How do crumple zones make cars safer?
The crumple zone is the area of a car that absorbs energy upon impact. It’s designed that way. Engineers deliberately place weak spots in a car’s structure to enable the metal work to collapse in a controlled manner. Since the collapse is controlled, energy from the impact can be directed away from the passenger area, and channeled to the floor, bulkhead, roof, or hood, for example. Energy from the impact is also used up in the deforming of the metal, often converting into heat and sound (loud noise). The laws of physics say that an object in motion will stay in motion, with the same speed and direction, unless it is acted upon by an outside force. So if you are traveling at 60 MPH and your car hits a solid wall and comes to an immediate stop, your body will continue going at 60 MPH until it is stopped by, say, a seatbelt, airbag, or, at worst, a windshield. If the car has a rigid body, the rapid deceleration caused by the impact will produce injuries and fatalities. Because the stoppi
