"so, do you believe speed kills or the rate of change of momentum?"
Paul, it's rate of change of momentum that kills. But 'speed' and 'rate of change of momentum' are not mutually exclusive.
If you have a higher change of speed (i.e. from a high speed to 0), and the time taken for the accident is the same, then the force on you would be high. If you have a lower change of speed (i.e. from a low speed to 0), and the time taken for the accident is roughly the same, then the force on you would be lower.
Force = (Mass x speed)/time
To reduce force on you, you can either: a) Lose weight down the gym b) Reduce initial speed c) Increase the time taken for an accident to happen from the initial 'crunch' --> to being stationary
Crush structures and airbags are supposed to deal with c) and speed limits and such are in order to deal with b). Any better suggestions than the system we have now would be welcome.
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