Nobody hurt as car crashes into pizza restaurant
Staff and diners have escaped injury after a car crashed into the side of a pizza restaurant.
Emergency services were called to Pizza Is Lovely on Stokes Croft, close to the Cheltenham Road junction in Bristol, at about 16:45 BST after a black BMW was driven into a window in the building.
The business was open at the time of the incident, but staff confirmed that nobody in the restaurant was injured. The driver has been taken to hospital, but their injuries are not believed to be serious.
In a statement, Pizza Is Lovely said that they will have to close while repair work is carried out.
Images from the scene show Stokes Croft closed with a large emergency services response at the scene.
A partial road closure is in place heading inbound towards The Bearpit roundabout while recovery work is carried out, police said.
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Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Crash dummies used in car safety tests are still modeled after men despite higher risks for women
Maria Weston Kuhn had one lingering question about the car crash that forced her to have emergency surgery during a vacation in Ireland: Why did she and her mother sustain serious injuries while her father and brother, who sat in the front, emerge unscathed? 'It was a head-on crash and they were closest to the point of contact," said Kuhn, now 25, who missed a semester of college to recover from the 2019 collision that caused her seat belt to slide off her hips and rupture her intestines by pinning them against her spine. "That was an early clue that something else was going on.' When Kuhn returned home to Maine, she found an article her grandma had clipped from Consumer Reports and left on her bed. Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a frontal crash, she learned, yet the dummy used in vehicle tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dates back to the 1970s and is still modeled almost entirely off the body of a man. A survivor becomes an activist Kuhn, who is starting law school at New York University this fall, took action and founded the nonprofit Drive US Forward. Its aim was to raise public awareness and eventually encourage members of Congress to sign onto a bill that would require NHTSA to incorporate a more advanced female dummy into its testing. The agency has the final word on whether cars get pulled from the market, and the kind of dummy used in its safety tests could impact which ones receive coveted five-star ratings. 'It seems like we have an easy solution here where we can have crash test dummies that reflect an average woman as well as a man,' Sen. Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican who has introduced the legislation the past two sessions, told The Associated Press. Senators from both parties have signed onto Fischer's 'She Drives Act,' and the transportation secretaries from the past two presidential administrations have expressed support for updating the rules. But for various reasons, the push for new safety requirements has been moving at a sluggish pace. That's particularly true in the U.S., where much of the research is happening and where around 40,000 people are killed each year in car crashes. Evolution of a crash test dummy The crash test dummy currently used in NHTSA five-star testing is called the Hybrid III, which was developed in 1978 and modeled after a 5-foot-9, 171-pound man (the average size in the 1970s but about 29 pounds lighter than today's average). What's known as the female dummy is essentially a much smaller version of the male model with a rubber jacket to represent breasts. It's routinely tested in the passenger seat or the back seat but seldom in the driver's seat, even though the majority of licensed drivers are women. 'What they didn't do is design a crash test dummy that has all the sensors in the areas where a woman would be injured differently than a man,' said Christopher O'Connor, president and CEO of the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based Humanetics Group, which has spent more than a decade developing and refining one. A female dummy from Humanetics equipped with all of the available sensors costs around $1 million, about twice the cost of the Hybrid used now. But, O'Connor says, the more expensive dummy far more accurately reflects the anatomical differences between the sexes — including in the shape of the neck, collarbone, pelvis, and legs, which one NHTSA study found account for about 80% more injuries by women in a car crash compared to men. Such physical dummies will always be needed for vehicle safety tests, and to verify the accuracy of virtual tests, O'Connor said. Europe incorporated the more advanced male dummy developed by Humanetics' engineers, the THOR 50M (based on a 50th percentile man), into its testing procedures soon after Kuhn's 2019 crash in Ireland. Several other countries, including China and Japan, have adopted it as well. But that model and the female version the company uses for comparison, the THOR 5F (based on a 5th percentile woman), have been met with skepticism from some American automakers who argue the more sophisticated devices may exaggerate injury risks and undercut the value of some safety features such as seat belts and airbags. A debate over whether more sensors mean more safety Bridget Walchesky, 19, had to be flown to a hospital, where she required eight surgeries over a month, after a 2022 crash near her home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, that killed her friend, who was driving. While acknowledging the seat belt likely saved her life, Walchesky said some of the injuries — including her broken collarbone — were the result of it pinning her too tightly, which she views as something better safety testing focused on women could improve. 