its been a crazy month for me!with pics lol

[Roadkill]

Unfortunately almost mo matter what someone drives. If the close call becomes full contact with a tractor trailer, chances are good the coroner will be called.

Probably WAY late but, glad to hear she walked away OK.

 

[MAKG]

Yeah, we were astonished. There wasn't much left of the car, but the driver was unscathed. Needless to say, she replaced it with another Prizm.

This was around 10 years ago. That Prizm has been outgrown and sold long ago (IMO, a Prizm is absolutely fine with child seats, but she didn't see it that way). Ancient history. She doesn't drive on ice much anymore, having moved away from Michigan and New York and back to the west coast.

 

[97RangerXLT]

That size = safe thing is a myth.

It all depends on how the vehicle responds. A small well-engineered vehicle may very well be substantially safer than a large redneck POS.

It's the job of the vehicle to take one for the folks inside. And let's put it this way...my sister walked away from a spinout/double guard-rail collision/close encounter with a tractor/trailer at highway speed (on ice), though her Prizm didn't survive it. I doubt it would have come out so well with an RBV.

It is all about the crumple zones and how they are engineered into the car. The crumple zone will actually decelerate the car in a collision so the hit is not as abrupt. every millisecond added to the deceleration in a collision decreases the likelihood of a serious injury. Some smaller cars are well engineered and are very safe compared to other cars in their class size. The bigger the car, the more metal and space can be utilized in a crumple zone, plus being bigger it might not sacrifice the car when it gets hit. the Buick LeSabre/Olds 88/Pontiac Bonneville all have a 5 star crash rating I believe. So I would take one of those over even a well engineered smaller car, because simply there is more metal and space protecting the passengers. It is plain physics, the bigger car is going to win, and if you have a bigger car that is well engineered for crash protection against a small car that is well engineered for crash protection, the small car is still going to lose. That being said, just because it is bigger does not mean it is safer. Only if it is well engineered like the LeSabre/88/Bonneville.

and yeah, Rangers are not very well rated for crash protection. I saw somewhere that they are #13 in crash related deaths. I do not know what study or bodily orifice that they pulled the data from, but it makes sense. The Ranger is a built on frame vehicle, and while that gives good strength and rigidity for the truck, it does not give much crumple room if it gets hit.

AJ

 

[Ranger1989]

That size = safe thing is a myth.

It all depends on how the vehicle responds. A small well-engineered vehicle may very well be substantially safer than a large redneck POS.

Not so sure about that. Just look at the Lincoln Towncar. Huge, old-fashioned, not very advanced safety features, but it is one of the safest vehicles in the country, just because of the size and how much it extends past the wheel base.