# How many stars safety rating would an M-1 Abrams get? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130 "2013-01-23T18:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/21 "2013-01-23T21:21:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > You’re right, stealing a tank and running over cars is not legal. :: whoosh :: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/22 "2013-01-23T21:27:08Z")
\*\*Loach \*\*apparently has no sense of humor when it comes to tanks. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/23 "2013-01-23T21:30:08Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > \*\*Loach \*\*apparently has no sense of humor when it comes to tanks. Oh pish. You couldn’t even fit in one you freakish giant 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/24 "2013-01-23T21:47:18Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Yes thats my point. I am unaware of any laws prohibiting driving tanks on the road. It is very rarely practical to do so. The only time I have done so is in parades or going to and from same. It is legal to drive an MBT/APC with road wheels on the road in Texas, road size and weight conditions apply. When I win the lottery I am buying one. The regs are posted on the many Tank for Sale websites, legal in several states. I am not planning on winning the lottery, but I just had to know. **Capt** I would happily provide a link but the stupid BB tablet I am on seems to not allow it ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/25 "2013-01-23T21:56:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > No more so than any large off road vehicle. It drives like a truck not a car. And the armored ones are very heavy so that has to be taken into consideration. I’m not sure where the idea upthread came from that they are prone to rollover. They have a very wide wheelbase and are very stable. Much more than any jeep or SUV. Rollovers happen due to severe terrain especially at night under blackout conditions. They can routinely go over terrain that most civilian off road vehicles can’t. I believe I said as much: [QUOTE=me] it’s more an issue of the sorts of training these vehicles are involved in rather than their inherent safety. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/26 "2013-01-23T22:10:50Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Oh and I’d love to see the test rig that can push a MBT sideways into a metal pole at 25mph. Here you go: [http://www.flickriver.com/photos/psycho\_milt/149219520/](http://www.flickriver.com/photos/psycho_milt/149219520/). Though technically they’d have to drop the Abrams onto the metal pole, and it’d take several hundred feet of drop to reach that speed (you’d have to drop it off a very high cliff, or something), but they could do it. Alternatively, I imagine an aircraft carriers launch catapult could probably manage the feat with a few minor tweaks. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/27 "2013-01-23T22:16:37Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Oh and I’d love to see the test rig that can push a MBT sideways into a metal pole at 25mph. Put it on one end of a flatbed train car, use a train engine to shove it into the pole? As an aside, I read some years ago about a train smashing into a stalled tank in Europe; the train derailed, & the tank just needed replacement tracks. They can probably handle a dinky little pole I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/28 "2013-01-23T22:19:35Z")
Thanks for the photo. 25 mph is only about 11 metres per second or so, I guess your drop height wouldn’t have to be much more than 20 metres (even accounting for drag). But I don’t think such a major change to the parameters of the test would be allowed. I guess a launch catapult might do the job, if you put the Abrams on a dolly. The decreased speed required would offset the weight difference yes? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/29 "2013-01-23T22:21:45Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > This is not correct. The two tanks in this case go from 45 mph to 0 mph. The soldiers in the tanks experience a 45 mph collision not a 90 mph collision. While I know that this is factually true. . . I still wanna see it! ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/30 "2013-01-23T22:24:28Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Put it on one end of a flatbed train car, use a train engine to shove it into the pole? > > As an aside, I read some years ago about a train smashing into a stalled tank in Europe; the train derailed, & the tank just needed replacement tracks. They can probably handle a dinky little pole I’m sure. But then won’t you have all the added mass of the Train to mess up your results? As you so though, my moneys on the tank to win this one. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/31 "2013-01-23T22:46:22Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > But I don’t think such a major change to the parameters of the test would be allowed. They simulate crashes by dropping vehicles all the time on Mythbusters. Whether or not that significantly skews the results is actually a pretty good question. > [@lisiate](#): > > I guess a launch catapult might do the job, if you put the Abrams on a dolly. The decreased speed required would offset the weight difference yes? Actually, the heaviest aircraft (max. take-off weight) weight almost half as much as an Abrams so the weight difference wouldn’t be THAT significant. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/32 "2013-01-24T00:06:53Z")
Hmm sideways at 25mph? I have been on tanks at Fort Knox after an ice storm. You would think that a tank would crunch through the ice but the tracks do a good job distributing the weight. I have seen M1s sliding sideways down icy hills. So all you would need is a long enough icy hill for your test. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/33 "2013-01-24T00:52:40Z")
Driver stop. Words I didn’t want to hear as the driver was already a freaking hard turner/starter/stopper I tried to brace myself but didn’t work. The cost was 2 broken ribs and a loss of 2 teeth. I was up in the loaders hatch, it sucked. I can recall many cuts, bruises, burns, and related injuries doing simple tasks. So no stars from me! On the road issue when I was on a recruitment detail with the PA National Guard we drove an Abrams to the local mall on a main road with an escort pretty sure they did it for a few years until the unit got shuttered. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/34 "2013-01-24T01:12:23Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > Actually, the heaviest aircraft (max. take-off weight) weight almost half as much as an Abrams so the weight difference wouldn’t be THAT significant. More than half, in fact. The MTOW of an F-14 was 75,000 lbs. or 37.5 tons. An Abrams only weighs 62ish tons. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/35 "2013-01-24T01:26:03Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > They have taillights. And headlights. And reverse lights. When they go in reverse, do they go beep-beep-beep-beep? ---
**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:** [January 24, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/36 "2013-01-24T01:27:31Z")
More of a crunch-crunch-crunch. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/37 "2013-01-24T01:49:31Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > They simulate crashes by dropping vehicles all the time on Mythbusters. Whether or not that significantly skews the results is actually a pretty good question. Well most cars don’t have a gun sticking out the front, which will be a problem for our Abrams drop test. You could rotate the turret first though I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/38 "2013-01-24T02:05:48Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. I see the top speed is listed as 45mph (considering other tech specs of the tank are still classified I wonder if that’s conservative) I have a cousin who drove a tank in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who has never used any mode of transportation at anything less than its maximum possible speed. According to him, yes, that’s conservative (but he had to disable a governor to do it). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/39 "2013-01-24T02:51:09Z")
A politely worded letter to his congressman probably would have sufficed. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130/40 "2013-01-24T03:23:05Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Oh pish. You couldn’t even fit in one you freakish giant 😉 Nonsense. I’m sure the hatch is plenty wide. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stars-safety-rating-would-an-m-1-abrams-get/648130.md?page=3)