This is kind of a “settle a bet” question.
My wife says some little modern cars can get turned over by strong winds, specifically here in the UK so aren’t I glad we bought the much more expensive large car?
I said it sounds very urban-legendy.
Buses or lorries due their higher centre of gravity maybe, but not cars. I can believe the wind causes accidents, I’ve felt the car get pushed around on the road plenty of times, but I don’t see it overturning one.
Does anyone know of any factual cases of a car “flipping” due to wind?
If we can’t find any I’ll try to get her to concede.
I saw an episode of Mythbuster where they tried to flip an old Taxi with jet engine blast. The car got pushed sideways, but did not overturn. I’d say it’s bunk.
Cars in windy (very windy) conditons
You will note that this is just a bit more than your standard wind storm. Personally I think that with the exception of a tornado or hurricane, you have little to worry about.
In a more recent episode, they were able to blow away a car, a bus, and a small plane with jet blast. They also flipped a car with jet wash in Top Gear.
Stationary cars, or moving ones? A car travelling at motorway speed and hit by a sudden crosswind could be overturned not by the wind itself, but by the driver losing control.
That last story is a mixed bag. Killing someone forced to drive a Yugo could be considered a mercy killing.
Seriously, though, those things were tiny, and weird.
