Crash Test Month: Crashing Into A Tree At 55mph 

I worked as a volunteer Firefighter. In accident like this, high speed collisions into solid objects like rock or trees - the carnage is insane. My first fatal accident call still haunts me to this day. This guy and his wife hit a rock wall at 100 km/hr. His left eyeball had popped out and all of his teeth were broken and part of his rib cage was sticking through his shirt. That's the sheer force. Your body is still moving forward when you hit that object - so his organs and bones literally moved forward at the same speed and when they arrested - essentially they were crushed. I guess the only blessing in that accident was that death was nearly instant. His wife died as well, but she didn't look fatally injured. I got sick to my stomach. Someone has to actually collect the eyeball and broken teeth so the coroner has it and the mortician have them. In accidents like that, the casket is closed. The even more insane thing is I faced accident scenarios just like this where people lived. But we are working in -10 weather with the jaws of life trying to pry open a door and get some leverage to get the person out and warm. All I can say is DRIVE SAFE. Be vigilant and assume every driver around you isn't on the same level as you. Don't follow to closely and drive for appropriate conditions. Most of the accidents I got to see and work were human error based. Speed and losing control of a vehicle. Remember, you are locked inside a 4000 pound metal shell that can crush extremely easily with the right force. Some of the cars surprised me. One sports car with carbon fibre in it, it took a blast from a Ford 150 to the passenger side and it was still running - the Ford was destroyed. Do as much as you can as a driver to mitigate your risks. No phone, no eating, pay attention. Pull over somewhere if you are drowsy. I implore people to listen to this message and remember that you probably are not driving a 5 star safety rating car either. And NO a Hummer H2 will not save your life. A real Hummer would. But one of the worst fatalities I have ever seen was in an H2. Bigger vehicle doesn't mean more protection. It actually just means more carnage.

Should have attached a Nokia to the front of that car. Tree would have been reduced to a pile of sawdust and the car would have kept on going.

"Well the door can still op-" *Car Explodes*

Take that GTA haters. Trees are almost indestructable. Boom.

That's pretty amazing how well that car held up considering it was going 55 mph. Both doors opened and none of the windows broke. I've seen cars crumble like a soda can after wrecking at much slower speeds.

did anyone else notice the airbag explosion

protip: don't drive into trees

Trees seem to be the worst thing you can hit.

4:14 when the cops wake yo ass up on the side of the freeway and ask how much you've had to smoke

Why were they using a pulley system when they could have used Chris Evans as driver?

I'm an owner of a Laguna like this. Seems to me, its one of the safest places on earth...

i would like to see the same style of test with a 1 star car

If this was Top Gear, the car and the tree both probably would have exploded at some point. lol But seriously, damn what an impact.

This crash is probably the perfect illustration of how decelerating forces could be fatal.

I find it very hard to believe that average speeds on UK country roads is 55mph. It's hard enough to even reach those speeds on most country roads, let alone sustain them. Either way, that passenger cell was very impressive, almost no deformation. Well done renault.

so, cars should be built from..... trees?

Reminds me of how lucky I am... I did the same at 70mph.. the sound on that first clip, the snap bang just stuns me

I love how they have to state the tree is dead and was due to be chopped down so nature activists don't start crying 😂

I like crash tests.

4:26 what's going on with his finger? 😂

0:20 whoever drove that saab definitely survived.

This just brought back a bad flashback. I was going 35 on a 45mph road. Nice August day. The road was poorly laid out. It has a small but very ramp-like bump in it right before a turn. On the edge of the road...a powerline/telephone pole. I was driving like normal and my powersteering unit went out either right before, or right on the bump in my 95 Eclipse. 35mph literally chopped the pole in half and tapped a tree. My engine was basically 2 feet away from my lap. How I'm alive and uninjured, I have no clue.

I love you Laguna

Alma tunnel in Paris brought me here. Oh, roads like this is EVERYWHERE, one is right next to my home!! Hitting a tree is just as fatal as hitting an exposed concrete pillar.

Finally, I can see how my grandfather passed away, years ago on Christmas Eve. He was a good man, but I feel so sad, because this is how he went, except he ran into a telephone pole. The narrator was correct, as well, he did go unnoticed, as he then spun off into a desolate field.

