the winter just to know how to handle when you're not quite in control. It's fun and a mental refresher. I've found that on loose or slick surfaces, ABS makes my vehicle understeer horribly (you should coast to regain grip in the first place) if you do what most normies and the manufacturer want you to do, which is to ride the brake until it makes you shudder to a stop. The problem I've found is that the ABS only focuses on getting the wheels stopped, especially on ice. After the wheels stop turning, the car kinda shrugs and lets you skate off into the ditch. With ABS I either continue to pump my brakes or cover brake (as in older vehicles), because I find that more often than not it just gets in the way. That, and all of our vehicles are manual transmission so I don't really use the brakes in the first place.
Thankfully the only time I've gone off the road was when I WASN'T screwing around, looking for where I thought I remembered a stop sign in dense fog. I'm going 30 MPH and slowing down, kind of discerning the course of the road going "I know I'm coming up on that intersection" when all of a sudden I see it whizzing by my passenger side and I go off a "T" intersection into some grass. I drove out, and pulled over in the next town to check the car. No damage. I came back to that same intersection in the spring/summer and discovered that I must've threaded the needle between a power pole and a tree with a trunk the same width.
This channel is such a great repository of knowledge and just amazing content. I know word of mouth is as good as dead nowadays, but I can't stop telling my mates about your videos whenever the chances comes by.
Thanks for everything.
Good to see that you're back. Nobody else is making videos in your genre. Your videos are very interesting.
Dude! Amazing content and production - so informative and neat!
Thanks!
in indonesia, safety car is treated as a joke and said "no one buy a car to be crashed" and choosing a resale value as the utmost priority despite the car is literally a coffin with wheels 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Yeah...
@@snafu1635 ?
Im so happy I found this channel, as a car safety nerd so-to-speak its nice to watch and learn more from you. thanks!!
(more please) haha
Yet another amazing video. Your topics for videos are so simple yet so captivating. Keep it up!
Thanks a ton!
Lol I love your evil laugh after the airbag explosion 😂
Such quality production, you're killing it!
Great video like always, wasn’t expecting a new video so quickly. Also, didn’t expect a new video style but I think it improves the narrative and explanation, great job!
That's amazing, I'm assuming from how quickly you responded that you have notifications on and have probably watched a bunch of my videos.
I say that because I think about fans like you so I want to ensure that the depth of information remains high while still being fun to watch.
Sounds like I managed to do that. Glad your enjoyed it!
Wow, thanks Andrew, keep up the good work!
Personally, I prefer Euro NCAP over IIHS.
IIHS focuses too much on occupant safety, Euro NCAP however focuses more on pedestrian safety and outright preventing accidents(driver aids).
If IIHS is such a good standard, I believe USA will have less traffic deaths than Europe for sure.
When I was a tech at the BMW stealership, we had a massive (pyrotechnic) seatbelt buckle recall... I saved one and crawled under my buddies lifted Chevy pickup with it and a some wire...
I nestled it up in his driveshaft tunnel and wired it up to the start terminal on his starter... it was pretty cool
I absolutely LOVE your clever engineering series, i'm trying to make a game and your videos help me a lot to understand everything around us. So THANK YOU
Thanks for enjoying it! You're the type of curious person I make these videos for
So what happens when it runs into a Cybertruck?
I’m worried about this potential vehicle mass and height arms race, since the taller heavier vehicle is often more safe in a crash, since you experience less deceleration, and expose the weaker upper cabin section less to damage.
I'm surrounded by lifted pickup trucks that have bumpers that *start* at my small SUV's window line
@@Callsign_Sturm I made no comments about the trucks visibility, just that if the truck/suv is so tall it's bumper is level with my windows, then all the crash bodies in my car don't mean anything, do they?
My issue with trucks is I don't want to spend a mortgage on gas commuting to use the bed like, once every 3 months.
I recently drove a 1987 Ford F-350 with a steel ranch hand bumper through the side of a 2015 Toyota Avalon at 35mph... I had the right of way, lady in the car ran a red light and I hit her passenger doors. If someone were in the passenger front seat of that car they literally would of took a truck to the side of their head. It blew the side curtain bags on the car but the front of my truck still smashed its way about 3 feet into the passenger cabin of the car, the car didn't "bounce" away on impact it was basically speared around my bumper between the A-pillar and C-pillar, like the truck was trying to drive through the cars passenger side windows and got stuck.
