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Insane overengineering of a car headlight

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coppercone2:
don't get scared of optics engineering, its the future

james_s:

--- Quote from: coppice on March 06, 2022, 03:25:59 am ---The Volvo you showed was far ahead of its competition for crash safety when it was launched in the 1980s. It would crush most other cars in an impact, while its occupants walked away. However, the standard of crash protection has progressed a lot. Even a small modern car does very well in an impact with that Volvo, and in some glancing impacts, and side impacts will do better than the Volvo. Visually comparing that 1980s Volvo with my new V90, the old one kinda looks a lot more robust. However, crash the two into each other, and I could walk away while you die.

--- End quote ---

Maybe so, but there was a point reached where in my mind cars were "safe enough" and my old Volvos are at that point. Sure some modern cars are safer, but I am perfectly willing to sacrifice some safety for a bit more robustness in minor collisions. The best way to survive an accident is to avoid getting in one, and the most important aspect in that is sat between the seat and the steering wheel. There is no way for a car to be 100% safe, there is always a risk of injury or death in a collision, some people have different comfort levels in terms of risk, but as long as a person can legally buy a motorcycle and ride it on public roads, the argument that some extreme level of safety must be mandated is invalid. If you want a very safe car and don't mind that a minor collision will cause thousands of dollars in damage or even total it then buy one that meets your needs. I want a car that can take a bit of abuse and keep going, while still being reasonably safe.

For what it's worth, the Volvo in the picture was rear ended by a tanker semi (lorry) while I was stopped in traffic on the freeway. It was an incredibly violent collision that knocked me forward a good distance, spun me around and then the still moving truck slammed into my passenger side and bulldozed my car a few hundred feet sideways before finally stopping. I walked away shaken but without so much as a scratch or bruise and the interior of the car was not deformed. That is proof enough in my mind that it is safe enough. It survived several far more minor rear endings with no more than small scuffs on the (unpainted) bumper skin, the shock mounted bumper absorbed the impact and protected the painted bodywork, exactly as it should be. There is no reason other than style trends to not have an unpainted and durable impact absorbing area to prevent minor bumps from causing major damage.

coppice:

--- Quote from: james_s on March 30, 2022, 05:51:08 pm ---For what it's worth, the Volvo in the picture was rear ended by a tanker semi (lorry) while I was stopped in traffic on the freeway. It was an incredibly violent collision that knocked me forward a good distance, spun me around and then the still moving truck slammed into my passenger side and bulldozed my car a few hundred feet sideways before finally stopping. I walked away shaken but without so much as a scratch or bruise and the interior of the car was not deformed. That is proof enough in my mind that it is safe enough. It survived several far more minor rear endings with no more than small scuffs on the (unpainted) bumper skin, the shock mounted bumper absorbed the impact and protected the painted bodywork, exactly as it should be. There is no reason other than style trends to not have an unpainted and durable impact absorbing area to prevent minor bumps from causing major damage.

--- End quote ---
If you had several impacts in that Volvo and survived, I guess it has proven the car is pretty safe, but I'm really wondering about how safe your driving might be.

james_s:

--- Quote from: coppice on March 30, 2022, 06:11:42 pm ---If you had several impacts in that Volvo and survived, I guess it has proven the car is pretty safe, but I'm really wondering about how safe your driving might be.

--- End quote ---

Every single time I have been hit I was not moving so I don't really see how my driving comes into play with any of them. Literally every one of them I was either stopped at a red light or stopped in traffic and BANG. Actually I take that back, there was one incident where a bicycle shot out of a parking lot right in front of me and I had to slam on my brakes, but even with that the gal that hit me was obviously following too close or not paying attention. I might jinx myself by saying this but in ~25 years of driving I have never hit anything, never caused an accident, never even gotten a ticket. I was pulled over for speeding exactly once and that was ~17 years ago. He told me to slow down and sent me on my way.

Monkeh:

--- Quote from: james_s on March 30, 2022, 05:51:08 pm ---There is no reason other than style trends to not have an unpainted and durable impact absorbing area to prevent minor bumps from causing major damage.

--- End quote ---

Pedestrians disagree.

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