Speeding Porsche with no plates involved in horror N11 crash

[Willie Trombone]

Geez dude. Are you even serious?

The carbon fibre wings and the wheels break off easily. They body is structurally solid. Nothing crumbled there.

I agree it's brilliant engineering. It makes my point.

You're referring to the monocoque. The crumple zones are independent to that bit.

 

[rietrot]

While a racing drivers harness is indeed better than a normal seatbelt, would you mind telling us why you say a seatbelt is a "**** design"?

To much give and then the locking mechanism.

It's a recipe for whiplash every time.

I geuss it is a good compromise between comfort and safety if don't think you are ever really going to need it.

 

[Splinter]

To much give and then the locking mechanism.

It's a recipe for whiplash every time.

I geuss it is a good compromise between comfort and safety if don't think you are ever really going to need it.

Whats wrong with the locking mechanism? And how much give should it give, in your opinion?

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

how much give should it give, in your opinion?

that's an easy one: none

the 5-point harness that many racing drivers use is often pulled extra tight by your pit crew, because they have better leverage, there is no movement in those seatbelts at all

 

[access]

that burning car looks like the back of a golf

 

[thestaggy]

Look at how solid a formula 1 car is. Nothing crumbles.

F1 cars have crumple zones. The nose cone and sidepods are all designed to disperse energy away from the survival cell in the event of a crash. It's also why F1 cars are longer and fatter than they have ever been. Once upon a time the drivers feet were ahead of the front wheel. Now its mandated that they are 'X' distance behind the front axle, keeping the driver furtheraway from the impact and placing more energy-absorbing material in front of the survival cell. Sidepods also used to be lower and behind the driver if you looked at the car from the side, now they cover the entire torso of the driver side on. They've gradually added a lot more energy absorbing bodywork around the rigid survival cell to cocoon it.

Likewise NASCAR. They have a special foam that sits between the roll cage and body shell on the sides of the car that is both designed to absorb energy and dissipate it across the roll cage.

DTM (German touring cars) have crumple zones as well.

All top end racing cars are designed to gradually break apart around the rollcage/survival cell, absorbing energy and diverting it away from the precious cargo strapped inside.

 

[tRoN]

Porsche Cayenne with no plates. They need to check which government ministers or extended family didn't check in for work this morning and they'll probably find out who it was.

Such a fukkin insensitive thing to say!
8 people died. You should be ashamed of yourself!!

 

[Splinter]

that's an easy one: none

the 5-point harness that many racing drivers use is often pulled extra tight by your pit crew, because they have better leverage, there is no movement in those seatbelts at all

I doubt that would go down well with the average driver.

Comparing requirements of high g-force racing drivers with daily commuters is not the correct answer I think.

 

[schumi]

Victims of horror Ladysmith crash named

Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is assisting the relatives of two families who were wiped out during a head on collision crash on the N11 near Ladysmith identify their loved ones.

It comes as the department named the eight victims that were involved in the crash on Saturday night.

The accident which involved a Porsche which was involved in a head on collision with a Toyota Fortuner.

More at : https://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/kwazulu-natal/victims-of-horror-ladysmith-crash-named-34983081

 

[supersunbird]

The MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Bheki Ntuli has urged the police to speed up the investigation into the course of the accident

"Cause" Mr Journalist, not "course".

 

[ForceFate]

Who gets to decide: someone who's qualified in it, which it seems wasn't done for most roads.
My point was that a blanket statement of speed = reckless driving, it's not, my point is that circumstances dictate speed.

E.g. in the US, in order to slow people down in suburbia, you just create small outcroppings from the side that narrow the road, people will not feel comfortable driving as fast and slowing down.

Doing 140kmph on the N2/major highway is perfectly fine most of the time if traffic is clear, good visibility and your car can easily manage it.

Going 140kmph if any one of those factors are not there is reckless driving, e.g. old car or bad visibility or traffic/multiple cars or road conditions not good or you don't know the roads, etc.

Sometimes it's not the car but cars around you or animals. Also, some roads don't have enough safety features to allow for high speed driving, such as barriers.

 

[noxibox]

How people crash head on is beyond my understanding. Unless ypu fall asleep or something. How do you not see the guy doing something stupid in front of you?

People who don't know their vehicle well under different acceleration conditions. If I'm going to overtake I plan ahead, make sure I have some space in front of me to build up speed before moving out, even drop a gear. That last one is something the average driver seems determined to avoid no matter how sluggishly their car is accelerating.

