120 to zero instantly see the affect.

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Have never seen a controlled crash from this speed. 120 hitting a concrete barrier is in the last shot. 
I am building a track days car and will be putting cage and extra panels in the floor to support the cage. You see the crashes in races and they do hold up well this just gives you an idea of what a 71 - 73 would look like. The newer cars are much stronger so the results would be even worse. So keep this in the back of your mind when you are making a high speed run in your mustang without any safety systems at all. Just a rusty hulk of a chassis and lots of HP.
The materials I will be using in my build will be double the strength of 4140 chrome molly steel but it is not a cure all for sure. Much better than a rusty rocker box and floor pan.

 

[Stillakid54]

Our convertibles definitely need to be given the respect of a lethal weapon. Heck all of our cars are not far off.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

If you crash one one of these from 55 mph you are luck to survive. They are eat up with rust.

 

[turtle5353]

This is result of approximately 35-40mph crash. 

 

[Stanglover]

David, that video sure shows us all what we are dealing with EVERY time we get behind the wheel of ANY car. I think we all know how vulnerable we  are in our Mustangs, but that should really make us think the next time we hit the loud pedal and hope no-one blows a stop sign as it Turtle's case.

I liked the Limo section best, but damn scary when we see the results of the crash test.

 

[Don C]

As a semi-retired traffic engineer and a guy that likes to use the accelerator pedal to it's fullest capabilities I am always conflicted by the need for safety and the desire to go fast. I grew up in a state with no speed limits on the open highways and always enjoyed speed, until the days of the double nickel in the 70s.

When I was an Assistant Chief Traffic Engineer of a state DOT we had monthly meetings with the highway patrol and quarterly meetings with state and local law enforcement and first responders trying to address safety issues and high crash locations. So, I saw the evidence of many instances of speed related crashes. The random crashes are the hardest to address. High crash locations can sometimes be solved with enforcement and/or engineering.

 

[Kilgon]

Good video and info David.  To think that for many of us we learned to drive in cars that didn't even have seat belts let alone any other safety features.   Makes you think twice about what we can do to make our cars safer.  I know adding the 3 point retractable belt is a plus but there doesn't seem to be much more you can do short of adding a cage.   Would be nice if there were some type of aftermarket air bag kit that could be added on.  For now we just need to use some common sense and keep a sharp eye out for bad drivers.  

 

[luxstang]

Unfortunately humans are not designed to travel at higher speeds in metal cages where you risk hitting things. 

We need to deal with it. Just like you enjoy your bacon on your burger and don’t think of your arteries although you know it’ll kill you eventually. 

I drive my Mustang way too fast on way too winding roads but it’s fun. If I screw up... well I’ll have to tell myself “told you so”. 

It’s only gotten worse with the Fiat 124 Spider... small two seater roadster with over 200 hp and a manual transmission... 

I only try to make sure I don’t take anyone else with me on my way out  

I love Jeremy Clarkson’s quote: “speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary is what gets you”!  

 

[tony-muscle]

I guess that if you crash like that at 120 mph, it doesn't matter what are you  driving.....

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Not really look at indy car and NASCAR you have the cage and the harness and 120 is nothing. My car will have it.

 

[tony-muscle]

Not really look at indy car and NASCAR you have the cage and the harness and 120 is nothing. My car will have it.

LOL. When I wrote the post I was going to finish with "... unless you are in a race car." I follow Formula 1 and see how the drivers can walk out of high speed impacts. The difference is that they don't hit a solid wall like the one in the video.

The main thing with race cars is the carbon fiber panels and bodies. As the car desintegrares, and as each fiber breaks, they absorb energy. Combined with a very stiff protection  around the driver, it allows for a very safe outcome. My point was that with a normal car, if you hit a concrete wall at 120 you won't make it.

 

[Don C]

Or a bus coming towards you at 70 mph. One of the crashes we reviewed was a late '90s Mustang that had an estimated speed of over 100 mph when it met a tour bus. The Mustang driver hit the brakes enough to drop the nose, so most of the front went under the bus bumper, what was left of the upper portions of the two male occupants was implanted on the front of the bus. An impact speed of 170+ mph doesn't leave much that is recognizable.

 

[Spike Morelli]

Oh man, don't get me started about people driving too fast on the streets....................