I saw Motorway Cops the other night. There was a nasty accident near the end where a car had collided with two horses that had escaped. The road was pitch black. The driver died.
I remember HJ noting that Saabs came with 'elk proof' strengthened windscreen pillars, because in Sweden they've had fatal collisions involving the beasts, where the animal is knocked off it's spindly legs, and the body then goes straight through the windcreen, decapitating the occupants.
Ironic then that the car mentioned above was a Saab. I looked like a 93, a facelifted GM 900. The roof and windscreen pillars were completely flattened. So I'm assuming that Saab did something about this with the later 93.
Even with a strengthened body it must be a horrific experience to have a collision like that.
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Horses must be heavier than elks. I do recall this being a feature when I got a new 900 in 1994.
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Yes, this was certainly a feature in the mid-1990s. There was a picture of the test rig, artificial elk and all, in the 900 brochure, which I may still have.
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I'd quite like an artificial elk. Better than a gnome in the garden anyway.
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I remember seeing a picture of i think it was a Saab 99, which had been on top of a transporter when said transporter went through a low girder bridge hitting the bridge mid screen height leaving the car there and transporter carrying on.
The pic i saw was of the Saab attached firmly to the bridge by the screen pillars being wedged into the RSJ fold, the car just sat there level supported entirely by those pillars.
Having seen other makes and more modern mass produced stuff and the aftermaths of similar incidents, the cars involved are usually either almost decapitated or the whole roof and body fold completely up effectively bending the complete vehicle.
Have also seen Volvo 240 A pillars cut through by the fire service presumably to extract an injured person, whilst relatively narrow compared to thick pillars now used there were folds upon folds of metal inside them, probably as solid as the Saabs.
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Less exciting than you might imagine, Humph: mainly a bundle of cables on a tall wooden trestle, to simulate a bulky body on long, frangible legs.
I suppose the real life-or-death decider is speed. If this crash happened on a motorway, there may have been too much energy for even Saab pillars to deflect safely.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Thu 26 Sep 13 at 19:38
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Some half century ago , a friend wrote off his father's Ford Consul and was nearly killed when he hit a black cow at night in Aberdeenshire...
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I'm sceptical of 'elk tests'.
Anyone else remember the early 'A' class?
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>> I suppose the real life-or-death decider is speed. If this crash happened on a motorway,
>> there may have been too much energy for even Saab pillars to deflect safely.
It happened on the A58 near Halifax.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03bqwfp/Motorway_Cops_Series_5_Without_Warning/
52mins 40s in. Be warned scenes may be upsetting.
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I had a fright only a couple of years ago somewhere IIRC between Newtown and Presteigne at about midnight, on the hills, while making progress.
A few dark shapes turned quickly into a number of apparently 'wild' horses just wandering about on and around the road.
Not sure whether that's normal for that area, RP probably knows.
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Elk proof windscreen pillars - Manatee
