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by resource_waste 578 days ago
I'd rather be in a small car and hit a tree/electrical pole than in a massive vehicle.
3 comments

Since the heavier vehicle has higher momentum, it would decelerate slower when hitting a semi-static-object, which decreases the forces on your body. The smaller vehicle would stop much quicker and you would jerk forward. So a heavier vehicle at the same speed would probably be better, all else being equal. And that's neglecting the additional material a larger vehicle typically has that deforms over longer distance than with a shorter car.
>it would decelerate slower when hitting a semi-static-object

You just changed the problem.

Did I? Trees and electrical poles aren’t completely rigid, right?
To a car? Many trees are! They are quite rigidly affixed to the ground.
So many are and some aren't. So in many cases it doesn't matter which car you're in, and in some cases the heavy car is better. That means the heavy car is still net better.

I still haven't seen a single argument why a smaller car would be better in a collision.

Yeah, the point was deliberately to show that a small car performs better in such situations.

If you had to change the problem, it shows you were avoiding the uncomfortable truth.

But a small car doesn’t perform better, why would it? Surely a large car is better when driving into an electrical pole than a small car. What advantage does the small car have?

Also, just to clarify, how did I change the problem? The problem with car crashes is rapid deceleration which injures you, and lighter cars are worse in that aspect compared to heavier cars.

Less momentum
Not really, the car itself is a semi-static object, even if you're driving a block of raw steel.
I did automotive safety and I can assure you, these act as static for all intensive purposes.

Being a skeptical Socrates doesnt change that the momentum is significantly higher, and you arent moving that pole any significant distance.

I'm not sure why there is such a strong denial of reality here. Is it ego?

Crumple zones have been a thing for almost a century.

Momentum doesn't matter. It matters in a vehicle on vehicle collision, but since the pole is essentially infinite I'm not sure why you're bringing it up. Acceleration is what impacts the human body, and it's determined by speed and distance. For the same speed, a larger car will have a longer distance to stop, therefore lower acceleration, and less force on the body.

Even if you assume that the pole doesn't move at all, having less momentum doesn't help you. A smaller car isn't better, in the best case it is equal. But a larger car probably also has a larger crumple zone so it is still better. You still haven't given a single reason why a smaller car would have an advantage.
I'd rather be in a tank and flatten the tree / pole.
I`d rather there were more trees and fast, affordable public transport options.
Interesting to hear the rationale in this choice ?
Might save the tree...
Good point.