AZhitman wrote:That's a very rare occurrence, however.
Sure. But I was working with the choices you provided.
AZhitman wrote:That's what happened to the Interceptor (buried it in the side of a Buick Century at 45 or so... )
That would be a more typical speed for a T-bone style accident involving a car or motorcycle, but even then, the difference in energy of impact is a lot since speed has a much greater influence over mass.
AZhitman wrote:That pic is misleading... It's a big bike hitting a pathetic excuse for a car (likely with no side impact beams - notice it;s not a US model).
It was just an example. A search in google didn't yield the best examples. Even so, side impact beams aren't completely rigid. They will deform in an accident with a car at low speeds. In fact, the NHTSA side impact test uses a 3015 lb sled at 38 mph and it can do quite a bit of damage. That equates to about 20% of the impact energy a 3000 lb car at 85 mph will provide. And that's quite severe. But being that a car has a broader impact point, much of that energy will be directed into stronger portions of the car being hit. Of course, even if passenger compartment intrusion is such that a passenger could survive, there is still the acceleration force to contend with.
But even still, if a bike doing 160 mph broadsides you, chances are the side impact beams will not be able to redistribute all of the impact energy. Consider the damage that occurs in examples of the upcoming side impact test for poles. At the less than 20 mph that the test is performed at, a 3000 lb car would exert about 9 times less than that of the 160 mph M/C. And its quite possible a bike may not impact the roof significantly enough to allow some of the roof supports absorb some of that damage. Regardless, expect a great deal more damage and intrusion than you would see from a pole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTH8tLI9k_w
AZhitman wrote:When I was doing accident investigations, never once did I see any significant bike-on-car damage. But I saw fatalities in car-on-car incidents at parking lot speeds.
Statistically, it would be rare to see a fatal car accident. 40,000 fatal accidents a year with some 6 million plus reported (to police) accidents means you might statistically see a fatal accident about 0.67% of the time. The Motorcycle fatalities are an even smaller statistic since few people ride motorcycles. That would be something like 0.042%. Your observations are not exactly relevant without further details and analysis. Ultimately, there are a lot of factors that come into play in a fatal accident. My intent was only to address that a 160 mph motorcycle has the potential to cause death as easily as a 3000 lb car doing 85. How much over the other depends on many factors. But frankly, I wouldn't want to be hit by either example...
