# Driving through a crowd **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215 "2007-12-07T20:17:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheBaptiste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f6c823/32.png) [@TheBaptiste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBaptiste)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/1 "2007-12-07T20:17:39Z")
Say I was trying to escape my city that was overun by zombies, would a normal car be able to just plow through hoards of zombies or would the mass of their bodies stop it at some point? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/2 "2007-12-07T20:29:10Z")
Strangely (or morbidly) enough I’ve often thought the same question, yet for me it stems from playing too many GTA-esque video games. Unfortunately, I have nothing to add in terms of answers… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/3 "2007-12-07T20:29:40Z")
I think it’ll depend on the car. If it’s a Ford Escort, no, if it’s a Lincoln Navigator, probably. Them big problem I’d see is that they would pile up in front of the car and probably wind up lifiting the driving wheels off the groud. But we’ll let Rick or Gary give you a better answer. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/4 "2007-12-07T20:30:59Z")
Well, [Russel Weller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Weller) took the time to conduct an experiment of sorts on this subject in Santa Monica, CA in 2003. He was not stopped by 73 people in ten seconds at speeds between 40 and 60 mph. A car could eventually be stopped if it ran on top of enough bodies to separate the wheels from tractionable ground, but how large a crowd this would take I do not know (and would depend on the vehicle, I imagine). A good off-road vehicle like a Jeep Wrangler or Hummer H1 would probably do just fine. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/5 "2007-12-07T20:31:15Z")
Don’t try this in any real crowds of non-zombies. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/6 "2007-12-07T20:36:21Z")
I am skeptical about the 40 - 60 mph claim. People hit single deer all the time below 60 mph and it is bad news for the vehicle. Deer weigh much less than a typical man as well. I assume this means the zombies aren’t even trying to get out of the way. Regular people would jump out of the way or try to. The only chance would be to have a large SUV and go very slow. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/7 "2007-12-07T20:39:32Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I am skeptical about the 40 - 60 mph claim. People hit single deer all the time below 60 mph and it is bad news for the vehicle. Deer weigh much less than a typical man as well. I assume this means the zombies aren’t even trying to get out of the way. Regular people would jump out of the way or try to. The only chance would be to have a large SUV and go very slow. [/QUOTE] But do deer weigh less than a typical zombie? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/8 "2007-12-07T20:40:47Z")
What about a zombie deer? ---
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/9 "2007-12-07T20:42:04Z")
There are some pretty bid deer out there, dude ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/10 "2007-12-07T20:42:26Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] But do deer weigh less than a typical zombie? [/QUOTE] That is a good point that I never even considered. Do zombies have all the regular organs? Are they dehydrated? If they are really dehydrated, it would be like driving down the pinata isle at the party supply store. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/11 "2007-12-07T20:47:52Z")
I think the clearance on an SUV might get you into trouble. It might be better to have a lower vehicle so that the zombies don’t go underneath it in the first place. Maybe a riced-out Subaru or Mistubishi with lots of power and all-wheel drive, with air dams and very little ground clearance. A minivan’s sloped hood might help, or one of those new minivan-shaped compacts like the Toyota Yaris. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/12 "2007-12-07T20:53:24Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Them big problem I’d see is that they would pile up in front of the car and probably wind up lifiting the driving wheels off the groud. [/QUOTE] Would it help to have a cowcatcher in front? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/13 "2007-12-07T20:58:30Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] That is a good point that I never even considered. Do zombies have all the regular organs? Are they dehydrated? If they are really dehydrated, it would be like driving down the pinata isle at the party supply store. [/QUOTE] That is a line that should be worked into a horror movie. Guy drives through a bunch of zombies, someone asks him if it was hard “Naw, dem insides are DEE-hydrated. It was like driving down the pinata isle at the party supply store.” ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/14 "2007-12-07T20:58:58Z")
If you have all-wheel drive (AWD) and the zombies pile up underneath your SUV, who says you need to have any wheels on the ‘ground’ (pavement, dirt road, whatever). I’m guessing zombies offer more traction than gravel, snow or ice, and AWD does just fine on those. It’d feel like you were offroading, but at low/modest speeds, I suspect it’d be fine. I also anticipate that you would have to keep the pace slow enough to avoid deer-type damage, but then that’d mean at least a few zombies were on the roof, hood, etc and I’m sure they’d eventually break the glass, and zombify you. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/15 "2007-12-07T20:59:39Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] Would it help to have a cowcatcher in front? [/QUOTE] It might be easier to obtain a [snow plow](http://tillmans.com/snow_plows/v-plow2.jpg) attachment. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/16 "2007-12-07T21:01:51Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] Would it help to have a cowcatcher in front? [/QUOTE] A Ford F350 with a snow plow on the front should be able to do it. You can’t just lift the vehicle by lifting the plow either. However, I am not sure if that counts as a normal car. The zombies could jump into the bed of the truck and raise hell back there at their own discretion. All vehicles are engineered to have one critical zombie weakness and that makes this question tricky. ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/17 "2007-12-07T21:07:23Z")
From the wikipedia article that Gary linked to: "The car was eventually brought to a halt by the body of a victim trapped underneath. " ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/18 "2007-12-07T21:08:58Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] The zombies could jump into the bed of the truck and raise hell back there at their own discretion. [/QUOTE] That’s what you need a truck cap for. It’ll also let you legally park that truck in some subdivisions according to another thread. HOA presidents can act like zombies sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/19 "2007-12-07T21:15:16Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I am skeptical about the 40 - 60 mph claim. People hit single deer all the time below 60 mph and it is bad news for the vehicle. Deer weigh much less than a typical man as well. I assume this means the zombies aren’t even trying to get out of the way. Regular people would jump out of the way or try to. The only chance would be to have a large SUV and go very slow. [/QUOTE] The NTSB did a thorough investigation of the incident, so you’re welcome to view/download their report and challenge their findings. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215/20 "2007-12-07T21:36:36Z")
Why is it OK to just indiscriminately run over Zombies? Zombies are people too. Start a thread about running over blacks or Jews or Republicans or even dogs, people will be all over your case. But Zombies? “Oh well, that’s OK.” Zombies have parents, and many have children. Won’t someone think of the Zombie children? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-a-crowd/429215.md?page=2)