Jump to content

Crash test- 1959 Bel Air vs 2009 Malibu


sputnik

Recommended Posts

Not quite what I expected.

With one major exception...

 

The Bel Air driver can see out greater than 180 degrees, nearly unabated...can't see crap from inside the Malibu. Watch the video again and see.

 

I'm not endorsing either car, and yes the improvement in impact technology is clearly demonstrated. I just don't like the compromises in outward visibility that manufactures are taking in favor of fashion and crash performance.

 

Safely driving a car is foremost a visual affair.

Edited by Quiet_Hollow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not in the least bit surprised. Engineering is miles ahead of 1959 in every area except ONE (touch screen radios are far more dangerous than knob radios).

How? Because they are gadgets which take the driver's attention away?

Yes. I just got a car with a touchscreen. In the old car with knobs you just moved your hand to the area of the knob and your hand will find it without you looking at it. With the new touchscreen you have to land tour finger in a precise place. That means you must look, and look hard until the finger is on the exact spot.

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are many safety innovations which have saved millions of lives. Electronic Stability control was touted as most important safety device since seat belts.

 

Also, braking has much improved. Being able to stop or avoid the accident in the first place has to be paramount. I heard a speaker say brakes aren't for stopping, they are for going faster. Otherwise you would need to roll to a stop. HAHA

 

I feel a lot better that my kids are driving safer vehicles than I did. I am still reluctant about drive by wire technology. What exactly happens if you lose power? Is there no steering?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I had an electric rack...it would just get hard to drive if the power was removed (like drive a hydraulic power steering rack without the hydraulics...def a lot harder to steer for parking, but not a problem while you are moving).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jeff Matthews, on 25 Jan 2016 - 8:59 PM, said: jo56steph74, on 25 Jan 2016 - 8:15 PM, said: I'm not in the least bit surprised. Engineering is miles ahead of 1959 in every area except ONE (touch screen radios are far more dangerous than knob radios). How? Because they are gadgets which take the driver's attention away? Yes. I just got a car with a touchscreen. In the old car with knobs you just moved your hand to the area of the knob and your hand will find it without you looking at it. With the new touchscreen you have to land tour finger in a precise place. That means you must look, and look hard until the finger is on the exact spot.

Yes, and I'd add that the touchscreen is likely to require sequences of multiple steps, and to require added thinking between each one.  Each of these add potentially cricital fractions of a second of distraction that, IMHO, a driver in a fast-paced situation can't afford to spend while driving.

 

Besides, this video shows how devoted research and engineering have produced the dramatic reductions in highway fatalities, from almost 55,000 to 32,000, that we've seen over the past several decades.  Contrast that benefit with the failure to reduce gun deaths through the almost complete absence of the research and implementation in gun safety.

 

Gun deaths now exceed auto crash fatalities, whereas it used to be the other way around:

http://aresarmor.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/guns-vs-car-deaths-2015.jpg

Edited by LarryC
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All current examples of SBW use redundant systems and are very unlikely to completely fail.

 

 

It's certainly not uncommon.  I've seen non responsive throttles several times.  It's also possible to have can bus failures and take out multiple systems.  If the bus goes down, you lose everything on it.  Heck, we had an air conditioning transducer (pressure sensor) take down the bus and cause a no start.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jeff Matthews, on 25 Jan 2016 - 8:59 PM, said: jo56steph74, on 25 Jan 2016 - 8:15 PM, said: I'm not in the least bit surprised. Engineering is miles ahead of 1959 in every area except ONE (touch screen radios are far more dangerous than knob radios). How? Because they are gadgets which take the driver's attention away? Yes. I just got a car with a touchscreen. In the old car with knobs you just moved your hand to the area of the knob and your hand will find it without you looking at it. With the new touchscreen you have to land tour finger in a precise place. That means you must look, and look hard until the finger is on the exact spot.

Yes, and I'd add that the touchscreen is likely to require sequences of multiple steps, and to require added thinking between each one. Each of these add potentially cricital fractions of a second of distraction that, IMHO, a driver in a fast-paced situation can't afford to spend while driving.

Besides, this video shows how devoted research and engineering have produced the dramatic reductions in highway fatalities, from almost 55,000 to 32,000, that we've seen over the past several decades. Contrast that benefit with the failure to reduce gun deaths through the almost complete absence of the research and implementation in gun safety.

Gun deaths now exceed auto crash fatalities, whereas it used to be the other way around:

http://aresarmor.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/guns-vs-car-deaths-2015.jpg

I've experimented a good deal with our new touchscreen. It takes on the order of two seconds of concentrated visual focus to change the channel on the radio. Other operations, like the fader, would require multiple of that time. Effectively, one can't use the touch screen while driving, and that means it is a retrograde technology and misapplied to auto engineering. It's dangerous.

Of course the company knows it is deadly dangerous and even asks you to agree to a TOS, reciting the danger, each time you start the car.

Of these were not so integrated into the car, I would remove it in favor of a analog button radio.

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not in the least bit surprised. Engineering is miles ahead of 1959 in every area except ONE (touch screen radios are far more dangerous than knob radios). 

 

I did not know that but that makes good common sense to me.  I confess to being "old school" in most things, so I like touching knobs and buttons and such. 

 

I know the modern stuff has remote controls and touch screens, and I have wondered if they might not be distracting due to variables, such as trying to find a remote control that is lost in a seat.  With a fixed variable such as a knob, it's always in the same place.

 

Edit:  I just saw where you and others addressed that is subsequent posts.  I need to learn to read everything first, then respond.  B)

Edited by wvu80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...