3rd gen safety concern

Geez must have been a big hit.

Say a prayer for the injured

 

I grabbed this image from USNews. Doesn't guarantee anything, but at least the safety ratings are reasonably good.

 

The doors are the weakest spot. The drivers door by the side view mirror is the death shot. T bone accident

Side collision - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My First-Hand Prius Freeway Crash Rating Experience | PriusChat

 

Many larger cars are less safe than many cars available. Size does not mean safety, this is a common misconception. Below has parts of another post of mine:
The images that stick in my mind, are from an episode of Top Gear where they had various crash models with Euro NCAP 5star, 4star, 3star, and 2star ratings.

The Toyota Avensis (Scion tC is a derivitive of it) got 5 stars. The door still opened, meaning no damage to where the important bits (you) are. Nothing in the cabin moved or shifted.





The 4star Proton, the door was barely usable. The brake pedal was shoved forwards which would break your foot/ankle. The steering wheel was pushed forwards which would break your ribs, collapse a lung, brake your hands, less cushion for your head if flung forwards, etc... And this is a 4 star, B grade car. If a 4star does all that damage, it baffles me why anyone would buy anything less, or why car companies are even allowed to make cars like that.

The landrover, a classic "big SUV that will save me no matter what I hit", was absimal. The frame around the top of the door was deformed. Look at the second pic of the rover. The roof and the door are misaligned by a good 8inches. The top is crumpled. The door itself is completely destroyed. Look inside the car, the seat moved forwards, the steering wheel, the pedals, everything. There is a 6-8in gap between the seat and the metal of the car. Can you fit in 6-8in? Well you will after you hit something in that car whether your body wants to or not. And guess what, that is a 3 STAR CAR!!! Wth?!








And to those that think they dont make cars like that anymore, well a Ford Ranger is a 2 star car. No thankyou.

And for the GenIII, here are some crash test videos:

The Prius is rated very well.

Even if you buy a battering ram of death, there will always be something with more force to crash into you. 18wheelers have accidents too. There are lots of reports of accidents in the GenIII from the rear and the front and the GenIII protects its occupants brilliantly. There is one recent thread with someone avoiding a moped on a highway and a big vehicle slammed into them in the rear. The car was totalled, but everyone inside was OK. I`ll see if I can find the thread.

 

Here is the thread: Rear Ended - Just Can't Believe it! | PriusChat

They edited out the personal details though. But I think they were almost stopped and someone rear ended them at 50mph or so.

View attachment 54077

 

I would urge the OP to not make any rash or reactionary decisions.

Sounds like you witnessed the aftermath of a pretty horrific accident. Saw images that would be disturbing to anyone.

Let a few days pass at least. Realize that the crash did NOT involve a Toyota Prius.

An accident is an accident, and there can be countless unpredictable variables. However, I think you've seen from this thread that The Prius is generally considered a relatively safe vehicle.

Could you find one with a higher safety rating? Or at least could you find whatever salesman to tell you it's "Safer"? Yes probably.

But IMO you do not own an inherently unsafe vehicle, infact just the opposite I think The Prius is one of the safer choices.

 

You are over reaction which is normal when you see a bad accident.
Just because the car is 5 stars does not mean you will not have injuries. Some accidents are just bad. I would not buy a car with less stars though.
How many Suv's flip over? Just drive defensely. Watch out for the other the other guy. When you are stopped at a red light do you look both ways before you go with the green light?
Good luck to you.

SCH-I535 ? 2

 

I know someone who was in a serious accident. She drives a 4 Runner now. Choose a car that will make you feel safe. She purchased the 4Runner for peace of mind

 

It's likely any full size SUV on the market today is safer than a Prius in a collision. It's just the physics of size and weight.

But there's more to it than just surviving the accident. What about avoiding it all together? It is unlikely any full size SUV can stop shorter than a Prius. Again it's just the the laws of physics of greater mass. There's also more nimble handling to drive around the accident with less chance roll over.

 

I'm sorry you had to see that, but any baby is going to scream their lungs out even if they're not hurt at all or only minorly injured because of the situation. Unless you know what happens in the aftermath after everything is settled I wouldn't read too much into it.

 

There is no rear end collision testing. OP's concern about rear end collision safety is valid.

 

I would tend to think that would be more the child carrier than the vehicle. Small details can mean the difference of surviving without physical injury and not. For example, unsecured items in the car become missiles, some deadly!

Collisions are extremely violent. Until I witnessed that I could not even imagine how violent.

Pearl S is probably "safer" than my FJ Cruiser in a collision. It absorbs energy better, transferring less to the passengers. The FJ survived being rear ended by an 18 wheeler last winter. Probably 30-40 km/hr. The Prius may have been written off. I was not injured and probably wouldn't have been in the Prius either.

It's normal and healthy to be concerned after witnessing a collision. Brings us back to reality. We are not invincible!

In the above videos watch the front end collision closely. The rear view mirror in the car is tipped vertical by the passenger front airbag. I suspect this was intentional to push it out of the way of the passengers heads. Amazing!

 

Your children were much safer in the Prius than if they had been standing in front of that car!! Even if it had hit your car!

 

Someone, perhaps Bob Wilson, once posted that the fatality rate per mile of the Prius was one half the national average.

I personally do not credit the car for all of that, the people who would consider a Prius would have fewer accidents than the people who would consider a Mustang, even in the same car.

 

Thanks to OP for assisting during serious accident. Human nature is that we accept the high risk of automotive crashes, and yet we fret to the point of hysteria over perceived risks with no casualties. We accept the risks of autos because we feel we are in control, we are driving on our own decision (not forced to), and we see the economic benefit to us in their use.

But when something like this happens, it should be a wake up call to focus on the real risks in our lives...cars...and we must re-double our efforts to make it safer.

My take-away: we are also using our Prius in full-time tot service with two top-rated, heavy duty car sets. We also have a very heavy duty stroller in the back hatch. I am thinking we need to get the stroller the heck out of the hatch except when we know we need it. That could get pushed into the back seat in a rear-end crash situation.

 

Volt with children in the back seats was rear ended by a bus yet kids OK!

Chevy Volt Totaled After Collision with Bus: All Occupants Escape Unharmed | PluginCars.com

 

I have a little baby girl on the way and i find myself thinking about safety in case of an accident too. The doors on the Prius feel so light and fragile compared to other cars (BMW's, Benz's, etc).