[Healeys] "No, they don't make them like they used to. And that's a good thing:"

[Mirek Sharp]

In 1997 my wife was involved in a head-on collision with an estimated 
combined impact speed of 140 kph (It was a highway with an 80 kph (50 mph) 
speed limit).  She was driving a 1989 Saab 900 and the other driver was in a 
newer small Chevy (I can't recall the model).  The Saab was amazing.  The 
front end absorbed  the energy in a text-book example of good engineering. 
The engine was pushed under the car, the windshield popped forward, the 
padded steering wheel moved up and the centre section absorbed the impact of 
my wife's face hitting it. The passenger compartment was compressed by about 
4 inches, which jammed the door, bit it never popped open.  The sunroof 
stayed in place and the passenger door opened normally.  This was a pre-air 
bag car and the seat belt compression ruptured her spleen - that was nearly 
fatal but the ICU caught it and removed it in time preventing her from 
suffocation as her body cavity filled with blood and compressed the lung 
cavity.   She was in intensive care for weeks, but now you would never know 
she was in an accident and rides her bike downtown shopping and power-walks 
with the girls three times a week.  The fellow in the other car fared worse, 
but likely because he was elderly and had pre-existing medical conditions. 
He none-the-less survived.  That incident absolutely convinced me of the 
extraordinary safety improvements that have been integrated into modern 
cars.  You definitely can survive a high impact crash with modern 
technology, albeit with a lot of family anguish and pain.

cheers,

Mirek
60 BT7

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Masucci" <drmasucci at comcast.net>
I was under the impression that at that impact speed, even in
> modern cars your chances of serious injury or death is very high.