Do roll cages protect the occupants of a car from collision impacts?

Answer 1

Roll cages are designed to prevent injuries that are caused by the failure of the passenger compartment (crushed roof, etc.). They also provide good point of attachment for seat belts. According to a friend of mine who is an EMT, and responds to a lot of auto crashes in the mountains, rollovers by themselves are not that bad. As long as the rolling vehicle doesn't hit something solid, modern seatbelts/roll cages do a good job.

The collision is a different story. A passenger in a vehicle which collides with something else, even if belted into a good sturdy roll cage, even if all the airbags deploy, is still subject to the deceleration forces created by the collision. The "Crumple Zones" outside the roll cage are designed to minimize some of these forces by using up some of the impact force to bend sheet metal, and allowing the collision to take place over a longer period of time (While the zone crumples). This reduces the peak value of acceleration on the passengers.

So all in all, the roll cage is going to help prevent injuries that would be sustained if the passenger compartment collapsed or failed somehow. The roll cage can't keep you from experiencing whatever forces are present once your crumple zones have done their jobs. So higher speed is a big factor in this, as is the elasticity of the collision. An SUV hitting a small car is less likely to injure the occupants of the SUV, because a lot of the momentum of the SUV will be transferred to the small car, leaving less to be absorbed by passengers. A concrete bridge abutment is a whole different story, and much more likely to cause injury, roll cage or not.

Answer 2

It actually depends on the make, you see most roll cages are actually for show and hardy even work... the proper cages that are bolted/welded into place do help in a colision inpact exspecially if the cage is fitted with side impact bars

you can usually tel if a cage is one that is for show because it is made out of crome and you buy it from a car magazine/ halfords lol

if you wish to buy one that actually re inforces your car in a crash you need to look for one with a FIA approval =]

Answer 3

if it is between the occupants and the opposing object in a collision, it would absorb some of the impact and therefore provide some protection for the passengers.

design is key, materials second.

Answer 4

Roll cages and roll bars prevent the roof from caving-in on a rollover (thus preventing crushing heads and upper torsos in the rollover). They do very little to reduce the energy of a head-on, side-on, or rear collision -- that's what front and side air-bags are for, and crumple-unibodies are for.

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Answer 5

yes but not directly, it reenforces the cars body so it wont break as easily went making contact during the accident so if there is not roll cage the body crushes the driver