'Seat belts aren't really built for bodies on females,' Walchesky said. 'Some of my injuries, the way the force hit me, they were probably worsened.' The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group, said in a statement to the AP that the better way to ensure safety — which it called its top priority — is through upgrades to the existing Hybrid dummy rather than mandating a new one. 'This can happen on a faster timeline and lead to quicker safety improvements than requiring NHTSA to adopt unproven crash test dummy technology,' the alliance said. Humanetics' THOR dummies received high marks in the vehicle safety agency's early tests. Using cadavers from actual crashes to compare the results, NHTSA found they outperformed the existing Hybrid in predicting almost all injuries — including to the head, neck, shoulders, abdomen and legs. A separate review by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research arm funded by auto insurers, was far more critical of the dummy's ability to predict chest injuries in a frontal crash. Despite the vast expansion in the number of sensors, the insurance institute's testing found, the male THOR dummy was less accurate than the current Hybrid dummies, which also had limitations. 'More isn't necessarily better,' said Jessica Jermakian, senior vice president for vehicle research at IIHS. 'You also have to be confident that the data is telling you the right things about how a real person would fare in that crash." The slow pace of changing the rules NHTSA's budget plan commits to developing the female THOR 5F version with the ultimate goal of incorporating it into the testing. But there could be a long wait considering the THOR's male version adopted by other countries is still awaiting final approval in the U.S. A 2023 report by the Government Accountability Office, which conducts research for Congress, cited numerous 'missed milestones' in NHTSA's development of various crash dummy enhancements — including in the THOR models. Kuhn acknowledges being frustrated by the slow process of trying to change the regulations. She says she understands why there's reluctance from auto companies if they fear being forced to make widespread design changes with more consideration for women's safety. 'Fortunately, they have very skilled engineers and they'll figure it out,' she said. Jeff Mcmurray, The Associated Press
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kia EV4
One of the many remarkable things about Tesla is that so much of its growth has been built on a bodystyle that had seemingly long since gone out of fashion. The success the Tesla Model 3 has had as a fairly traditional – perhaps even old-fashioned – low saloon defies logic when every other car maker is packing its range full of crossovers and SUVs, backfilled by evergreen hatchbacks. There have been other electric saloons, most notably the BMW i4, but among a sea of electric crossovers and hatchbacks flooding the market, the number of true Model 3 rivals barely makes a puddle. The Kia EV4 is the brand's first electric saloon and, as a global model from a car maker with one of the industry's better electric car ranges in its breadth and quality, its big range and attractive price allow it to be considered a true Model 3 rival. 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The nearly flat floor really comes into its own in the saloon to make it all feel so light and spacious, particularly in the rear. The GT Line trim of our test car also brought with it some nice ribbed seat materials that act as a further point of difference and they're super-comfortable. More broadly, Kia has found a nice balance between technology and screens and physical switches and buttons, with the EV4's switchgear and major controls all sited in intuitive places. There is a pleasing heft and quality to everything too and the materials look and feel modern. The EV4 is a platform twin of the Kia EV3 and the two have very similar specs. It uses a 400V version of the firm's E-GMP architecture for electric vehicles (the larger Kia EV6 and Kia EV9 models use an 800V version) and is offered with either a or 81.4kWh battery. A front-mounted electric motor with 201bhp and 209lb ft powers both options and the 0-62mph time is between 7.4sec and 7.7sec, depending on the battery and bodystyle combination. The EV3 