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In Reply to: high speed de-acelaeration and fluid dynamics posted by Phil on February 19, 2001 at 21:52:06:
Keep in mind that the car went from 180 to 0, but NOT in zero seconds. Even a fraction of a second-long impact greatly absorbs massive amounts of force. In essence, the longer the period of impact, and the greater the area of shock-absorbtion in the vehicle, the more the danger of fatal injury decreases proportionally.
The "crumple zones" engineered into today's vehicles are effectively removed from race vehicles, which instead rely on a safety cage.
To say that Earnhardt's was a "freak accident" is not true. It was, however, a fatal one. I will be interested as to the final reports regarding damage to the roll cage, and to what degree flying debris played a role, if any.
The HANS device appears to be the current state of the art in safety, restraining the head in case of severe impact. Drivers have sustained impacts equal to that which Earnhardt's car was subjected to, and come away relatively unharmed (though I am not sure how many of them were over 49 years of age). To even come away from such a wreck alive is a miracle.
In drag racing, vehicles have careened into the dividing walls at speeds well over 250 MPH, and the drivers have walked away. This has much to do with the amount of force which is expelled by sliding, flipping, and even crumpling, but also has alot to do with proper seating, restraint, helmet sizing, belt positioning, head position in respect to the cage, etc.
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