World's fastest ever crash test

[pie]

This is the terrifying moment a Ford Focus smashes into a solid concrete wall at 120mph in the world's fastest ever crash test.
Industry experts EuroNCAP normally crash vehicles at speeds of 40mph when giving production cars a safety rating.
But Five's motoring show Fifth Gear wanted to see what would happen in a head-on collision at three times this speed - a figure most family cars are capable of.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/23/article-2052533-0E7EA9FD00000578-190_964x541.jpg

Too late to pull out now: Travelling at 120mph, the Ford Focus is just inches away from impact

The complex operation saw engineers setting up a winch which catapulted the Ford towards the wall using 16-times the pulling power of a Bugatti Veyron.
As the contraption was activated, the Ford Focus hurtled towards its final destination with Fifth Gear presenter Jonny Smith looking on edge.

It then smashed into the concrete wall and was obliterated on impact - to the horror of the visibly shocked host.
Within just 60 milliseconds, the car went from 120mph to 0mph, with the mannequins subjected to forces of up to 400g.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/23/article-2052533-0E7EA9ED00000578-476_964x538.jpg
Hitting the wall: In the blink of an eye, the front half of the hatchback is completely crushed

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/23/article-2052533-0E7EAA0500000578-962_964x533.jpg

Going, going...: The driver compartment is next to buckle under the pressure. Thankfully only a cheap crash test dummy was behind the wheel

Because of the expected destruction, organisers refused to use expensive crash test dummies and instead opted for cheaper mannequins for the experiment.
Had anyone actually been inside the vehicle at the moment of impact, it would have resulted in a certain fatality.
Fifth Gear described the test as 'shocking and sobering' with Smith adding it was 'mighty haunting'.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/23/article-2052533-0E7EAB8100000578-385_964x534.jpg

Gone: The car seems to have almost completely disintegrated as the back end hurtles towards the wall
Ellie Pearson from road safety charity Brake praised the programme for carrying out the test, which demonstrated the potential risk of high-speed driving.
She said: 'Modern cars are capable of reaching immense speeds and it is important that people realise how dangerous high speed driving is.
'This footage demonstrates the utter destruction of a high speed impact and hopefully anyone who sees it will think twice about their speed the next time they drive.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/23/article-2052533-0E7EAB9D00000578-307_964x541.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dI5ewOmHPQ&feature=player_embedded

[mowgli]

so a crash that will never happen on the road was tested..........big deal... mythbusters have done better crashes...
nowhere in the world is there a road that you can get up to 120mph then hit a huge concrete wall exactly dead on

if it had shown 2 cars hitting at a combined speed of say 150mph, which is totally possible, as in some idiot overtaking on an A road & hitting oncoming traffic, then it would be a decent crash test.. and show the true horrors of speed in a crash

[marc69]

60 mph each way, ie two cars in opposite directions = 120 mph, although both will absorb some of the impact so it won't be as fierce as this was hitting a wall, with the new government idea of 80 mph on the motorways, thinking....

The 80 mph will of course be better for the environment, higher speed, and we all know that the problems with motorways is not the getting on and of at junctions, its just the free driving at 70, slows us all down! Nothing to do with more fuel usage =more tax, the tories have never ad hidden agendas on taxing us.

Going back to the original post, that ford focus does look similar to some of the footage sometimes shown on tv of crashes, where the car is hardly identifyable as a car.

[Jack]

to the horror of the visibly shocked host.
In the first pic, it looks like they're sat in it :wtf:

[Mike]

Thats pretty epic tbf.

[Adam]

Mythbusters also proved that the whole "combined" speed of two cars crashing isnt strictly true either.
Two cars head on at 70 doesnt give the same outcome as one car crashing at 140mph. It was more like 1.5 times the impact, not double.

Interesting watch btw, pretty shocking. Its tests like that one that makes 5th gear better than top gear in a few ways tbh

[General Baxter]

ha, a car into nuneaton at 120mph, well i do that everyday, but a van lol

p.s dont speed, it kills you

[Novasport]

so a crash that will never happen on the road was tested..........big deal... mythbusters have done better crashes...
nowhere in the world is there a road that you can get up to 120mph then hit a huge concrete wall exactly dead on

Motorway bridges are concrete, huge and dont move. 120mph is more than easy to achieve on a motorway before slamming onto said object.

[Pistol Pete]

Saw this the other week on fifth gear. Shocking really!! The car is unrecognisable.