It knocked the wind out of me, and my chest hurt pretty good where my seat belt snatched me, but I still opened the door and stepped out and called 911. Lady in the car was cut up pretty bad but was responsive, fire department had to pry the car open and helped her out of it and took her to the hospital. My truck fired up and went into reverse but it was dragging the car along with it, a wrecker had to pull the car off the front of it. I still have the truck and after some work it's road worthy again. it busted the grill and headlights up, but those were easy junkyard finds, it tweaked my radiator support enough that the lower rad hose popped off and it dumped coolant all over the crash scene (what kept me driving it home that day) I beat that back into shape with a hammer.
If I had to pick a vehicle to slam directly into a brick wall I'd want something that would crumble and soak up the impact, but for plowing through lesser plastic vehicles being piloted by distracted idiots in lower speed traffic I'll stick with my old trucks.
I have yet to see it in a crash, I'm wondering if it has a lower bumper. The taller wedge might just be cosmetic where as the crash bar would be at a more appropriate height.
That point about cars with greater mass being safer when involved in crashes with smaller ones...does that mean we should push for cars, on the whole, to be less massive in general? Try to reduce the amount of metal flying down roads on average.
That's what I would support
That's what fuel economy standards and gas prices do- drive that balance by forcing weight down.
@@jamesengland7461 No, it made US car makers ditch sedans and coupes in favor of pick-ups and SUVs, because they are light trucks and not subject to the same fuel mileage restrictions, so car makers make them huge with massive engines and sold the idiot public that they were extra safe because they were battering rams.
Thank you for clarifying the background and details about the small overlap test. Although the impact mechanism itsself is critical and the ability to withstand such extreme conditions is a great feature the window of great improvements nevertheless becomes smaller with the decreasing percentage of real-world crash scenarios that haven´t been covered by established tests before. My car for example, the BMW i3 aced the small overlap test despite having a relatively short crumple zone because of the carbonfibre construction with lighter and softer plastic panels on the outside of the frontal area. That made it possible for the car to get deflected by the barrier and not having to come to a dead stop on the initial impact.
Not only a brilliant and informative video but man your maniacal laugh after your experiments is so damn funny and heartwarming. What a lovely neighbour too!
Awesome job on the research. If I may suggest another topic, how about innovations on road design for limited access roads (e.g. the Autoban, US Freeway system, Canada National Highway System).
I put this in my content things to research! Thanks!
Maybe collab with Rob he's all about the road in US he had been interviewing a few road officials in several DOTs.
Cybertruck: **Allow me to introduce myself ☠️**
This is awesome dude! Love all the work you put into this.
Just upgraded my girlfriends 10 Honda fit with a beamer for that same reason.
Would be cool to see a suv vs sedan on safety!
Also, I think that "crash compatibility" is a very useful concept that could be added to this very good video. It implies that cars must comply -or try to work- with previous "crash" technology and with cars that are actually used on the road. Also, it considers the car in its environment, and the probability and effect that could have when impacting different structures, cars, trucks and more important, pedestrians.
Fantastic video and channel! Could you make a video discussing the differences in safety regulation for trucks, SUVs, and cars?
I know there's crash compatibility engineering for SUVs so they don't just run over smaller vehicles. Don't know if that's regulated or even tested. I'll think about this. Thanks!
In the USA SUV's and trucks have 0 safety regulations.
You can quite literally build a gaint steal tank with square edges and sell it.
This, combined with hardly any licence requirements and failing to invest in saver infrastructure is why the USA has such insanely deadly roads.
@@basmca1 There actually are some safety regulations. You ever noticed how tall the front of trucks are now compared to say the 90s? That's actually the safety regulations at work. Old 90s trucks sit at the same height as new ones, but their front end is considerably shorter. Problem with those 90s trucks if crashed into a smaller car, the crash bars pictured at 7:18 would not align resulting in bad crashes for the smaller car. Now the front ends are bigger because they've mounted the crash bar a lot lower and then covered up the empty space with a bunch of body work.
I'd love to see how the IIHS stacks up against the more strict Euro NCAP tests
They're more strict in different ways. Pedestrian protection is far stricter in Europe for example.
Wow I love this video.
So much information in 1 single video. It's a matter of time until you reach a million subscribers.
Thank you I have really enjoyed it.
(And now I'm subscribed 😊)
Your videos, while few and far between, are really good. Quality vs quantity. This one was most enjoyable. I chuckled to myself at your nervousness when setting off the airbags. I did that about 20 years ago where I worked as a demo for everyone and felt the exact same thing. Keep up the good work and I look forward to the next episode.
Funny how the people who care about me the most are the ones who pay for when I die or get injured.
Incentives!
Insta click on notification. Awesome video!!
