How safe is our Old imp in traffic

[dardal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Quoting viljar@xxxxxxxxx:
> My friends argue that on low speeds.. Old big and heavy car could be on 
> the safe side.. on High speeds the modern cars have much more considered 
> safety features that could save a soul..
> deforming front, airbags, safetybars, engine that goes under the car and 
> stuff..

As said before, this has been discussed extensively in the archieves, and I have
been part of the discussion.  As a quick note, your friends have it backwards. 
In a relatively low speed crash with a solid object, a modern car with energy
absorbing structure and good seatbelts will protect its occupants better.  In a
higher speed crush, the serious injuries occur not so much due to the occupant
hitting the interior, but because the vehicle structure is compromised.  In
such a serious accident, even though your chances of simply walking away are
slim in any car, you are much better off in the Imperial, because its far more
likely that the car structure will survive the crush.  It so turns out that
your much better survivability is at the expense of the other car, because due
to the vast difference in structure rigidity and stifness, the other car will
receive far worst damage than if you had a "normal" car.  Oh yes, its also
likely that your car will be repairable.

D^2, 2x68