Dan G wrote:
On Oct 10, 12:01 am, Tom Gardner wrote:
And absorbing energy the principal reason why, in a crash, it is
better to be in a steel vehicle than aluminium, and GRP or composites
are worst of all. After all, we sit on energy absorbing cushions for a
very good reason.

NO. That's utter rubbish (and sounds a little like Airbus's anti-787
FUD!).

Well, I'm not going to discuss your strawman point and attempt to
justify an Airbus statement

Safest cars in the world are Formula 1 cars - 100% carbon
fibre.

That's a great soundbite, but I'm sure it is both true and false
depending on what is meant by "safest" and whether or not all the
other factors in an accident are included.

Crash-worthiness and energy absorbtion is ENTIRELY down to design, not
material.

Well, if design includes the choice of material (as it should) then we
can agree. But to claim that materials are irrelevant is, how shall I
put it, over-egging the cake a bit.