Very informative. Thank you for the inspiration. Will be experiencing this first hand soon as research for a project. One concern I have is death. How many G forces is deadly, and did the people in this experience end up living to tell the tale? Thanks again!

I think that Reanault builds a safest cars. In that speed both door opened. Amazing

This is so interesting yet sad to watch! It’s amazing that u guys are able to test these things. My cousin was travelling on a private dirt road going to my brothers house when she was going a little bit to fast and didn’t turn quick enough and went straight down the little slope into a big tree! Thankfully her two little girls came out fine except the 2 year old had broke her thumb. But thing that gets me is that my cousin, she did not come out alive! Breaks my heart everyday that a small mistake made a massive loss! Emily ❤️ u will be missed and never forgotten and always loved and your little babies are safe and will grow old so you can look down and be proud! Also apparently if she did survive she would have had a lot of bruises and a broken arm but sadly the head trauma was no match for her 💔 love u and miss u everyday beautiful and tbh idk who I am without you 💕

great crash test, hitting trees or strongly fixed metal poles at high speed is some of the worst things you can hit. If you hit a tree or a metal pole sideways at any higher speed than 40 km/h even in S-class mercedes (a very safe car) can easily be fatal.

Great safety car,the Renault Laguna

This happens in all Renault built between 1997-2005. The airbag explodes (for a short period) when an accident occurs, it happens in the Renault Espace and some Megane I saw getting crashed tested at 80km/h (50mph).

So Mr Beast isn't helping us by planting 20 million trees, he is just increasing our death rate?

Wow............ Thanks for the video. THUMBS UP :D

4:44 If it were a Brazilian car you would be able to join the corners of the REAR bumper. Cars in Brazil are just like beer cans.

Most beautiful,most reliable car i ever had,look at the Crash test,this car is strong as hell,and look at the body,its just amaizing,i brought new Laguna in 2002 year,i am havin 12 years in my ownership,and i didnt had any issues except the service terminals,most beatiful,comfortable,and safest,they can beat any car on the road about safety and performance in the range...

god I was in an accident like that. going 60 down a dirt road and my friend lost control of the car. we hit a tree head on. this video made me feel panicked lol but I kept watching

the laguna II its the first can in the world with 5 star,really safe car!!!!

I drive the Grandtour Version of this.....Good to know how strong this car is!

GREAT RENAULT LAGUNA 2 ( 2001-2007 ) . it proove that french cars are solid even at 55 mph vs a tree ... i remenber another video renault modus vs a volvo 940 and the winner was renault modus but nobody wanted to believe it . now you fith gear proove that renault is very solid .

I love these kind of videos

Car crashes into him..... Tree: “i have become death, destroyer of worlds”

"1 in 500 driving decisions are wrong"... you've never been to the United States lol

Very educative!

I drove off of the road last night and went into a ditch at like 45mph then crashed into a tree. I thought I was gonna die before I blacked out and crashed bUt I somehow only got banged up knees and a bruised collarbone and sternum thank god...I was alone for half an hour crying and waiting for anyone to show up bc I was in the dead ass woods outside of town

Them dummy's were high af seen hella clouds come out when he opened the door

I really hope the car manufacturers see this

Considering the impact energies involved id say the car did pretty damm well. Defiantly survivable

You guys need to do this again, I can't find anymore car crash vids. I've seen em all

"it's dead and due to be chopped." *next scene* Tree is alive, it's just winter...

4:55 there's a explosion at the passenger airbag

Fences, lines and other improvements save lives. But what they also do is cost money. Speed cameras on the other hand make them. The government will always prefere more revenue. They don't actually want you to stop speeding. If you did, the cameras wouldn't generate profit. To make them focus on saving lives, municipalities and government agencies must be stripped of the revenue. Whoever issues a fine must never be allowed to keep the money.

Our "country roads" in the United States have speed limits of 25-30 mph for a reason. Our interstates/highways have 50-65 mph speed limits, which is unsuitable for small unprotected roads.

6:21 you can hear the real crash sound

guess ill need to go 120 kmh to make sure

Anything that isnt moving makes a greater risk for a fatal accident, if you hit it. when you have a head on collision with another car the other car absorbs some of the impact, and if your in the heavier car the other one gets pushed away

5 star Acura MDX would probably save me, side airbags, collision warnings and Intelligent braking, speed sensors and lane departure warnings as well as airbags that go around your chest.

