[MyTwoCopperCoins]

Contrary to popular perception, it’s all about structural engineering.

A large car whose structure can be compared to an egg-shell for the passenger compartment, with the bulk of the mass like a lead weight behind it, isn’t going to do too well in a head-on collision. The momentum of the extra mass at the rear is going to ensure the crushing of the occupants, too. Proper weight distribution, with advanced crumple zones will go far more in protecting the occupants than just adding mass to the vehicle.

[ctdonath2]

To its credit, the Smart Car is designed to route crash energy _around_ the passenger compartment, and presumably one reason fender-benders cost so much to repair is that the car is designed to disperse that energy by blowing the whole frame to pieces. Somewhere there’s a high-speed video of such a head-on crash test, and it’s just amazing watching the entire frame disintegrate (from one end to the other) while the passenger area is untouched.

Contrast this with, say, a motorcycle where the “crumple zone” IS the passenger.

[Hootowl99]

Completely agree to you about structural engineering, crumple zones and the like. As long as the the point of impact is at a location where the crumple zones can do what they're designed for, the people space cocoon is probably going to be intact and the occupants survive.

It's better to be big than small in any impact. 70K pounds of big truck versus a dinky car is a loosing match as there is just so much energy adsorption that can be designed in.

Big bumpers? Someone mentioned big bumpers! They are great! On my offroad functional SUV, I've replaced the 10 pound, stamped steel OEM bumper with a 120 pound aftermarket rear bumper. Will be doing the same for the front soon to replace the plastic fascia and underlying steel bumper with another 120 pounds of aftermarket steel. For the sides, I have rock sliders that among other things will add additional protection in a side impact. Another name for all this is armor, for good reason.

[monday]

“Proper weight distribution, with advanced crumple zones will go far more in protecting the occupants than just adding mass to the vehicle.”

A brand new 4 door three quarter ton crew cab pick up has a head on with a brand new mini cooper. Both pass government mandated safety specs. Which would you rather be in?

The greater mass of the pickup will not only stop the mini cooper cold, but also shove it back making the crash much more violent for the occupants of the mini cooper. All other things being equal, mass does make a difference.