We are all lucky to be living in an age of modern automobiles. Sure, some might pine for the days when cars were little more than four wheels, an engine, and a roof, but they’ve obviously not seen the twisted wrecks that old cars become, even in low-speed collisions. Thankfully, modern technology and safety standards that include rigorous crash tests mean today’s vehicles are much, much safer.
But a car is really only as safe as its driver. And as British auto show Fifth Gear demonstrates, all the safety features in the world won’t save you from a 120 mph collision.
The 2012 Ford Focus is a pretty safe compact car, with airbags and safety features galore, and it even earned a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS . For this test though, Fifth Gear chose to use an older Focus, which has a lot less in the way of safety features than the all-new Focus. The test is simple; ram the Focus into a solid concrete wall at 120 mph.
The result is predictably destructive, and everything from the front doors forward is crushed or disintegrated in the crash. Suffice to say, this is not a survivable accident, although in the real world you’re more likely to run into something with a little more give than a huge concrete wall. On the same token, you’re still probably not going to survive if you’re driving over a 100 mph.
So next time you consider mashing the accelerator outside of the drag strip, just remember this video and hopefully, you’ll think twice.