[Novasport]

A 100mph airborne impact....

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15704744

[swedge]

can you imagine a nova hitting a concrete wall at that speed

it would end up about 10mm thick lol

[Jeff16v]

All that would be left of mime is weld, cheaper than a coffin.:)

Edit, if the crash doesn't kill you the HalF ton of filler and boot full of tools would. Lol

[mowgli]

Motorway bridges are concrete, huge and dont move. 120mph is more than easy to achieve on a motorway before slamming onto said object.

and motorway bridge pillars have barriers that deflect cars off them. they are designed that way.

there is no part of a motorway that has a solid wall at 90 degrees to the road.

so this test is no representative of a real crash.

[mowgli]

ha, a car into nuneaton at 120mph, well i do that everyday, but a van lol

p.s dont speed, it kills you

i can believe a car leaving nuneaton at 120, but not going into nuneaton........

[Prey]

good to watch tho...... and if it makes one pleb think 'hmmm' then its positive telly at least

[bazil]

and motorway bridge pillars have barriers that deflect cars off them. they are designed that way.

there is no part of a motorway that has a solid wall at 90 degrees to the road.

so this test is no representative of a real crash.

Just to add to this, years ago 5th gear showed what happens when a car at speed hit the ramped end of a motorway barrier, no surprise it rolled, H+S didn't like ramped ends so now ALL ramped barrier are being replaced with square end collapsable barrier and sign posts are also being replaced with softer deformable posts,
This is partly where your road tax goes as its the government who foots the bill for this.

Saftey on the motorways is actually very good, just a shame about the drivers :(

[mowgli]

/\ that reminds me of the story about the suzuki sj rolling when changing lanes.....on a tv show, they tested it at 50mph it got on 2 wheels, but no roll. when they repeated the manoeuvre in a sierra, it did exactly the same

[DAFTJOHN]

A 100mph airborne impact....

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15704744

I wonder if the outcome there was due to the guy losing control trying to slow down when he seen the cops

[Adam]

and motorway bridge pillars have barriers that deflect cars off them. they are designed that way.

there is no part of a motorway that has a solid wall at 90 degrees to the road.

so this test is no representative of a real crash.
I sure/quite certain that i have seen seen solid concreet, flat faced bridge supports on dual carriageways etc, with no barrier on them. Sure i have.

[TeddyThom]

I sure/quite certain that i have seen seen solid concreet, flat faced bridge supports on dual carriageways etc, with no barrier on them. Sure i have.

This. I believe I'm in that same boat... But unsure at this time of night after a hectic shift at work lol.

That video, granted a tad unrealistic, is still shocking enough to make you think what if?

[bazil]

I sure/quite certain that i have seen seen solid concreet, flat faced bridge supports on dual carriageways etc, with no barrier on them. Sure i have.

Dual carriageways and single carriageways are more likley to have unprotected structures but motorway stuff SHOULD all be protected, usually only single post signs and single lamposts are unprotected,

[Southie]

Good god that's horrid. :eek: I've just bought a focus that shape and to see it decintigrate like that does freak me out a little... thankfully it won't get to 120 though so I'm going to be okay then.

Mowgli, I still think if you hit a non moving object as i.e "a motorway bridge" it would still have a similar effect, yes you may bounce off in someway but it would be like a 120mph pinball flying around the lanes which could go anywhere and end up hurting many others.

I'd like to see the same test with a motorbike though.

[mowgli]

Good god that's horrid. :eek: I've just bought a focus that shape and to see it decintigrate like that does freak me out a little... thankfully it won't get to 120 though so I'm going to be okay then.

Mowgli, I still think if you hit a non moving object as i.e "a motorway bridge" it would still have a similar effect, yes you may bounce off in someway but it would be like a 120mph pinball flying around the lanes which could go anywhere and end up hurting many others.

I'd like to see the same test with a motorbike though.

southie, the car mfrs spend a lot of time & money creating crumple zones so that a car hitting an object on the angle with absorb & deflect the forces, none of this will work on a head on to a wall.

re the motorbike... how will they get one going slow enough for the test [cough cough]

[Southie]

Have they tested a focus hitting a bridge at 120mph though, hey hey nudge nudge wink wink

[mowgli]

Have they tested a focus hitting a bridge at 120mph though, hey hey nudge nudge wink wink

they actually did a lot of motorway bridge crash test work, but it was back in the 60's. they even ran remote control loaded wagons into them at high speed....