Lazy and stupid drivers who have never learned to read what is going on on the road around and ahead of them. Dumb people who don't consider that just because some moron painted a broken line on a blind rise doesn't mean it is ever safe or sensible to overtake. And equally there are places where you can see far into the distance in all directions, but some brain donor decided to paint a solid line. Possibly the same idiots who put yields where there is zero visibility.

Crumple zones is a stupid idea to start of with. That's why you build something solid like a rollcage if you really plan on crashing. Or why a motorbike helmet is solid. A solid object absorbed the kinetic energy better over a larger surface. A crumple zone does nothing but squash the people inside the car on any real impact.

Motorcycle helmets are spongy inside. So technically solid, but not filled with rigid material. The helmet needs to both spread the energy and decelerate the head at rate that is more likely to be survivable. There is plenty of debate about the maximum safe level, but the allowed maximum has been dropping over the years.

Cars need to do the same thing. A rigid shell can kill you even if you're tightly strapped in.

So who gets to decide? You, the driver? Don't you think anyone who loses control at high speed didn't already make that decision? Besides, how do you make that decision in the absence of data? You don't know what's around the next blind corner or rise. You don't know when a part on your vehicle is about to fail.How can you rule out speed as a factor in the outcome of one or more moving bodies colliding?

It's clear that road speed limits are made in the absence of empirical data for each road and vehicle. Otherwise there'd be many more different limits. If the authorities want to claim they're setting them based on empirical data then I'd ask what vehicle they're using to set those limits? I'm allowed to travel the same speed in an old car with minimal crumple zones, no airbags, old brakes. Entirely roadworthy, but lacking all the modern safety features and having much poorer handling than a more modern car. So is South Africa's 120kph speed limit set for a 1970s car? And if the argument is about potentially endangering other people then shouldn't bigger and heavier vehicles be restricted to lower speeds? In fact should SUV monstrosities and large luxury vehicles even be allowed on the road?

A good helmet makes you look like your cheek bones are trying to marry your eye sockets.

It shouldn't be too tight. It is supposed to be snug, but comfortable.

 

[HartsockZA]

No plates. Hello Aarto are you going to stop him?

 

[Willie Trombone]

It's clear that road speed limits are made in the absence of empirical data for each road and vehicle. Otherwise there'd be many more different limits. If the authorities want to claim they're setting them based on empirical data then I'd ask what vehicle they're using to set those limits? I'm allowed to travel the same speed in an old car with minimal crumple zones, no airbags, old brakes. Entirely roadworthy, but lacking all the modern safety features and having much poorer handling than a more modern car. So is South Africa's 120kph speed limit set for a 1970s car? And if the argument is about potentially endangering other people then shouldn't bigger and heavier vehicles be restricted to lower speeds? In fact should SUV monstrosities and large luxury vehicles even be allowed on the road?

Our speed limits appear to follow the norm in most parts of the world give or take 10-20 kmph. I imagine the data is based on some assumptions including:
1) People driving roadworthy cars
2) People driving according to the general rules of the road including treating others on the road with courtesy and applying the two second distance rule
3) Studies of what is considered reasonable speed for road users to be able to react to external factors.
balanced with what is considered efficient.

Other assumptions are that people are left to drive within their personal comfort zones -> this is up to the individual legally as long as it's within the speed limit. The trouble in SA is enforcement of the law.

 

[supersunbird]

Victims of horror Ladysmith crash named




More at : https://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/kwazulu-natal/victims-of-horror-ladysmith-crash-named-34983081

It's a pity that whomever couldn't drive, caused the death of their own children and other innocent people.

 

[Mortymoose]

Have they figured out what happened (cause)?

 

[Willie Trombone]

Have they figured out what happened (cause)?

A number of factors likely, but speed no doubt is the top.

 

[Mortymoose]

A number of factors likely, but speed no doubt is the top.

Solid lines and two cars on the same side of road.....

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

I doubt that would go down well with the average driver.

Comparing requirements of high g-force racing drivers with daily commuters is not the correct answer I think.

well if having the highest odds of survival on impact is your goal, comfort will have to be disregarded

 

[supersunbird]

Solid lines and two cars on the same side of road.....

One solid line, and one that looks like overtaking allowed for the one side.