Re:An Update on Last Week’s Accident
by jacquesm on Sunday April 01, 2018 @01:59PM
(#16729564)
For one there is the presence/absence of safety features (that one is obvious).
Then there is the actual design of the vehicles, cars that were made in the last couple of years fare much better in collisions with cars that are older because they are a lot stronger, and are better able to channel the energy of an impact to areas away from the passengers. Many newer vehicles will for instance shift the engine under the passenger compartment in a frontal impact.
Older airbags had 'best before' dates associated with the igniters being somewhat unstable and that reduced the certainty of them going off as they got older.
Then, finally, the bodies themselves, once cars start to rust you can patch them up but they won't be the same afterwards. There is quite a bit of redundancy in the body but it definitely doesn't help if there is significant corrosion.
Then there is the actual design of the vehicles, cars that were made in the last couple of years fare much better in collisions with cars that are older because they are a lot stronger, and are better able to channel the energy of an impact to areas away from the passengers. Many newer vehicles will for instance shift the engine under the passenger compartment in a frontal impact.
Older airbags had 'best before' dates associated with the igniters being somewhat unstable and that reduced the certainty of them going off as they got older.
Then, finally, the bodies themselves, once cars start to rust you can patch them up but they won't be the same afterwards. There is quite a bit of redundancy in the body but it definitely doesn't help if there is significant corrosion.