Re:Britain's roads can't keep up with our cars
by DrScientist on Wednesday September 13, 2023 @05:54AM
(#37494572)
You can get an older reasonably sized car which has an NCAP rating of 5.
Note bigger cars will have more mass and thus momentum & energy to dissipate, might be less nimble and certainly in the early days of SUV types were easier to roll.
Re:Britain's roads can't keep up with our cars
by therealchiggs on Wednesday September 13, 2023 @01:17PM
(#37499099)
It's worth noting that NCAP ratings aren't necessarily comparable over time. New tests are periodically introduced and they generally become more stringent[1].
A 5-star car from 2015 is likely to be significantly less safe than a 5-star car from 2023.
Re:Britain's roads can't keep up with our cars
by DrScientist on Thursday September 14, 2023 @12:33PM
(#37511167)
Fair point.
If you require various crumple/impact zones for safety reasons, which are usually all about controlling the impact deceleration over a longer period of time, i.e. less g-force on the occupants etc, then the relevant car parts get larger. Doors get thicker, front and back get extended etc.
I suspect it would be quite difficult to walk back those changes, so it may be better to roll with them a little, and dictate better minimum sizes for car parking spaces. (Which might dovetail quite nicely with the increased weight of electric cars - which apparently causes issues with multi-storey parking structures which are designed around lighter cars, and may not be structurally safe if filled to capacity with vehicles 50-100% heavier than expected).
(Not counting the truly ludicrous outliers - like the mentioned EV Hummer and Rolls Royce etc).