May be the reason the BMW's new designs aren't so great...

[Dinan55]

I've been hearing horrible rumors. My friend a few months ago told me that all European cars are gonna have a raised hood so that pedestrians are more likely to survive if they get hit. I dismissed this as bullshit, but today my father told me that he read somewhere the European Union has passed a rule that all European cars are required to have 10 cm (about 4 inches) of space between the top of the engine and the hood. Once again, I'm not sure if this is true or not because I haven't read it anywhere myself, this is part of the reason I'm posting this.

If it is though, it has to be the most pointless rule in the world. I don't think 4 inches are going to make much of a difference if you get hit at 45mph. If this is a real rule European auto manufacturers need to start bitching and moaning, and rightfully so. They put enough rules on the mechanics of the car, now they're setting rules that affect how it looks, something completely unacceptable. This means war.

 

[Tom]

I remember reading something similar to this about Volvo implementing these features into their designs.

 

[CosmosBlack]

Yes, I read somewhere that in Europe, they are gonna make cars safer for impacts with pedestrians up to 25mph. They were also looking at the possibility of using airbags in the front, and I also did read about the hood that raises in an impact, I dunno why, probably to prevent the victim from flying into the windshield?

 

[epj3]

Yes, I read somewhere that in Europe, they are gonna make cars safer for impacts with pedestrians up to 25mph. They were also looking at the possibility of using airbags in the front, and I also did read about the hood that raises in an impact, I dunno why, probably to prevent the victim from flying into the windshield?

oh so they can fly into the engine with moving parts, that are like 400ºF...

 

[gbf1lm]

i think thats dumb, build crosswalks

 

[dzervit]

I can't find ANYTHING that says it's REQUIRED to raise the hood 4 inches. However, other measures will take effect tomorrow: http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/n26030.htm

 

[Dinan55]

Yes, I read somewhere that in Europe, they are gonna make cars safer for impacts with pedestrians up to 25mph. They were also looking at the possibility of using airbags in the front, and I also did read about the hood that raises in an impact, I dunno why, probably to prevent the victim from flying into the windshield?

Exactly what I heard. Watch, I guarantee you that after this happens (if it's true) there's gonna be NO proven statistics that say it actually saved lives or whatever. Also, this will decrease efficiency, increase weight, and it'll make the cars ugly.

Some people just have talent for making dumb rules, gives you an idea of what their childhood was like.

 

[BMWdude]

Gone in 60 seconds --"Soon there won't even be cars, we'll all be cruising around in our little spaceships...that would suck"

This is slowly comming true.

 

[Dinan55]

Gone in 60 seconds --"Soon there won't even be cars, we'll all be cruising around in our little spaceships...that would suck"

This is slowly comming true.

Doubt it. It would cost too much and with the rise of morons on this planet, we'll all die within 3 years.

 

[BMWdude]

with the rise of morons on this planet, we'll all die within 3 years.

Cough*Bush*Cough[fake]

 

[LoMo987]

That sounds absolutely crazy but in today's world it is probably true.

 

[Average Jae]

maybe they'll make airbags on the bumper for hte peds when they get hit.. or velcro so they will stick to the bumper rather than flying into the windshield..

so are they raising the hood so you'd fly forward when you get hit? rather then roll into the windshield?

"i haven't been this confused since water world." "how does kevin costner keep getting work?"

 

[CosmosBlack]

To prevent the pedestrian from flying into the windshield with the hood popping up in an accident, I would imagine the hood to raise on hinges in front, as in the hoods on the e34's.

Again, this is just my logical assumption. I do not know if this is the reason why the hood needs to pop up. The article did mention that common injuries in such an accident include mainly hip and leg injuries.

 

[MrElussive]

One thing I read, that I hope never happens, is that car manufacturers may have to make it so that the front lower area of the car clears a certain height. I don't like that I have to be so careful about parking blocks and pulling into places (with the steep incline) and stuff due to the low clearance of the front of the car, but it is sooo worth it for the look.

 

[Kirby]

I read this a few weeks ago. This is legislation out of control. The full article goes into some detail about how it will affect vehicle design:

Full article

Excerpt below - Check out the part that I put in bold!!

"As pointed out by Stuart Smith of TNO Automotive at a conference organised by Ricardo last year, the choice of powertrain affects compatibility and the front structure. This, in turn, affects the ability of the sensor diagnostic module to meet the legislative criteria of deploying the airbags in high-speed impacts, as it is also affected by the low-speed pedestrian protection performance. This, in turn, affects the hood style and therefore the NVH performance, which is dependent on the driveline characteristics, design, and so on.

Stiffness is also an issue. For leg impact it is important to achieve a proper balance in stiffness between the hood's leading edge, the fender and spoiler. Apart from the sheet metal itself, there is also the immediate infrastructure that needs to be considered. Hood locks, for example, are often tweaked to reduce hood flutter at high speeds, while there are many load areas designed in to withstand severe impacts so as to maintain a controllable collapse of the hood.

Gary Brown, engineer with responsibility for pedestrian safety at MIRA, mentions another incompatibility–in order to comply with legislation, the upper leg must be able to pass through the headlights. The trouble is, though, that lights have their own stiffness requirements, added to which the next-generation versions are becoming bigger and heavier. "The new active adaptive headlights are going to be a great safety bonus for the driver to avoid accidents," he says, "but they're not going to be so good for the pedestrian if they are hit by one!" Again, more package space is needed for the pedestrian impact. "The end result," says Brown, "is likely to be an increase in the use of aluminum in hoods because its lower stiffness-to-mass ratio and strain rate sensitivity are better suited than those of steel." In other words, the faster a steel panel is hit, the stiffer it becomes while there is only a small difference in the strain rate in an equivalent aluminum panel. There is a downside for the automakers, though, and that is in the increased cost."