# Wind overturning cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856 "2008-03-10T18:21:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/1 "2008-03-10T18:21:09Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/2 "2008-03-10T18:25:44Z")
Yes. Many years ago an ex-colleague was testing a jet and overturned a small vehicle some distance behind him. His officer got a right bollocking. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/3 "2008-03-10T18:27:12Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/4 "2008-03-10T18:28:01Z")
[Cars in windy (very windy) conditons](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2hmJ4ASpyM) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/5 "2008-03-10T18:30:42Z")
The BBC is probably running a nature documentary even as we speak. Find one about hurricanes and watch the cars flip. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/6 "2008-03-10T18:39:53Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] 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. [/QUOTE] 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. ETA: Curse you, **Rick**! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/7 "2008-03-10T18:49:38Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/8 "2008-03-10T19:06:12Z")
Ah, I’ve finally found the right Google incantation to show cars overturned by strong winds spawned by hurricanes and tornadoes: > **[Storm system spawns tornadoes in Florida - CNN.com](http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/weather/10/18/midwest.storms/index.html)** > > A tornado pummeled Pensacola, Florida, Thursday, severely damaging a church with an attached day care center, destroying homes and leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power, the mayor said. [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19980613/okc1-9.jpg](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19980613/okc1-9.jpg) [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19980613/okc1-10.jpg](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19980613/okc1-10.jpg) [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19980613/okc3-18.jpg](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19980613/okc3-18.jpg) [http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=53508993&epmid=1&partner=Google](http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=53508993&epmid=1&partner=Google) > **[Royalty-Free Stock Photos, Creative Images & Vectors | News, Fashion, and...](https://www.gettyimages.com)** > > Discover Getty Images' unrivaled collection of royalty-free images to find the perfect stock photo, vector, or illustration that resonates with your customers. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/9 "2008-03-10T20:11:52Z")
Driving across Washington State once during windy conditions, I saw not one, but two, Volkswagen vans lying on their sides by the side of the road. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/10 "2008-03-11T03:27:31Z")
Not quite the same as blowing over, but in 1989 a car was[blown off the Mackinac Bridge](http://info.detnews.com/redesign/history/story/historytemplate.cfm?id=156) > [@](#): > > In 1989, a tragic accident captured the front pages of state newspapers. Leslie Pluhar’s 1987 Yugo, a small car, plunged from the bridge more than 150 feet to the straits below. It was the first vehicle to fall off the five-mile span since it opened. Gale force winds blowing from the northwest helped lift her car off the roadway and over the side. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/11 "2008-03-11T15:15:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/12 "2008-03-11T15:24:58Z")
Unlike those funny furrin’ cars, [The Ford Pinto (youtube)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f-DHyIFYX0&eurl=http://jalopnik.com/cars/little-pinto%2C-little-pinto%2C-let-us-in/wont-blow-over-might-blow-up-280508.php) is highly resistant to wind. When America gets a better idea, Ford will build it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-overturning-cars/440856/13 "2008-03-11T16:29:17Z")
[QUOTE=Throatwarbler Mangrove] Unlike those funny furrin’ cars, [The Ford Pinto (youtube)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f-DHyIFYX0&eurl=http://jalopnik.com/cars/little-pinto%2C-little-pinto%2C-let-us-in/wont-blow-over-might-blow-up-280508.php) is highly resistant to wind. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but don’t get get [rear ended](http://youtube.com/watch?v=rcNeorjXMrE) in one.