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While driving to work today, in my midsize car, I narrowly avoided a head on collision with a Lincoln Navigator. After my heart rate dropped to a reasonable rate, I began to think about what would have happened had we collided. We were both travelling at about 50 MPH, but I have no doubt my car would have been totalled, while the Navigator would have sustained far less damage.
The reason is obvious, while our speed was the same, the Navigator had far more mass and that extra mass would have shifted the energy from the collision into my car. So, following that logic, if I find myself in a similar situation, albeit one where I will not be able to avoid the collision; should I speed up so that my extra speed offsets the SUV's mass? Is this a rational thought? Obviously were I going to hit a brick wall or something like that, that would not give, speeding up would be a terrible idea; but if I hit a vehicle that will give in the right circumstances, does it make sense to speed up? I ask this in theoretical terms and in a situation where my own self-preservation trumps all other concerns.
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