If they can make a racecar safe enough to enable the driver to walk away from a 150 mph crash, then why...?

Question

can't they do the same for a passenger car for a 60 mph crash? I mean, don't the impact energies progress exponentially with increased speed, instead of in a linear fashion? It seems like it wouldn't be too hard to make a regular passenger car so safe that in almost every case, it would be possible for a passenger to walk away from a 60mph wreck.

I understand the cost issues involved, but they made the same argument about airbags, and just try to find a car that doesn't have them today. My point is, the physics of a car wreck dictate that crash energies increase geometrically with speed, so the modifications necessary to survive a 60mph crash wouldn't be nearly as extensive as those that were required to survive a 150 mph crash. Am I wrong?

Answer 1

While money is certainly a factor, there is another factor that has been overlooked in the previous answers, and that is the driver comfort factor. It is true that the race cars are safe, but have you ever looked in one or been in one? It is essentially a metal shell with a roll cage, a seat, and some gauges. It is overwhelmingly uncomfortable, no person would want to drive such a thing on a daily basis. The suspension is super tight, as is the steering, so it is a physical workout just to drive the thing. There is no sound dampening materials and no side windows, so it is ridiculously loud. There are no doors, so you have to climb in and out, and in most cases, your helmet (again, too uncomfortable for every day use) is often wired directly to the seat to avoid injury.

To answer your question specifically, I think car manufacturers have created affordable cards that will allow you to walk away from a 60mph crash. What your question does not consider is that there are other factors involved.

First of all, nearly every race car on the track was made in the last year or two, and has the benefit of the newest technology. However, many, many of the cars on the road are older and without crumple zones, reinforced bars in the doors, ABS, etc. Even the older cars with airbags have 1st generation airbags, which have been shown to cause injury in some cases. So, assuming everyone was driving in a new car (just like on the race track), then I imagine that the injuries would be limited on the road to a certain degree.

Secondly, consider how quickly the medical response is when a race car crashes...a matter of seconds. However, on the road in the real world, it can take minutes, sometimes several minutes for emergency medical response to get there.

Finally, the average driver (especially the average american) is not in the best physical condition, wheras professional drivers are often times highy conditioned and in peak physical condition. I imagine (but I don't claim to be any kind of expert) that this contributes to a higher likelihood that the race car driver will walk away.

In summation, the fact that most of the extreme safety devices give way to comfort at the demand of the consumer, and the fact that many cars on the road don't even have the benefit of recent safety technologies, coupled with the facts that emergency response is much quicker on the race track and the drivers themselves are in better physical condition, I think it is not so hard to believe that there would be more fatalites on the road.

Answer 2

Lets assume for a minute if race cars were mass produced they'd come down in cost to an affordable level.

Now take into account more practical things. A race car has no trunk, weighs about 4000 pounds, gets about 8 mpg, and you must enter and exit through the window. Not real practical in the real world.

The best thing to do it not hit anything at 60mph or any speed for that matter. We need better drivers not better cars.

Answer 3

I think alot of it has to do with money, heres why. Race cars specifically IRL or Indy type cars are made to fly apart on impact so they dissiapate the energy. If you had cars built like that with all there pieces flying off and the cars being destoyed the insurance companies would stand to lose billons of dollars in claims because every vehicle would be totalled and if you have full coverage they just bought you a new car.

Answer 4

Racers are protected from rollover injury, since this is the most common type of crash they face. A head on collision is rare. Except in the case of Dale Earnhart. Unfortunately, he absorbed the energy from that crash, not the car. Most apssenger cars have crumple zones that are meant to absorb the energy of a head on crash. But with the amount of energy involved, anything over about 30 mph, even that starts to fail.

Answer 5

The answer is money. The cost of building those race cars with the safety devices and technology aboard is in the millions. To build a passenger car like that is possible but unaffordable to the average person.

Answer 6

C'mon James, the car companies would price cars out of reach of most of us if they were made as safe as race cars.

I agree, the technology is here, but how many consumers want to add an extra $20,000 to the price tag?

Answer 7

even if they made them as safe a a nascar curcuit car - we americans wouldnt do what we are supposed to do to stay safe - thats why they are still handing out seatbelt tickets...i could just see your average person getting into their car, strapping on 2-3 different restraints, including the head/neck restraint....just to go to the store down the road, and they say that accidents happen within 2 miles from home...

Answer 8

a race car is a multi million dollar enginering project ,no passenger car would be affordable with the same build styles as a race car

Answer 9

Car manufacturers think a car like that would cost too much and not enough people would be willing to buy it.

Answer 10

Racecars are equipped with special stuff like rollcages to minimize metal crunching and stuff. And the driver wears a lot of protective gear like crash helmet, clothes that resist fire, and they have better seatbelts, etc.