YeGods! What speed do you have to be doing...

[swee'pea99]

...to do this to a car?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-25529589

 

[mark st1]

Dunno ? Ask the lucky bleeder that walked away from it . Two passengers that needed first aid. Id be buying a lottery ticket me thinks !

 

[Octet]

Too fast....

But was it driving under the influence, brain dead racers or something else which led to that sort of speed?

 

[screenman]

The clue is in the corner of the picture, my youngest is in the service and they will make a convertible out of a saloon in a few minutes if need be.

Oops! Just read the write up there was nobody in the car when they got there, still looks like they had jaws on it.

 

[Saluki]

Do you think that the insurance company will write it off?

Very lucky escape there, my word! A definite case of TFF me thinks.

 

[Octet]

The clue is in the corner of the picture, my youngest is in the service and they will make a convertible out of a saloon in a few minutes if need be.

Through the use of cutting tools, yes, extraction through the roof is the easiest if there is any possibility of spinal damage etc.
The problem in this case is that the car wasn't split through the use of cutting implements but instead shear speed hitting the sign.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

It suggests mechanical failure to me (look at the state of the machine auto-disassembly). Though placing signposts so close to a race track may also have been a contributory factor. I wish the passengers a swift recovery.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Its easy to say "to fast" but they could easily have been doing a legal speed, 70mph has become mundane , normal in a modern car and feel so safe and almost boring, but ive been in a car that was shunted whilst doing 70mph , we went sideways and hit the central barrier , bounced off , spun again and for a second time hit the barrier, it seemed to go on forever and was totally of control, the car was smashed on all four corners, all that whilst doing a legal speed.

 

[Octet]

Its easy to say "to fast" but they could easily have been doing a legal speed, 70mph has become mundane , normal in a modern car and feel so safe and almost boring, but ive been in a car that was shunted whilst doing 70mph , we went sideways and hit the central barrier , bounced off , spun again and for a second time hit the barrier, it seemed to go on forever and was totally of control, the car was smashed on all four corners, all that whilst doing a legal speed.

Cars are designed to crush, these crumple zones help to reduce the force of the impact on your body and as such when you hit something it is expected that the side that makes contact will be bent out of shape.
It shouldn't cut the car in half though, but your point is still valid that 70 MPH is enough to do a lot of damage (but probably not fast enough to do that sort of damage).

 

[Arch]

Its easy to say "to fast" but they could easily have been doing a legal speed, 70mph has become mundane , normal in a modern car and feel so safe and almost boring, but ive been in a car that was shunted whilst doing 70mph , we went sideways and hit the central barrier , bounced off , spun again and for a second time hit the barrier, it seemed to go on forever and was totally of control, the car was smashed on all four corners, all that whilst doing a legal speed.

I see what you are saying, but the point should be made that "legal speed" and "too fast" can be the same. Too many people think the speed limit is the speed they should be going at, not the maximum. There are lots of reasons why 70, or 60 or 30 would be too fast for the road conditions.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

If the photograph was taken at near the time of the accident then there is nothing to indicate that the road conditions were adverse, there may be wind at play - and being caught by a gust of wind can have fatal consequences. If so, the driver may have been caught unaware. But, as posted earlier, it may be mechanical failure; not all crashes are caused by speed/people

 

[Linford]

They could have hit a ridge from what looks like a bridge they have gone over. We have similar on the A40 over the M5 and it is iffy on a motorbike at legal speeds if you hit it wrong. A woman spun out after hitting it a few years ago in her car and wrote it off.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

They could have hit a ridge from what looks like a bridge they have gone over. We have similar on the A40 over the M5 and it is iffy on a motorbike at legal speeds if you hit it wrong. A woman spun out after hitting it a few years ago in her car and wrote it off.

Where are you seeing the bridge? Can't see it from the pics.

 

[Linford]

Where are you seeing the bridge? Can't see it from the pics.

The slip road rising up from the left to the back of the pic indicates a bridge under the motorway they have just passed over. The strip is the expansion joint. These can be a bit lumpy

 

[buggi]

think that's bad ... Take a look at this
https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/..._=1388194834_20fb3cf8c1c22e587256fbdd0de74538