Vehicle safety

[Hellbent]

Just read a sad story about a vehicle that was struck by a big rig and then burst into flames before anyone was able to open the doors of the smashed vehicle to pull the trapped passengers from it. For all the safety measures built into modern cars, would it be unreasonable to make them come apart upon impact? Like, not completely, but enough to escape a burning vehicle.

Ng and Li refused to accept their families’ fate. They ran toward the minivan anyway. Ignoring the licking flames, they tried to pry the doors open, to help. The scorching metal of the van and the roaring fire burned their hands and faces, but that didn’t stop them.

It was too late.

Eventually, there was nothing else to do. The officers were forced to restrain them to keep them from further injuring themselves.

“We just held them,” Burdick told AP. “That’s all we could do.”

The two husbands, the two fathers, watched helplessly as their families perished.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/29/two-fathers-watch-helplessly-as-their-families-burn-to-death-in-calif-car-wreck/?tid=pm_pop_b

At any rate, this story serves as a reminder to pull completely off the highway when you have to stop. You should be at least 10 feet away from the white line.

[Ashstrodamus]

Hellbent said:

Just read a sad story about a vehicle that was struck by a big rig and then burst into flames before anyone was able to open the doors of the smashed vehicle to pull the trapped passengers from it. For all the safety measures built into modern cars, would it be unreasonable to make them come apart upon impact? Like, not completely, but enough to escape a burning vehicle.

I'm sure something could be made, maybe like a crash activated quick pop off of the doors, so if one door was damaged and stuck, maybe the other side wouldn't be.

[Kontra Kommando]

I can't wait for auto-pilot driving technology to be defused to economy-level cars. Probably won't be for a long time.

I can't stand driving, especially in such a highly-congested area that I live in.

[Decay]

Driving is a very dangerous activity, but that's what makes it fun! I think people forget how dangerous it can be though. No awareness and taking for granted that everything is going to be alllllllllright.

[Tracer]

Hellbent said:

would it be unreasonable to make them come apart upon impact? Like, not completely, but enough to escape a burning vehicle.

I think that idea sounds better than it's implementation would be. I mean, can you imagine what would happen if something like that were to accidently engage while you're driving at 70MPH? Or what if you do hit something? Now you're no longer protected by the vehicle surrounding. I know that if my van would have disassembled during my accident, I would have died.

Sadly there is no sure-fire way to make vehicles safe. We can only strive to make them safer.

One thing that i wouldn't mind seeing is a universal switch to non combustbable engines to avoid such fire hazards caused by severed fuel lines. But given the stranglehold that the oil industry has the world in, it would take some kind of global awakening to make something like that happen...and thanks to smartphones keeping us more socially inept than ever, I don't see that happening.

[scifista42]

TraceOfSpades said:

it would take some kind of global awakening to make something like that happen...

Or a global exhaustion of oil resources.

[Tracer]

Is it bad that I truly believe that will happen before people wake up?

[Rayziik]

I think a major problem (at least in the US) is how little education that is required to obtain a standard drivers license. There should be comprehensive courses for all signage and signaling, procedures in the event of malfunction or absence, and typical rules for right of way. And on top of that, more active enforcement of laws regarding driving practices. People in my city seem to not know what a blinker is and like to turn on their hazard lights when it starts to rain.

Also regarding alternative energy vehicles, there is still a fire hazard potentially, depending on what kind of energy cell or batteries that are used. Perhaps a reactive system like a built in extinguisher in the engine compartment and fuel shutoff switches could help protect trapped passengers.

[General Rainbow Bacon]

^I agree

I live in a pretty busy area outside of Denver and I wonder how some of these people managed to get licenses the way I see them drive.

[mrthejoshmon]

Cars are dangerous things and most of the components in them are just as deadly, I do not think we could ever truly make them safe.

One problem about parts being ejected in an emergency is how one fault on a car (say one bad earth) can lead to an endless supply of problems that could potentially turn this safety feature into a time bomb.

A solution could be to have the safety system on a seperate insulated circuit, problems with this being more weight and the need for another power source (or not, depends) as well as added maintenance cost (+overall production cost).

Another issue is premature deployment of the system, causing heavy damage to the vehicle from a minor collision...

There is a lot to think about really.

[Kontra Kommando]

https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/36680043#

A fatal crash involving a self-driving car that hit a tracker-trailer on a Florida high way. They're calling it a set back for the industry.

[AndrewB]

Kontra Kommando said:

A fatal crash involving a self-driving car that hit a tracker-trailer on a Florida high way. They're calling it a set back for the industry.

Apparently the autopilot mistook a white semi trailer for the sky and plowed right into it, not unlike a bird flying full speed into a window.

Seems like this problem could be solved with better dynamic range (multiple cameras at different brightness levels maybe). Or maybe a photo radar sensor could have detected and prevented this.

[fraggle]

Hellbent said:

For all the safety measures built into modern cars, would it be unreasonable to make them come apart upon impact? Like, not completely, but enough to escape a burning vehicle.

Sounds like a terrible story but you shouldn't think of this kind of thing as a zero sum game. It may be that in this situation, "having the vehicle come apart on impact" would have saved their lives, but in other types of crash situation, a car that falls apart on impact would be equally fatal to the passengers (consider how all modern cars have roll cages, for example).

How many different types of car crash are there, how often does each particular scenario occur in real life, and what can be done to protect the passengers in each scenario? A solution to one scenario may be a death sentence in another, and if the second scenario is far more common than the first then designing to protect against it may on balance be the best thing to do.