But years of engineer’s work changed it all: Safety belts efficiently protect the passenger, airbags further reduce the risks, the compartment itself is nearly unchanged despite the huge energy to dissipate. This car passengers are protected despite the high speed and the shock violence:

so, everything is well in the best of all worlds? Maybe not. Standardized tests like those from EuroNCAP allow to directly compare cars and you can see differences. Huge differences. As if some cars were just coming straight from olden times.

Admire how these Chinese SUV and sedan will totally crush down (nearly exactly as if they were 1970’s cars, actually). The crash test is revealing: These automobiles may look like cars, they’re not; They should be compared to coffins.

So, progress or not progress?

I was at 1/40s and f/2.8 (on my Minolta APO G 200mm tele-lens), so the image is a little blurry… Usually, I wouldn’t let such low quality out, but the accident is still quite spectacular.

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge it