# Crash scenario **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-scenario/651448 "2013-02-26T17:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vincentr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b77776/32.png) [@vincentr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vincentr)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-scenario/651448/1 "2013-02-26T17:48:43Z")
I have another scenario that I’m wondering if anyone can help out with. I’m looking to find out how fast a car was traveling if it broadsided a stationary car where the two cars traveled 40 feet after impact. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-scenario/651448/2 "2013-02-26T18:01:58Z")
You’re not going to get a single answer. Too many variables, like road conditions (wet or dry, concrete, gravel, condition of the road surface, etc), hill or flat surface, tire conditions (bald or not), mass of both vehicles, hand brake engaged or not, condition of brakes, etc. You might get an answer if you get an expert on the scene to measure all that stuff, but you’re not going to get anything reasonable online with only the information provided. \*Note: I’ve reported this thread so it can be split off, since it should probably get it’s own. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-scenario/651448/3 "2013-02-26T18:02:53Z")
> [@Car Crash Physics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-crash-physics/525850/24): > > The classical method was to put the hands at 10:00 and 2:00. Some folks, particularly high performance drivers, would recommend 9:00 and 3:00. Now it’s common [advice for 9 and 3 to stay out of the way of the airbags](http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hands-on-the-steering-wheel.html). I think it’s a more effective position anyway, although if it weren’t I would question the wisdom of the advice. Some emergency vehicle drivers are taught to grip even lower, but IMHO this is a poor tradeoff between steering wheel control and airbag safety. If you are in a collsion severe enough to deploy an airbag, a hand or arm injury might be the least of your worries. 9 and 3 is more practical than it used to be because everything has power steering and steering ratios have been reduced. Back when people were writing roadcraft manuals, steering gear reduction was higher, to reduce the amount of effort needed to turn the wheel. That meant you had to turn the wheel further to reach full lock. My mother’s Triumph Acclaim (a rebadged 80s Honda Accord) required two full turns to reach full lock; I can’t remember a car I’ve driven in adulthood which required more than one rotation. An early model Jeep Cherokee, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-scenario/651448/4 "2013-02-26T18:13:39Z")
Moderator Note I split these posts from this previous thread, since the earlier one was more than two years old. > **[Car Crash Physics](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=548803)** > > Don’t worry, I don’t need an answer fast, and I swear this is a totally hypothetical situation, not a “could my ‘friend’ be proven to be at fault” type of deal. It actually came up in a puzzle I heard recently (on Car Talk, if you must know). The... Colibri General Questions Moderator