has a lot of objective qualities but to drive it lacks some sparkle. It doesn't do anything wrong; you're just looking for a bit more character. And that's what the EV4 provides – a bit more character – which is mostly a result of you sitting lower. Given the vast majority of electric cars are crossovers of one shape or size, it is a novelty at first to sit much lower in the EV4. It comes across as a bit racier and you feel more connected to the road than in the EV3. You can nip and dart around the traffic more and find more pleasure even in suburban traffic. The power delivery is just right and the accelerator pedal has a happy knack of knowing how much 'go' you're looking for. There are different driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport – and this is a rare mainstream EV where Sport mode does actually make it feel a bit sportier, rather than simply faster with more heft to the steering, sharper responses and more power from the motor. Our Korean test roads were flat and lacking in the kind of corners where you can really get to know the car. The ride was comfortable, more on the soft side than the firm, and the limits of grip were never reached. It still felt that it had more of an edge than the EV3, although not exactly transformative in character. The steering felt a bit springy and odd immediately off centre and it could have done with a more natural feel to it, yet it was precise enough and the EV4 proved an easy car to place. A different chassis tune will be given to European-spec EV4s so some of these impressions should be taken with a pinch of salt. The longest range on offer for the EV4 is from the saloon with the larger battery, which offers 391 miles. With the smaller battery, the EV4 saloon has a 267-mile range. In the hatchback, the small battery gives 255 miles and the larger battery 367 miles. These are all claimed figures. A DC fast charge from 10% to 80% takes around half an hour. The range is a real highlight of the EV4. We were getting an indicated 356 miles on a warm day over a route made up of largely of faster motorway driving. Its efficiency seems to be a notable improvement over the EV3's to that end. There's no pricing for the EV4 yet but it's expected to be priced and positioned alongside the EV3 and with the same trims, starting at around £36,000 for the Long Range model. The EV4 is a good electric car and a good car too. It has bold looks and an excellent interior – and it is some clever and more inspired chassis tuning away from being a car you'd recommend as much for the way it drives as the way it looks. The hatchback is inevitably going to be the stronger seller, but whatever that car ends up being, even on looks alone the saloon feels like a model in its own right rather than a derivative. However niche it may end up being, it is still one of the more notable and interesting additions to the electric car world. ]]>
Associated Press
20 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Crash dummies used in car safety tests are still modeled after men despite higher risks for women
Maria Weston Kuhn had one lingering question about the car crash that forced her to have emergency surgery during a vacation in Ireland: Why did she and her mother sustain serious injuries while her father and brother, who sat in the front, emerge unscathed? 'It was a head-on crash and they were closest to the point of contact,' said Kuhn, now 25, who missed a semester of college to recover from the 2019 collision that caused her seat belt to slide off her hips and rupture her intestines by pinning them against her spine. 'That was an early clue that something else was going on.' When Kuhn returned home to Maine, she found an article her grandma had clipped from Consumer Reports and left on her bed. Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a frontal crash, she learned, yet the dummy used in vehicle tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dates back to the 1970s and is still modeled almost entirely off the body of a man. A survivor becomes an activist Kuhn, who is starting law school at New York University this fall, took action and founded the nonprofit Drive US Forward. Its aim was to raise public awareness and eventually encourage members of Congress to sign onto a bill that would require NHTSA to incorporate a more advanced female dummy into its testing. The agency has the final word on whether cars get pulled from the market, and the kind of dummy used in its safety tests could impact which ones receive coveted five-star ratings. 'It seems like we have an easy solution here where we can have crash test dummies that reflect an average woman as well as a man,' Sen. Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican who has introduced the legislation the past two sessions, told The Associated Press. Senators from both parties have signed onto Fischer's 'She Drives Act,' and the transportation secretaries from the past two presidential administrations have expressed support for updating the rules. But for various reasons, the push for new safety requirements has been moving at a sluggish pace. That's particularly true in the U.S., where much of the research is happening and where around 40,000 people are killed each year in car crashes. Evolution of a crash test dummy The crash test dummy currently used in NHTSA five-star testing is called the Hybrid III, which was developed in 1978 and modeled after a 5-foot-9, 171-pound man (the average size in the 1970s but about 29 pounds lighter than today's average). What's known as the female dummy is essentially a much smaller version of the male model with a rubber jacket to represent breasts. It's routinely tested in the passenger seat or the back seat but seldom in the driver's seat, even though the majority of licensed drivers are women. 'What they didn't do is design a crash test dummy that has all the sensors in the areas where a woman would be injured differently than a man,' said Christopher O'Connor, president and CEO of the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based Humanetics Group, which has spent more than a decade developing and refining one. A female dummy from Humanetics equipped with all of the available sensors costs around $1 million, about twice the cost of the Hybrid used now. But, O'Connor says, the more expensive dummy far more accurately reflects the anatomical differences between the sexes — including in the shape of the neck, collarbone, pelvis, and legs, which one NHTSA study found account for about 80% more injuries by women in a car crash compared to men. Such physical dummies will always be needed for vehicle safety tests, and to verify the accuracy of virtual tests, O'Connor said. Europe incorporated the more advanced male dummy developed by Humanetics' engineers, the THOR 50M (based on a 50th percentile man), into its testing procedures soon after Kuhn's 2019 crash in Ireland. Several other countries, including China and Japan, have adopted it as well. But that model and the female version the company uses for comparison, the THOR 5F (based on a 5th percentile woman), have been met with skepticism from some American automakers who argue the more sophisticated devices may exaggerate injury risks and undercut the value of some safety features such as seat belts and airbags. A debate over whether more sensors mean more safety Bridget Walchesky, 19, had to be flown to a hospital, where she required eight surgeries over a month, after a 2022 crash near her home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, that killed her friend, who was driving. While acknowledging the seat belt likely saved her life, Walchesky said some of the injuries — including her broken collarbone — were the result of it pinning her too tightly, which she views as something better safety testing focused on women could improve. 'Seat belts aren't really built for bodies on females,' Walchesky said. 'Some of my injuries, the way the force hit me, they were probably worsened.' The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group, said in a statement to the AP that the better way to ensure safety — which it called its top priority — is through upgrades to the existing Hybrid dummy rather than mandating a new one. 'This can happen on a faster timeline and lead to quicker safety improvements than requiring NHTSA to adopt unproven crash test dummy technology,' the alliance said. Humanetics' THOR dummies received high marks in the vehicle safety agency's early tests. Using cadavers from actual crashes to compare the results, NHTSA found they outperformed the existing Hybrid in predicting almost all injuries — including to the head, neck, shoulders, abdomen and legs. A separate review by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research arm funded by auto insurers, was far more critical of the dummy's ability to predict chest injuries in a frontal crash. Despite the vast expansion in the number of sensors, the insurance institute's testing found, the male THOR dummy was less accurate than the current Hybrid dummies, which also had limitations. 'More isn't necessarily better,' said Jessica Jermakian, senior vice president for vehicle research at IIHS. 'You also have to be confident that the data is telling you the right things about how a real person would fare in that crash.' The slow pace of changing the rules NHTSA's budget plan commits to developing the female THOR 5F version with the ultimate goal of incorporating it into the testing. But there could be a long wait considering the THOR's male version adopted by other countries is still awaiting final approval in the U.S. A 2023 report by the Government Accountability Office, which conducts research for Congress, cited numerous 'missed milestones' in NHTSA's development of various crash dummy enhancements — including in the THOR models. Kuhn acknowledges being frustrated by the slow process of trying to change the regulations. She says she understands why there's reluctance from auto companies if they fear being forced to make widespread design changes with more consideration for women's safety. 'Fortunately, they have very skilled engineers and they'll figure it out,' she said.
