What are the chances of survivng a head on collision with another car going 55mph?

Friendly Stranger..

That depends. Head on collisions can be deadly but there are several factors to think about in that kind of scenario.

*The first is th speed. 55 mph is a fast speed, however the faster you go the more damage there will on impact. Its the simple laws of physics. The slower the car crash the less damage done. The faster the car crash the more impact there is. 55 mph is a stable speed and it would sustain a considerable amount of damage.

*Weight of vehicle. It also depends on the weight of each vehicle involved. If a small car hits head on with a truck, then the car will likely be totaled because the truck weighed more than the car. If you mix the speed with the weight of the truck you have a massive collision for the car.

*Also if the driver was in a seat belt or not. If the driver was not in a seat belt, then the chance of surviving is greatly diminished. The seat belt has the purpose of restraining a driver in the event of a crash. If you take that out of the equation then you may or may not survive.

*Finally there is the issue of the air bag. In some cases air bags have been known to deploy at high speeds actually killing the individual. The higher the speed of impact the higher the speed for deployment of the air bag which could prove fatal.

Based on all of these factors, it is all a game of chance. The more variations you have, the more the chance of injury and possibly death there is.

George A

The rule of thumb is when both cars are traveling at 55 MPH when they hit, the damage is equivalent as you hitting a solid wall at 110 MPH.

With the modern cars having crumple zones, impact bumpers, airbags & other safety features- I don't really think that this rule is as accurate today as it was in the past, so the actual impact damage may be less than 110 on today's cars.
But, it will still all depend on the amount of safety features, whether or not a seat belt was correctly used & the weights of the vehicles.

Alex E

Depends on what car you are in and what car you collide with. Say you are in a modern car with air bags and you hit another modern car with air bags, Chances are 50/50 at that speed. Say you are in a modern car with air bags and you hit a 55 Chevrolet Belair Heavy Steel Body Big car. Hope your insurance premiums are paid for your benefactors well being.

mfees56

A head on collision is considerable more survivable then a drive side impact in a t-bone. there is more room for the car to absorb some of the energy. if you are in modern car with a seat belt I would put you with at lest a 75% survivability rate. no seat belt and i'd say less then 50%.

UCANTCME

Statistically speaking, in a car crash, the driver has an 30% greater chance of surviving a head-on collision in cars with air bags than in a car without one.

Passengers who are 13 or older have a 27% better chance of surviving a head-on collision in an airbag equipped car in a car without air bags.

Vince Corvelli

I just survived a head on colliosion...I was in a ford E250 van and the other person in a Ford Ranger...He had no belts on..I did...He was killed and I lived....I hurt my knee only...But now very bummed and out of work for 8 weeks...I consider myself to be very lucky...Please wear your seat belts always and watch the other side of the road at all times...I swerved at the last second...I swerved right as hard as I could and it played in saving me....GOD BLESS

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