#CarCrash

Sometimes safety takes a back seat to horsepower, vehicle design and luxury amenities but when you’re in a crash it’s really the only thing that matters.

Like an addendum to Murphy’s Law, the unforeseen tends to happen when you least expect it; misfortune is like a lot like a combination ninja/cat burglar/stealth bomber. Glance away for a split second and BAM, something bad happens.

According to a recent study, pregnant women are more likely to get into a car crash than before they were pregnant.

Back in 2010, NHTSA reported that traffic deaths had hit a record low, and now Americans are more likely to die at their own hands by means of suicide than in a fatal car crash.

Your car is at a standstill, your heart is racing, if you’ve just been in an accident, chances are you’re a little shook up. Take a deep breath. There are a few things to go over when you get into an accident, especially if another driver is involved.

Give credit to Volvo, the Swedish automaker has emphasized safety through all its years and continues to do so while other automakers focus on performance or fuel efficiency.

For those not catching the 24 Hours of Le Mans online or on television, Toyota‘s hopes of victory, or even a podium spot, at the endurance classic got a lot slimmer thanks to the actions of a Ferrari that wasn’t watching its mirrors.

There’s a right way to drive the famed corkscrew at Laguna Secan and there are a lot of wrong ways.

Toyota motorsports partner Gazoo Racing is known for its Super GT teams and Nurburgring race cars. How do they stack up when it comes to the sport art of drifting? Not too well, judging from this video.

As part of a demonstration event held at the Tokyo Auto Salon each year, automakers, tuners and racing teams get the chance to display the power of their vehicles on a small course set up outside the venue. One of the vehicles this year was a Lexus IS-F prepped by Gazoo.

We don’t want to ruin it for you, but let’s just say, perhaps there’s a reason pylons are made of plastic.

Watch the video below:

The Romans and Greeks knew a thing or two about entertainment. Tragedy in particular. We might not like to admit it, but everyone likes seeing terrible things happen. OK, maybe not really terrible things, but watching exotic cars get wrecked in a high speed collision is pretty spectacular – especially when no one gets hurt.

That’s exactly what happened recently in the China GT Cup series race in Macau, with a long line of Porsches, Lambos and Ferraris smashing into a wall (and each other) in a high-speed corner. Just as incredible are some of the saves, with some drivers making wild recoveries with plenty of drift action.

Watch the video below:

If you’re looking for a good reason not to speed, this is it. Thanks to the inquisitive minds at Fifth Gear we now know the absolutely devastating result of what a 120-mph crash would look like.

Part of an ongoing series looking at crash tests and the safety of modern vehicles the team of eloquently-voiced Brits decided to see what would happen if a Ford Focus crashed into a concrete block at 120-mph – triple the speed of modern crash test procedures. The results are both shocking and terrifying.

Watch the video after the jump:

Police have confirmed that a woman endangered her 6-year old niece by having the girl reverse out of a tight parking spot, which ended with two wrecked cars in the process. The aunt, fifty-five year old Rebecca Beatty, was charged by police in June after she picked up her niece from a dance program at Ambridge Area High School. Police said the girl hit a parked car, pushing it over a curb until it hit another car parked on the street. Ouch.

It is a sad day for Bimmer fans everywhere, as the first ever recorded accident of the powerful 1-Series M Coupe occurred in South Korea.

It is amazing what some people will attempt to do in their cars. Porsches are fantastic cars but unfortunately, they were not meant to fly, or in this case, perform somersaults in the air.

The driver of the Porsche managed to flip and roll his the car into a series of open spots to create his very own parallel spot. He was probably trying to keep the car on the road, which begs the question, how did he manage to flip the car into a parking lot? Despite the impressive acrobatics session, the driver hops out of his Cayman to examine the damage and looks to be walking normally. Unbelievable.

Check out the video after the jump!

Accidents in racing are one of those things that we don’t wish to see happen, but deep down we can’t help but to watch it unfold over and over once we determine that no one is harmed. Brazilian Stock Car racing just contributed our newest racing accident video obsession, showing driver Tuka Rocha’s Chevrolet becoming engulfed in flames as he successfully bails out safely.

And yes, we said Chevrolet despite the huge Hyundai decal on the side of the vehicle. It seems that his vehicle is sponsored by a Hyundai division of tractors and heavy machinery, which makes more sense than, you know, Hyundai vehicles. Regardless, the video unfolds as his Chevrolet catches on fire and Rocha tries to stop, drop and roll out of the vehicle as we’re all taught in elementary school. The few seconds afterwards is what’s even crazier as Rocha bounces back triumphantly and then collapses.

Fortunately it appears that Rocha suffered no major injuries and was clearly lacking some oxygen after all the excitement that just happened in the flash of a few seconds. We’re sure, like all race car drivers, he’ll have no problems buckling in again.

Watch the video after the break.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer]