How safe do u feel in ur Rover?

[disco12]

At the store parking lot yesterday a guy asked me "Sir how safe do you feel in the Land Rover" I said "very safe" he continued "how are they built" I replied " These Trucks are bulit like tanks" " really" I said "yes sir" " I heard these trucks have large frames is that true" he asked "yes they do" I replied. "would u like to see it" He looks in the rear of the Disco and said to me " my god that is the biggest f%%king chassis I've ever seen." So I carry it on to you awesome folks. how safe do u feel in ur Rover?

Me 99.9% except if my dad drives it.

[FelixLockhart]

I feel quite safe in my truck. And by safe, I mean I'll probably die in a severe wreck, but they can still use the truck again :-)

[RageRover]

I feel like I have the upper hand in a car wreck between me and another small car or truck.

Of course it is the exact opposite where the obstruction is either a concrete barrier or a 100,000 lb. semi truck coming the other way.

Then again, I feel I am the safest driver at my college. I can't walk outside the buildings on campus and not hear the burn outs, doughnuts, and instantaneous take offs at the light. Where as with me, let's put it this way, I have never gotten a traffic ticket at all, yet somehow, I manage to do someitmes 10 over the limit, and not fully yeild at a Yeild sign. I have been pulled over a few times. First time was in my Ford Probe, in the state of MI, no vehicle can have neon lights while driving, inside and outside. I didn't realize my underbodies were on, so a cop pulls me over, and says it looks great just don't have them on while driving, and got away with a warning.

Other time was again with my other car.....long story short, the cop said it was Halloween and that he favored our argument and let us go.

Last time was in the truck, some fucked up pull over thinking my truck robbed a convenience store in the area.

But traffic laws, nope never. Hope to see none neither. Insurance is bad enough for the truck.

But I feel real safe in my truck.

[Bdog]

I thought I was safer than most, until I saw this crash test against a minivan... and as usual electrical problems even in a crash!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIKu1...20rover%20test

[smileyq]

Originally Posted by FelixLockhart

I feel quite safe in my truck. And by safe, I mean I'll probably die in a severe wreck, but they can still use the truck again :-)

Thats one way to look at it. Can't say that's really what LR meant by building it all the same still good.

[RageRover]

Yeah I seen that video a while back. Scares me a bit. Then again I don't drive a DI, not meaning anything by that. It does kinda suck though, the body just sorta slides into the cabin of the truck, so that shows how weak those body mounts are up front.

[smileyq]

Originally Posted by Bdog

I thought I was safer than most, until I saw this crash test against a minivan... and as usual electrical problems even in a crash!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIKu1...20rover%20test

Alright screw it I'm buying a minivan and lifting it . Or make a note not to take on a minivan in a crash. I'll stick to smaller cars if I can help it. that was ruff!

[daway]

dam!! i do not have speakers at work!! maybe i should ask my boss for some!!lol i feel safe in my LR. the control of the RRC and the wide body and big windows, no blind spots like my old 4 runner. but i had a 4runner that i hit a big buck going over 70mph and my bumper went in 14" into my rad. and my hood made a good triangle (lucky it did go through the windsheld). after the hit i kept going and did not stop because anti-freeze was going everywere and it was 5 in the morning (5miles) and made it home. after that i felt safe in a yota. i think the buck was 7point or more.

[Disco Mike]

Safer in my Disco then in my older full size Mercedes.
Mike

[stevenr]

I would just hope that if I was in a front end collision like that I am lifted enough and my Safari Gard skidplate would launch me over the oncoming vehicle

[Adam in NYC USA]

Originally Posted by RageRover

Yeah I seen that video a while back. Scares me a bit. Then again I don't drive a DI, not meaning anything by that. It does kinda suck though, the body just sorta slides into the cabin of the truck, so that shows how weak those body mounts are up front.

Maybe you should hear the audio on the video. They tried to be very comprensive.

You are dealing with apples and oranges. As a first responder and EMT, I can say that there is a wild amount of variability when it comes to frontal colissions.

The collision was stated as being much more harder than the usual government tests. If that test was run on most of the models out on the street today, most would not pass it. It is not the body mounts but the rigidity of the older frame on the D1. Most newer vehicles are designed for the front of the vehicle to cave in, absorbing the frontal force. The D1 simply transferred the force to the passenger compartment unchecked.

The D1 chassis was designed in 1989. The compromise in the driver section is typical of any driver position when the vehicles are head-on. There is not much you can do about that , but as an operator in the real world, most would not drive themselves onto the oncoming vehicle. The usual targets are side impact or the classical t-bone. You see that kind of damage when you see a car hit a stationary object , like an old tree. Those scars on those trees on the road bely the intense force the tree was subjected to.

I can not vouch for the MPV (espace) but it is a more modern chassis with crumble zones designed (I am guessing) about 1995.

The two vehicles tested were not driven into one another. They were towed.

The smoke in the video was not electrical in nature. You are talking about actual used vehicles and the white smoke is that from the pressurized radiator system.

In one instance, you actually saw the mini-firing of the charge in the airbag. Airbags are noted for opening up and discharging their exhaust gases onto their passengers. You get some burns, especially from those wearing shorts.

The sensors on the driver dummy in the D1 did not work properly , and the airbags did not properly work. Most of the tests involve multiple runs to remove any of Murphys interventions. Had the sensors and airbags worked properly, there could have been more information available.

In short, the most important part of the vehicle is not of the make, but the wisdom of the operator inside. Hard-earn wisdom is that repeated time and time again. In the New York drivers manual, it stated that the issued drivers license is not the definitive trophy but the absolute bare mininium you should know and have learned about operating in the public road.

It is a shame that most motorists forget and throw away the damn manual. I think it is mandatory people should pickup it after six months.

It is my opinion that Land Rover drivers are among the safest. However, the rest of the people on the road, they are mad and should be judged as such.

Adam in NYC (taking off EMT uniform, FDNY EMS)

[smileyq]

Originally Posted by stevenr

I would just hope that if I was in a front end collision like that I am lifted enough and my Safari Gard skidplate would launch me over the oncoming vehicle

One can only hope ;-)

[Funrover]

I feel really safe........... I actually spend more $$$ to drive instead of carpooling every now and then!!

[Paul Grant]

I always get a kick out of these discussions.

I was in an accident back in April of 1994 with my RRC LWB. I had a 1978 Harley lowrider driven by a guy with a BAC of .300 hit me. Impact was on the left front corner of my truck. We were both traveling at approximately 40 mph. He survived, barely, impact having severed his left leg right there in the road. I was uninjured. There was a little over $20,000 worth of damage to my 1994 RRC LWB. State Farm had to replace virtually everything from the left front window to the front axle casing.

I was also in an accident back in May of 1989 in a brand new Nissan Pathfinder. A 1979 Harley FLH driven by a guy with a BAC of .262 hit me. Impact, again, was on the left front corner of the truck. Again, we were traveling at approximately 40 mph (both accidents occurred less than a mile from each other and less than two miles from my home). Again, the driver survived, less his left leg which, along with his boot, lay several yards away. I was uninjured. There was less than $8,000 worth of damage to my 1988 Pathfinder SE.

I was also in an accident back in October of 1982 in a brand new VW Rabbit. A Chevrolet Caprice Classic ran a red light in midtown Manhattan and smashed into my Rabbit at approximately 40 mph. Impact was so great that my Rabbit was knocked from one side of 3rd Ave. into a parked car on the other side (maybe three lanes). It had been raining so the road was slick. I hit the parked car so hard it was totalled. Needless to say, my Rabbit was also totalled. I was in a coma for a week.

Looking at these incidents you might think that I would be ascribe to the belief that SUV's are safer but in reality, I think the evidence points in a different direction.

I've taken quite a number of Rovers apart over the years and I do not believe that they are any safer than other SUV's. In fact, I think that the weakness of aluminum makes them less predictable and potentially more dangerous in impacts. The fact that few improvements were made in the way of safety since the Range Rover's introduction in 1970 speaks loudly to the safety issue. Remember, it took Rover eleven years just to come up with the cash to introduce a much needed four door version of the truck. My point being, if they couldn't afford to spend money on features that would increase sales they certainly didn't have or want to spend the money on safety features that weren't mandated.

I think the fact that there is nothing in the doors to protect occupants from side impacts is frightening. You can talk all you want about the strength of the chassis but if you experience a side impact there is very little protection between your body and the aluminum door skin. There's almost a foot between the outer wall of the chassis and the door skin. Your left leg is actually sitting over the chassis rail so where is the protection?

Now, don't confuse anything that I have said here with a feeling that Rovers should not be allowed on the road. I deeply believe that we are responsible for the choices we make and we should have the freedom to make them. However, living through what I have, I can't help but say that it is downright foolhardy to believe that a Rover, simply due to its heavy duty frame and overall size and weight is a safer vehicle. Science has learned too much about accidents and the industry has incorporated enough of that learning into modern designs to really stand by this old nonsense. It reminds me of the old wives tale about never wearing seat belts because you're safer if you get thrown from the accident.

[pickuprover]

I hate to say it, but The old school of thought that bigger is better in a crash is sooooo wrong... SUV's most times are the worst... the new smaller cars with all the engineering that they put into them is amazing.... Take a look at the new smart car.... one of the safest on the road, also the smallest.. the roll cage and crumble zones and interior design make it incredible safe.. The othe issue with the SUV's and their higher bumpers means that the bumper does not impact the other cars bumper and tends to ride up the other car, causing a high risk ofrolling the truck.... I hope I never get in a side impact with my series truck.. all the outriggers with the angled bottoms and at a hieght where the average car would slid under the chasis rail and then just flip me over..... thank god it only goes 55 mph...