3:34. the trees last second...

Like I say... In car versus tree battle. The tree always wins.

I just discovered this show today... I don't usually watch tv and this is highly interesting.

My sister was going 70mph, had a seizure and crashed into a tree....she didn't make it. 3 week ago today.

3:34 I'm afraid you've failed sir

1:11 take me home

I was just watching a video where a gamer was complaining about trees stop cars. "How can a tree stop a car." The video said. "The car driving should plow right through the tree." People who play computer games believe it, and when confronted with the truth, they blame reality. "Some one should chane that. That's not right." They say. Yes reality is wrong.

“YOU… SHALL NOT… PASS!!!” 🌲

Needed a cable pulling it...... woulda probably broken down before impact. Poor tree by the way.........

Am I the only one who feels really sorry for that poor tree?

Some shocking stats there!

love the use of gustav holst

Very good,Renault Laguna.

Damn, how strong car :S

know years ago but you can tell the airbags were sufficient but they still hit the hard structure like the steering wheel and dash

Forgot telephone poles. Seen tons of cars split right in half by those

55 mph on a country road? That seems way too fast for me

am i the only one that felt bad for the tree? lol

DUDE THAT IMPACT ECHO!

That tree was like... *i killed you while i was dead* **Tree puts on sunglasses**

Kids in Africa could have eaten that tree..

“In the name of science” More like physics

My state (South Carolina) has horrible roads. To the point were running off the road would likely get you killed. Our roads are the lowest quality roads in the whole county if I’m correct. It’s a absolute nightmare.

I'm impressed at how the Leguna did. I swear that I watched this same video before but the car did not do well to protect the passengers.

Mother Nature loves trees, cars not so much.

For 1080p, this is awful quality. You guys REALLY need to invest in some decent cameras.

Amazing structure

I have survived a head on tree accident at 75 mph and it's quite interesting to see how brutal it looks from the outside , honestly still don't know how I survived only sustaining minor injuries that without a seatbelt the force is unimaginable

I checked the passengers and they looked liked dummies

I think it would be useful if car manufacturers would install some collision detection device for if when some one does crash the police is notified (if there is a thing like that then sorry car noob)

I'm not a tree hugger, but hey.. that tree don't look dead, it's fall, the leaves are shriveled.

Thank you fifth gear

Trees don't fuck around.

Hey Fifth Gear....Do you´ve got the alloy wheels? I want them so much :D :D :D Please send them to me... Thank you :D :D :D

It's quite amazing how strong trees are, the car would have gone through a house wall easily.

My young uncle died in a mysterious accident where he was on a bypass (mini motorway); he was driving at 55mph and his car veered off the road and plunged into a tree..most damage was on drivers side. He died on the scene. And this video replayed his accident.. ha must have been terrified :( what an impact :(

but was the motor running or not, because in this type of accident, even if the car is a 5 star and you survive that kind of impact, maybe there will be a fire or an explosion wich still can kill the passengers !!!

"Where that 5.5 billion road tax is spent" It's not road tax for starters.

ah hell come to south carolina in the us. its like russian roulette every time you go through the dam state

Not planting any trees in the vicinity of roady would reduce the risk of hitting a tree by roughly 100%. Here in Germany, its either hitting a tree or a truck crashing into the end of a traffic jam. Yet, I still dont understand, why they still plant trees just a few feet away from new country roads. Within 20 years, they form a tunnel, and will grow so close to the road, that they force the traffic to drive more towards the center thus increasing the risk for collision. And if that is not the case - EVERY driver who loses control ( it doesnt matter whether it is due to using a phone, driving under influence, over speeding ... or just stupidity or technical failure) These are all deaths which could be prevented to the cost of avoiding to plant new trees. Every accident on these roads, no matter how large or old the tree is - Is to a rate of at least 3/4 lethal.

So typical coutry road speed is 55mph? thats like 90kmh lol this test is insane

Poor tree like if you agree

Tree: “..Yall hear sumn?”

Like how he says "that would give a headache" ..... Ye sure just a headache 😂