In 1997 my wife was involved in a head-on collision with an estimated
combined impact speed of 140 kph (It was a highway with an 80 kph (50 mph)
speed limit). She was driving a 1989 Saab 900 and the other driver was in a
newer small Chevy (I can't recall the model). The Saab was amazing. The
front end absorbed the energy in a text-book example of good engineering.
The engine was pushed under the car, the windshield popped forward, the
padded steering wheel moved up and the centre section absorbed the impact of
my wife's face hitting it. The passenger compartment was compressed by about
4 inches, which jammed the door, bit it never popped open. The sunroof
stayed in place and the passenger door opened normally. This was a pre-air
bag car and the seat belt compression ruptured her spleen - that was nearly
fatal but the ICU caught it and removed it in time preventing her from
suffocation as her body cavity filled with blood and compressed the lung
cavity. She was in intensive care for weeks, but now you would never know
she was in an accident and rides her bike downtown shopping and power-walks
with the girls three times a week. The fellow in the other car fared worse,
but likely because he was elderly and had pre-existing medical conditions.
He none-the-less survived. That incident absolutely convinced me of the
extraordinary safety improvements that have been integrated into modern
cars. You definitely can survive a high impact crash with modern
technology, albeit with a lot of family anguish and pain.
cheers,
Mirek
60 BT7
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Masucci" <drmasucci@comcast.net>
I was under the impression that at that impact speed, even in
> modern cars your chances of serious injury or death is very high.
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