SUV T-bones Prius

Wow, i drove by there just last week. What a strange way to cause so much damage..i would love to see the police report of that:fear:

 

On GoogleMaps, this doesn't look like a street with a high speed limit.

 

damn she had side air bags, i don't so i know anything bigger than a honda crv will own the living crap out of me... good to know...

 

I think the FJ Cruiser hit her, not the CRV - if that's any consolation. Hope she's OK.

 

This is one reason on an entire list of reasons why large SUVs are not safe, and should not be driven by people that only have basic drivers licenses. Anyone who drives an SUV should be required to have a commercial truck drivers license.

Over this holiday weekend, I went on a road trip with a bunch of friends to a national park (it was awesome!). One of the vehicles that we carpooled in was a Toyota RAV4. As my profile on here indicates, my daily driver is a Corolla. I was asked to drive the RAV4 part of the way. 'No problem,' I thought. Obviously I'm still alive, but I must say that the amount of control and agility of the RAV4 was TERRIBLE compared to my Corolla. TERRIBLE!!! Why in the hell would anyone want a vehicle that has a high center of gravity? In going around corners and making lane changes, the agility of the vehicle and control is terrible! SUVs should be immediately BANNED from the road on SAFETY premises!

 

They need to make it like in Greece. Unless you have a rural address or operate a business, you cannot buy or operate a truck or large SUV. This is to help with fuel and also to keep congestion down to a minimum

 

I agree with this! 99.9% of the drivers out there don't understand physics. I think the woman who ran the red light should be charged with attempted murder.

 

Wow, you must truly be an incompetent driver if you can't handle a RAV4. Perhaps you need additional training? You know, I had a '03 M3 and the Prius handles terrible compared to the M3. Should the Prius be outlawed? Everything is relative and in this case a RAV4 operated by a competent driver is more than acceptable for our road system. BTW, I would never own a RAV 4, so I really have no reason to stand up for it.

 

I again argue that ALL vehicles on public roads must be required to have bumpers the same height as cars are REQUIRED to have now. A vehicle should NOT be able to hit another above or below the frame line. It would reduce injury in all cases and damage to vehicles in front/rear collisions.

If someone needs more clearance off public roads, manufacturers can offer optional hydraulic lift kits.

 

I almost got T-boned the other day.. I was pulling out of a parking lot on to a busy street during rush hour.. After about 4-5 minutes of looking for an opportunity to jump into traffic, I saw an opening of several hundred feet. I floored the gas only to have the car lurch about 2-3 feet and one of the front tires spun (it was in a puddle of water) the car then abruptly stopped for what seemed an eternity and then slowly started to move again out into traffic.

Scared the living p--- out of me.

 

You have to train yourself to ease into the throttle, and then nail it once you're moving. If you panic and stomp on the accelerator from a stop, you risk having the traction control kick in and as you wrote, stop you "for what seemed an eternity".

Yes, it's stupid, but unfortunately that's the way it works. You have to become the traction control system since the one in the Prius is so brain-dead.

 

If the woman was simply "hurt" after than accident than i consider that a WIN for the Prius!

its a safe car, even if the SUV's are actually trying to run you off the road

 

I'd have to second that. As a general rule if you are T-boned you lose. Doesn't really matter what you or the other person are driving, thats secondary. My wife was an EMT for a while, and they taught you to expect the worst whenever arriving at a t-bone accident site. Given that, I'd say the Prius is in pretty decent shape. Assuming the driver survives, she'll probably have the side airbags to thank for it though.

Reason #3942 not to give your 16 year old a 2.25 ton vehicle that is 2-4 times more likely to kill someone when they make their first big mistake. Reason #3943 is that they are generally more likely to be killed themselves than in a mid-sized import.

Not sure how you figure that. Its 6 lanes with a divided median. Using street view just over the hill is a 45 mph speed limit sign. In SoCal that pretty much means everyone is driving 50-55 mph in my experience.
lansdale and del mar heights road, san diego, ca - Google Maps

For comparison purposes here are what a few vehicles look like being t-boned at only 33 mph. Wish they were all slo-mo like the FJ.

2007 Toyota Prius:
http://www.safercar.gov/movie/2007/07Prius-s .wmv

2008 Toyota FJ:
http://www.safercar.gov/movie/2008/08FJCruiser-s.wmv

2008 Chevy Aveo:
http://www.safercar.gov/movie/2008/07Aveo-s.wmv

2008 Chevy Tahoe:
http://www.safercar.gov/movie/2008/07Tahoe-s .wmv

Since energy goes up with the square of velocity, a car moving at 50 mph will impart more than double the energy seen in the 33mph cases here.

Rob

 

I have the solution to all the Rav4 handling problems here. Get yourself the EV version. The bulk of the weight is under the floor, and the EV version handles quite a bit better than the gas version (with CG up around the engine) for this reason.

Then again... the only reason I'm driving anything remotely resembling an SUV is because I had no other EV choice! My last EV (the EV1) had a CG about ten inches off the pavement.

 

I take it you won't be driving a F450

Nope, no special license is necessary, you can drive one with your regular license.

A RAV4 is 3300 lbs empty, the F450 is about 9,000 lbs.

 

Update. The woman - thankfully - only suffered a fractured pelvis and collarbone according to the website that ran the original story. Glad she's alive.

 

On what grounds? Was the driver intoxicated? Were they purposefully trying to hit the Prius? It sounds to me like an accident. It's unfortunate, but this could happen to any of us. We could look over at the MFD - or sneeze - and run a red. If by some bad luck there happens to be a car in the intersection, does that make us guilty of murder? I think not.

 

I pointed the gun in a direction and pulled the trigger, If by some bad luck there happens to be TimBikes in the line of the projectile does that make me guilty of murder? I think not. Rubbish!!

If someone drove their car through a red light after a 3 to 5 second period of amber, then after 2 to 4 seconds of the light being red, before the red light your wife was eager to get across turned green, then enough time for her to enter the intersection. If after all this time a person entered the intersection against a red light tee-boned and killed your wife (or other loved one) would you then want that driver charged with murder? I think so!!