Probably not totalled, a brand-new truck would be worth enough to replace the frame. Lost quite a bit of value though.

Nobody would have died, a 30 MPH collision into a brick wall is less severe than most crash tests. That 4-Runner weighs over 4,500 lbs, within spitting distance of what the F150 did. But yeah, the design exists to protect people not the truck, which is just how it should be.

Jerk.

 

If I were the owner of the truck I would seek a full replacement.


Not because the truck is totally but because it still had the dealer tag on it. It was just so new.


Probably in the end that would not work but the value of said truck has been ruined.

 

So it looks like the rear window completely shattered out?

 

It is true a load in a pickup is a potential hazard, but in this case wouldn't anything in the truck pose more of a hazard to the driver of the 4 Runner?

 

Not really. Unless it was a really odd design (like a rear-facing spear), the energy from the 4Runner would push whatever's in the bed forward. It wouldn't be any more of a threat to the 4Runner occupants than the truck itself.

 

It seems that anything, let us in this case say a large gun safe, in the back of a stopped pickup would stay where it is in relation to the road surface, (Newton's first law of Motion, "a body at rest tends to remain at rest"). The truck is pushed forward by the SUV. The SUV now occupies the same place on the road where the truck used to be, but is now occupied by the body that stayed at rest, namely the safe. Ouch!

Put 2 blocks of wood, one on top of the other, on a table and knock the lower one rapidly away. Will the top block go forward or will it fall on your hand? Try it but I suggest you don't use extremely heavy blocks.

Or more simply put a ball in the middle of your truck bed and accelerate forward briskly. Will the ball initially roll towards the front or the rear?

I don't want to sound argumentative or be impolite, it is just that I don't seem to have anything better to worry about at the moment.

 

right on

 

My fender on my 2000 F150 sheared open like a tuna can when I hit a water filled plastic construction barrier at 10mph or less. At a wreck of 35mph (most likely more than that if it pushed it 2 houses down) it can do serious damage. It was at about 35 mph when I was in a passenger in a 2001 Escape that crashed into the back of a stationary 90's Buick car. The back of the Buick looked about the same as the truck. I would argue that the rear end of an older Buick is built more structurally sound than a truck bed, and it took near the same damage. I think this is very reasonable damage to the truck.

I have a 75 F-350. It will come close to hurting you just hitting a pothole. If someone rear ended it at 35mph I guarantee I would be in the hospital and in a LOT of physical therapy after that.

I don't know what is wrong with a person that would rather save a truck than save their ability to walk (or live).

 

Looks like a perfect result to a significant impact.....as for how it looks from being aluminum theres a previous bodystyle (steel) f150 I've been passing by for a few months at a local body shop that has very VERY similar damage from some sort of rear end collision

 

You're correct... but this is just a first-order effect, and, as we all know, nature likes equilibrium. What happens when the pendulum swings the other way?

The greater force here is the colliding SUV, and it will act upon the safe, providing some amount of acceleration. The safe now has forward (relative to the collision) velocity, and it's up above all of the crumple zones and large structural steel. The only thing protecting the truck occupants is two fairly thin pieces of aluminum (forward bed wall, rear cab wall). The usual human reaction (unless intoxicated) is to tense up, so it's fairly likely the driver of the first vehicle will depress the brakes further, so the first truck will likely come to a halt almost immediately. The safe won't... and if it was sufficient force, it will go through those two sheets of aluminum and enter the cab.

Disclaimer: I've seen almost exactly this scenario in the real world... except it was two trucks, instead of a truck and an SUV. We extricated the occupants of the first truck - they were pinned in by cab deformity caused by the contents of the bed coming through the rear wall. The rear seating area was heavily mangled... thankfully, there were no rear seat occupants.

The lesson? Secure your load, using proper techniques and straps. It doesn't take long, and you may save yourself much headache!

 

In some way, I think the texting is worse than drunk driving. Driver's are frequently completely oblivious to an impending impact and do nothing striking it a full speed whereas some drunk drivers may react slowly at least they're reacting.

 

TVSJR,
I follow your logic and appreciate your comments, but I just can't conceive it that way. I suppose we could experiment and find out what would really happen, but we would have to buy a new F-150 and a used 4 Runner. We would also have to get a large safe and find 2 willing drivers. I am not prepared to pursue it to that extreme!

We do definitely agree that all loads should be well secured and that all drivers should concentrate on DRIVING. I admit I too get distracted by all of the electronic gimmicks, but I never drive and text at the same time. As I said in an earlier post, it is illegal to do so in GA, as it should be. Not that the law stops anyone though. We could get into a long philosophical discussion about such matters I imagine.

That is one of the prime reasons I drive a Super Duty. Bigger is safer in my mind. I suspect there are many out there who would disagree, but probably not on this forum.

 

You'd be surprised.

I think any of us who've seen the results of a Super Duty rollover would think twice about making a statement like that.

 

I'd rather be in a super duty in a wreck than something small, like lets say a Smart Car. And have you seen the rollover crash test ratings for them?

 

I did a brief search and can't find much info on rollover ratings on the newer Super Duty. The one site I did find gave it a 4 out of 5 rating. Not the best, but far from the worst.
I reckon it is best not to get into any accident in any vehicle, which brings home the original point of this thread, don't mix multitasking with driving as one of the tasks.

My main concern is what the other drivers are doing. I have no control over that.