Safety of New vs Old Civic

[Victor1507]

This bad accident in Florida highlights the safety differences between a new and old Honda Civic.

A 10th gen Civic was pinned under a Ford F250 pickup truck:

At first glance it looks as though the car was crushed. However, with the truck removed, one can see that the A-pillars are intact, thanks to 1,500 MPA steel:

The driver of the new Civic sustained only minor injuries.

In contrast, the older Civic was completely destroyed:

Unfortunately, the driver of this car did not survive.

This really shows how much safer cars are now, then they were just 10 years ago.

 

[dirty_civic]

While I don't disagree that car safety has come a long way, there are too many variables between these two accidents to prove if one generation is safer than another. If we were able to scientifically recreate the same accident where the driver was in a 10th gen civic, what would the outcome be?

 

[silverrascal]

What kind of messed up accident was this? The truck and civic looks like they were on a head-on collision? Need a link or context to the accident, please.

 

[mechaniconsunday]

While I don't disagree that car safety has come a long way, there are too many variables between these two accidents to prove if one generation is safer than another. If we were able to scientifically recreate the same accident where the driver was in a 10th gen civic, what would the outcome be?

I agree with you, but for the 10th gen civic I think that all the safety standard features help to reduce the damages and make the vehicule way more safe than the old ones. The CMBS can reduce the speed of the car if it detecs that the vehicule that comes in the opposite direction has got in your lane and a frontal collision could happen. All the other stuff (LKAS, lane departure mitigation, hill start assit, ACC) also helps reduce the the risks of accidents, especially on very long trips where the driver can get tired and and have longer response times...

 

[dirty_civic]

I am sure people have seen that video of an older car where people say "its made of steel and heavy as a tank so it's safe (i.e. my dad when I bought my first civic and he had a land yacht 1988 Lincoln Town car)" and then they do the crash test against a more modern vehicle to prove how far we have come.

These are way too different types of accidents. One looks like an intersection accident where one vehicle ran a red light or turned in front of the vehicle. The other picture shows the driver side of the car being ripped off by either another car or the car hitting something and ripping that side off. I don't see many tests where they perform ripping off one side of a car to see if the occupants would survive. The other thing that 10th gen crash had going for it and its drive, was that the truck is a taller profile vehicle so the truck went up the front of the car and did not make 100% contact with the front. The 10th gen did what it should do though. Airbags deployed and crumple zones.

 

[Victor1507]

What kind of messed up accident was this? The truck and civic looks like they were on a head-on collision? Need a link or context to the accident, please.

Ok, here is a link: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/sunrise/fl-ne-sunrise-crash-friday-20190322-story.html

 

[Victor1507]

I agree with you, but for the 10th gen civic I think that all the safety standard features help to reduce the damages and make the vehicule way more safe than the old ones. The CMBS can reduce the speed of the car if it detecs that the vehicule that comes in the opposite direction has got in your lane and a frontal collision could happen. All the other stuff (LKAS, lane departure mitigation, hill start assit, ACC) also helps reduce the the risks of accidents, especially on very long trips where the driver can get tired and and have longer response times...

These features help prevent accidents, and the body structure is also much stronger than previous gen Civics. Note how the strongest steel is used in the A and B pillars.

View attachment 143007


Older Civics seems to be made of tinfoil.

 

[Victor1507]

I am sure people have seen that video of an older car where people say "its made of steel and heavy as a tank so it's safe (i.e. my dad when I bought my first civic and he had a land yacht 1988 Lincoln Town car)" and then they do the crash test against a more modern vehicle to prove how far we have come.

These are way too different types of accidents. One looks like an intersection accident where one vehicle ran a red light or turned in front of the vehicle. The other picture shows the driver side of the car being ripped off by either another car or the car hitting something and ripping that side off. I don't see many tests where they perform ripping off one side of a car to see if the occupants would survive. The other thing that 10th gen crash had going for it and its drive, was that the truck is a taller profile vehicle so the truck went up the front of the car and did not make 100% contact with the front. The 10th gen did what it should do though. Airbags deployed and crumple zones.

Weight is still the most important factor in an accident though. In a car to car collision, heavier vehicles are safer, for their occupants anyways. Would you rather be in a compact car with airbags or a semi truck without airbags? If everybody drove a sensibly sized car, like a Civic, the roads would be much safer.

 

[dirty_civic]

100% agree. Physics is a cruel biotch sometimes.

 

[xcoreflyup]

Honda has came a long way. Early 90s civics are pretty much tin foil box with a motor and wheels.

 

[BoxsterSteve]

100% agree. Physics is a cruel biotch sometimes.

So true.
That truck also appears to be raised which wouldn’t bode well for any smaller vehicle.
Physics and the uniqueness of each collision have a major impact. There’s no doubt that the Civic X and any modern vehicle is more safely constructed than older versions.

 

[Gruber]

Weight is still the most important factor in an accident though. In a car to car collision, heavier vehicles are safer, for their occupants anyways. Would you rather be in a compact car with airbags or a semi truck without airbags? If everybody drove a sensibly sized car, like a Civic, the roads would be much safer.

Well, there is not a slightest chance that everybody will drive a small car, so why even mention this? Buses, vans, semis, large trucks, smaller trucks, huge tank trailers, concrete mixers, and motorcycles will not disappear from the roads. Obviously the civic size is not the "sensible size" for all purposes. And then, there still are trees, pillars and walls, so the roads will not become detectably safer if more people get a smaller car.

 

[Gruber]

At first glance it looks as though the car was crushed. However, with the truck removed, one can see that the A-pillars are intact, thanks to 1,500 MPA steel:

It looks to me from the pictures like the truck was stopped by the front structure and crumple zones of the car. The A pillars were not touched by anything, played no role in the collision and for this reason are intact.

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