Head on Collision- Gas VS Diesel

[Jspafford]

I saw on the news that some poor family in Toledo fell victim to a wrong way driver on the freeway. Four out of the six passengers were killed, three of them being children, all of them returning from a Christmas party. They were driving an astro van, he was driving a F-250 with a diesel.

The van is beyond trashed, but he walked away with a cut on the chin and the truck doesn't look too smashed up.

It got me to thinking.. Would the cast iron block on a diesel make the vehicle better in a head on collision?

Story

 

[Evan]

Overall, the heavier the better.

Or course, it also helps to be a drunk idiot and have a limp body on impact. I read this story on Fox News, and I hope the bastard fries.

 

[kunar]

holy hell, i heard about that this morning on the radio but i never saw pictures. word is, the guy is on suicide watch at the prison less than 5 mins from work. he made it 4 miles from the on ramp (off ramp?) to the point of impact....

edit: here is a better link. 5 of 7 were killed. and it appears theres only a 8 year max for each count of aggravated vehicular homicide?

anyways, in response to your question.... yeah im sure more weight, especially in the front, and also relatively low was a big factor of the guy not having as many injuries. also like evan said, a drunk is just gonna flop around. they are actually more limber and have a better chance of survival in almost any situation like this.

 

[Danger FX4 Ranger]

That makes me sick. Last year I totaled my 4-month old 2006 F-150 when I T-boned an idiot in a mustang weaving through traffic during a storm. I hit him going 70+ MPH. You never forget the sound and force imposed on your body from that hard of an impact.

 

[Jspafford]

I was thinking more along the lines of an aluminum engine block crushing, as where a cast iron diesel block would probably not crush and take a lot of the grunt... keeping it away from the driver?

 

[Woody88]

Man thats just not fair, of course he hits the family van and not a tree

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It would take alot to crush an engine. I don't think it would matter a whole lot as they are designed to fall out the back of the engine compartment when they get hit hard.

 

[Southern3.0]

I was thinking more along the lines of an aluminum engine block crushing, as where a cast iron diesel block would probably not crush and take a lot of the grunt... keeping it away from the driver?

The aluminum engine block would be safer in a wreck because it would crush were the Iron block would wouldn't and pass more energy into the driver, kinda like a crumple zone. Or Just like in that wreck, The 250 is built stout and the van is flimsy and acted like a crumple zone for the truck.

 

[james99]

engine mounts will rip out before your engine will breack that what happen on my s10 then it pushed the engine into my fire wall and that was only at 35 mph

 

[metalmacguyver]

the forces in that crash were so intense that everything became a crumple zone. usually a greater part of the injuries are inertia related. it looks like most of the deaths in the van are from carnage. a third of the van is missing. in that picture, you can clearly see the drivers seat. the truck didnt fair too lightly either. the engine probably did get shoved back and down and is probably serving to hold the truck up.

with regards to the initial question. the more mass that a vehicle has, the better off the occupants are in a collision. so yes the cast iron deisel block would be better.

the material that the engine is made out of is pretty much irrelevent. neither will act as a crush zone to the extent that the ones that are designed in will. besides, if the engine ends up moving, then the crush zone that was designed has already been flattened. each engine will crush to a certain extent and then rip from the motor mounts.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

actually an iron block might be more dangerous because the block wouldn't crush and would probably end up crushing through the firewall and injure the driver.

That seriously blows for the people in the van. the person with the fault usually ends up just walking away they need to be the ones with the paralisis for life kinda stuff.

 

[predator]

thats just sad....a shame to hear about stories like this....

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The aluminum engine block would be safer in a wreck because it would crush were the Iron block would wouldn't and pass more energy into the driver, kinda like a crumple zone. Or Just like in that wreck, The 250 is built stout and the van is flimsy and acted like a crumple zone for the truck.

Cast aluminum won't crush well, it will break into chunks just about like cast iron.

 

[Stumpy]

In an accident mass is nice, though you need the car to crumple to absorb the energy of the impact.

If the car doesn't absorb the energy, guess who does? The occupants of the vehicle.

 

[tpking]

the ladder rack is what saved the truck driver....