Very well researched :) as someone who’s read a LOT into all this out of curiosity, I still learned a new new things.
I really love the style of your content Andrew, will definitely be sticking around for more :)
A lot of being safe on the road comes down to being observant & watching for situations unfolding. Sadly to few people do this. It does make me glad though when I make a mistake driving & I visibly see other drivers react showing they are paying attention. Then the next correct thing to do is correct for my mistake in the safest way possible.
VOLVO & Euro Encap are the other two main crash test authority's that have come up with some really cool tests. I always look at crash test safety when getting a new car, looked at it for my partners car to so he would have to best chance at survival if the worst happens.
Its unfortunate the approach to the weight issue is having a minimum weight. A better solution that solves lots of other problems would to have a maximum weight instead, or better alongside
Agreed! I wish it was different that it's not a push for bigger and bigger
What about trailers? Or Vans? Heavy vehicles are unavoidable, so they are forced to go down the minimum-weight route.
@@yngndrw.nah I think figuring out how to conserve weight in larger vehicles would be a very good thing all around. Would have a couple of additional advantages on top of increased safety like better fuel economy and reduced wear on public roadways.
I don't think there should be a minimum or a maximum.
@@Zorro9129there's already a sort of maximum weight. In some cities, vehicles over 6k pounds aren't allowed on the streets as they cause excessive wear to the roads. If you go extremely heavy you basically become a commercial vehicle and you need a CDL.
Vehicle weight is going to become critical once electric vehicles become common due to the large weight of the batteries and powertrain.
Your excitement at setting off the SRS systems gave me a smile!!!
Great video, and happy I've come across your channel. Thanks to the algorithm for actually working once in a while.
Just a little story for you about your little Honda.
My wife bought a brand new Honda Jazz (Fit) here in Australia back in 2013. It was involved in a crash 1 month later when a driver in a Mitsubishi Triton loaded with construction tools, towing a 1.5ton excavator hit her from behind while she was stopped at a red light, he was traveling at 80k/h and never applied brakes (distracted on his phone) Wifes car then hit the car in front of her hard enough that his car was also written off. Front and back of her car were caved in really bad, steering column had come apart from the rack, engine got shoved part way under the car, the rear hatch was against the back seats, but we could still open all 4 doors, and her only injuries were a bruise from the seatbelt on her chest and a bruised knee from hitting the dash (she likes to sit too far forward) The car she replaced a month before this was a Daewoo Matiz and I think if she still had that car, I doubt she would have survived the impact or 5 tons hitting her car at 80km/h .
Glad to hear a good outcome! Thanks for sharing with me!
About 17:15: Small cars are not inherrently more deadly, bigger Cars _make_ them more deadly. Big modern SUVs might be safe to drive, but they are a safety desater for every car (or pedestrian) they crash into.
But overall: Great video!
Very true, unfortunately the trend is bigger and bigger.
@@Lam I feel like that has to do with the rise of egocentrism and lack of care for others currently.
Surprised you did not reference the IIHS 50th Anniversary Crash Test of a 1959 Chevy BelAir against a 2009 Chevy Malibu. That video makes the case better than any description how the IIHS has saved lives. ruclips.net/video/xtxd27jlZ_g/видео.html
I was involved in a frontal crash where the safety systems literally meant that my wife and I could walk away. We were in a 2009 Audi A3 when an American Full Size Pickup truck crossed the double yellow line and we had an almost perfect head on collision at about 40 Mph each (total 80 miles per hour closing rate). I do not know what damage the pickup had, our A3 was completely destroyed forward of the A pillar (as designed), from the A pillar back you could not tell it had been in a crash, the door gaps were still perfect. The German engineering of the passenger compartment and front crumple zone did their job.
Amazing and yeah I did see the video. It kind of got lost as I moved through the video.
That's not a representative test because the Belair has an X frame instead of much more common parallel frame rails that distribute crash energy better. In short, that video was deliberately misleading and people like you are too misinformed to realize the deck was stacked to maximize the intended result.
@@Noah_E I know people don't like to hear it, but cars don't become safe by Chance. There was no engineering towards safety back then and the outcome is according.
There is another example in the video, where a Volvo much newer than the Bel air gets absolutely smashed by a much smaller modern car.
Then there's plenty of other examples with 90's cars getting folded like tin cans by their modern counterpart.
For example:
-2016 Nissan Altima folding a 1992 Nissan Tsuru
-a 2020 Ford Fiesta doing the same to a 1998 one
The Bel air might be an extreme example, but that doesn't change the outcome. The driver is dead for multiple reasons, the Bel air just might provide some additional ones.
your channel is amaizing! i felt like doing the experiments with u! KEEP IT UP!!
