Survivable speed for a car accident?

Answer 1

this is a physics question. there is no straight answer. in theory one could survive a car accident at 300 miles per hour.

consider this. you can die going 20 if you arent buckled but survive a high speed car accident. what is happening here?

in a collision, take an egg for example, the energy is transfered to something else. when an egg drops from a ceiling and hits a concrete floor, it breaks. so would you. if you can slow the egg down and increase the contact time it has with the ground during the collision, then you can save the egg. you are the egg. and you want to know the survivable speed for a car accident. as far as physics go, any speed. but if you want to know for your typical midsize sedan and a front end collision into a solid object, i wouldn't push 120. might hurt. strongly don't advise either unless you are trained, have safety equipment, on a closed track, and are not intending to crash. this is why there are speed limits obviously. cars have airbags to increase the impulse of the crash because human bodies don't like instantaneous change in motion.

other elements to be considered is the orientation of the collision or the elements that may become projectiles. in an accident many things are unpredictable. many people die every day because of accidents. some unfortunatly because of poor engineering and some as a result of bad luck.

i hope this helped. this is more informative then straight answer. as always, be safe and don't find this as an excuse to drive fast or recklessly.