If a small car hits you at 40mph will it cause as much harm to you as a big car hitting you at the same speed?

Question

small vehicle= Ford Ka

big vehicle= Volvo XC90 (large jeep)

Answer 1

Hits my body? I get to pick?

I pick getting hit by the small car because even though either car will smash into me with the same force and that my mass is certainly not going to slow it down, after the initial impact (which should be the same), I might be better off with the small car for these reasons:

1. The smaller car may impact me around the leg area and I could get lucky not cracking my skull open on the hood or road when I go flying. The larger car is going to nail me from hips to head.

2. I may bounce up onto or over the hood or get deflected to the side with the smaller car and avoided by other drivers (again luck), but with the Jeep I think I would have more of a chance of being hit and then run over by the Jeep.

3. I have a better chance of not being hit by a second car if other drivers can see what is happening. Their vision would be less obscured by the little car.

Answer 2

the impact would be the same, but different parts of your body would be affected by the impact,

eg the front of a ford ka is lower than the front of a volvo xc90, therefore the height diff means diff body area is affected, also the large jeep may have bars on the front, so you would stand no chance at 40 mph if hit by those.

Answer 3

The speed is not the deciding factor. At 40mph, you would probably die in either case.

The fact is, even the smallest car is very much heavier than a pedestrian, but if you're talking about being in another car, then the heavier car will do more damage.

Again, if you're talking pedestrians, then a bigger car is probably LESS likely to kill and injure than a small car, due to the additional length before you hit the windscreen pillars and windscreen.

It's not really a question which can be properly answered without it being more specific.

Answer 4

a remote control one would probably just break your ankle, unless it hit you in the face.

the momentum of the bigger car would probably cause more damage but it wouldn't make much difference for a person because we are so light. unless your a real fat a**

Answer 5

Well I don't think I would like to be hit by neither at 40 mph.

Answer 6

i dont think the size of a car really matters.

Answer 7

deads dead mate!

Answer 8

With cars today you can look at a car the wrong way and cause $1000.00 worth of damage..........

But in this case the Kia would likely be toast..........

Answer 9

No.

Answer 10

ok    you drive at 30mph   the car hitting you was driving at 30   30+30=60    so  yes in thory but lge jeep built for off road   more solid   ford modeo   written off  your car written off

Answer 11

i was involved in a car accident and a car hit us at 50 mile an hour and it was an average nova....

we cam out of it pretty much unharmed well i bit my tongue and fratured my knee and broke my wrist

but if that car was an even bigger one(which would be heavier!!) it would most certainly do you more damage at 40miles an hour than a ford ka!

*shudders*

Answer 12

Depends on what you are in.  If you are in a similar vehicle, you'll both get hurt anyway.  If you are a pedestrian, it doesn't matter; dead is dead.

Answer 13

If you try it you'll soon know but I would not advice it. Being serious I'm sure it would as the bigger the vehicle  the harder the punch

Answer 14

The damage done to the victim is proportional to the engery delivered at the instant of impact.

The engery is proportional to the weight of the vehicle X its speed.

Therefore the bigger car will impart more damaging energy.

However, despite what some of the answeres have said, the NCAP rating for any car hitting a pedestrian at an impact speed of 40mph is going to be pretty irrelvant to the victim.

As far as the people who arrive at the accident scene it may make a difference to the amount of strawberry jam they have to clear up; and how far from the impact site you have been thrown.

The pedestrian-friendly features of cars which are part of their NCAP ratings only really make a significant difference in low speed impacts. Considering that most pedestrian impacts are at 30mph or less that's well worth considering.

If the impact is with another vehicle then the difference in the mass of the volvo v the ford will determine the damage to the victim car.

Answer 15

it all depends on the m-cap safety rating.

some cars have poor ones, and bad crumple zones..

volvo is known for it's safety.

but them the issue of the type of cars.. as the jeep is higher up.

although they did tests with higher cars such as jeeps and they aren't exactly safe in some cases.

Answer 16

Physics says the heavier the car, the more stored energy it has and therefore the greater the likely damage.

However, it really depends on how the cars are built and where they hit. Just a few mm each way and the results can be very very different.

Answer 17

Those two, about the same.  You might stand a better chance with something very lightweight, like a 1972 Hillman Imp.

Answer 18

I have been watching crash videos for my job and I have see both the Kia and the Volvo videos.  I am thinking that the Volvo is going to come out looking pretting good and the Kia is going to be pretty smashed up.

The larger the vehicle the more harm it is going to do to you. That is just physics F=MA.

Answer 19

Yes  probably dead  either way

Answer 20

About thirty years ago my wife's 70 Thunderbird (big vehicle)was broadsided by a 70's Volkswagon Beatle and the T-Bird was totaled...the bug didn't do much better.

I agree with the other fellow....at that speed I would not rather be hit at all!

Answer 21

no, small car will cause less harm because it has a smaller mass so less energy will be transferred to you when it hits you

e=mc2

Answer 22

volvo being heavier chances are it will do more damage than a ford ka. but it dont really matter cos its gonna hurt any way.

its abit like being hit by a feather at 40mph or a bird at same speed.