This was an amazing video! Looking forward to the next one in a few months!
Hopefully sooner haha!
I swear they cheated that Volvo test by removing the Engine...
I think your car gets dangerous when you crash, so I personally don't crash my car.
I've had two drunks hit two of my cars. A drunk leaving a Fourth of July BBQ essentially PITed me, causing my car to roll down an embankment. The other when the car was parked in front of my house, unoccupied. I also had a woman with a leg in a cast hit me in traffic claiming she hit the gas by mistake. None of those were avoidable on my part.
You’ve got to upload more man. I love your content, been watching for a while but missed you for some time!
This was really nicely done, I hope you are cooking other great videos in your garage!
andrew doesnt always post often, but when he does, they are gold. No BS, no intro music, no sexual appeal or only fans. Just good info and visuals.
Yup no sex appeal here 😄
Don't give him ideas or he might start advertising his only fans channel here 😂
You didn't mention that Nader's book was later found to have been full of false information and outright lies. I just find that an amusing sidenote. It was very influential in bringing car safety to the fore.
Some of it for sure. I just used it to progress the story which is why I didn't spend much time on it.
A politician caught lying-imagine my shock!
This was a great video, very informative and fun to watch, subscribed 👍
I just upgraded from a 2007 to a 2018 car and the change in technology is huge. Back up camera with cross traffic sensors, the blind spot sensors, the warnings for approaching a stopped vehicle, lane departure etc. I consider myself a safe driver, but it's pretty incredible what the tech can do now to make it even easier to be safe, and prevention is always the best safety.
The elephant in the room here is that the more resistant to crashes cars are made, the more chances drivers will take. The cars become safer but the driver drive in more dangerous ways.
the problem with idiotproofing is that the world always makes a better idiot
Great video but its unfortunately only North America focused.
What has been done over in europe is not even mentioned in a sidenote...😢
100% but I just didn't have the resources to both do that level of research and then nail a storyline incorporating Europe. It's on my radar, I've been thinking about how to present such a story.
You're a good orator. I am interested in everything you say. Keep it up, dude!
I love you videos man, you are so well researched. Good job, keep these gems coming! :D
Glad you like them!
I've had the privilege of visiting IIHS as part of my job (MEP engineering working on an addition for them) and our PM was even bold enough to see if we could see a test, which they agreed to. So, it was very interesting to get a peek under the hood (no pun intended) of their operation.
This is a VERY well made video. Well researched and entertaining too! Nicely done!
My dude is back. Thank you for producing this video!
In the UK, we had a barrier test launched in the early 70s.
The first car to pass and still be steerable after was the TVR MSeries.
Appreciate the effort you've put into the video!!!
it also helps to stay aware when driving to prevent the car crash itself or the severity of it!
I rofled when you did the "Anxious Asian smile" at 2:05 . Great vid as always 👍 I always send your tire history video to new tire plant colleagues and everyone loves it.
Thanks for this awesome video!!! My mom drives a Honda fit and I'll definitely get her a new one soon!!!
Exceptionally good video. A deep dive and information rich. Thanks!
Love this channel. Keep it up and best of luck!
Love your experimental mindset and great content
Thanks! I'm going to do more. Appreciate your support!
Used to work with HighSpeed cameras. In early testing days, the car impacts were fast enough to destroy the mechanical camera trigger mechanisms, so they also had to devise electronic triggers within testing development, to easily capture the footage of the impact. Rewinding over minutes of footage at such speeds is not a practical option. (it takes hours)
Ayy, a fellow 2nd gen manual Fit driver! Mine's got 232k miles on it. I hit a deer (or rather, it hit me) this past weekend and the Fit took it like a champ, only a small dent in the A-pillar. Sturdy little car.
Your videos are always very fascinating.
4:16 this crash test is just a test of the concrete block and other equipment that other tests will be crashed using into at the crash centre in Sydney Australia. From memory the speed used for this was 100km/h. far above any regulation test. The yellow car is a Holden commodore.
Seat frames are also angled up towards the front to prevent people from slipping under, injury the knees etc. Saw this from one of the Munro Live videos
Always awesome footage! Deserve more followers.
New Andrew Lam video 👀👀👀
Very very interesting, I was familiar with the changes in the testing revealing new dangers in vars previously thought you be safe but i had no idea what the facts were
Very very good video
Glad you liked it! I was hoping I could uncover things even if someone was familiar with car safety