Found this series on flickr. DRLs and "Super Handling" didnt help this dude! lol

If you dont have a flicker account, I'm not sure if you can click 'all sizes' and see the hi-rez versions.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwr/524370877/

 

I don't have an account, and I could see it. Interesting piece of metel where the engine and tranny meet.

Just read the photographer's comments....."Not a ringing endorsement for Acura"?!?!?

What a moron!

 

can't really judge what happened by one pic. If it was driver error or someone t-boned him. It looks like the whip was t-boned by looking at crumple zone damage on the rear door there.

 

It appears that the B pillars did their job in supporting the 3935 lbs of car. Photo 5 shows that clearly. (The passenger door window frame looks bent mainly from forcing it open against the pavement.)

Also the side curtain airbags deployed properly, and for that matter, the Accord looks like it took the hit very well also. Ace body structure!

Wonder if it was a test drive...

 

To me, it didnt look like much damage on the Honda and I wondered how it rolled the Acura that easily. Hoping the RDX was swerving to avoid him when it impacted and it already had lateral G's working against it.

 

A bit of turtle wax and elbow grease, and that'll buff right out.

 

The NHTSA rollover Static Stability Factor for the RDX is 1.26; the formula is track/2xCG height. For an RDX mean track of 62.25" (fr 62.6/rr 61.9) then the CG height is 24.7"

A CG height of 24.7" is 1.5" below the molded crease in the doors.

The height of the Honda Accord bumper is 19". Assuming the Accord was pitching down under hard braking the bumper probably struck at a height of 17". This corresponds to the greatest deformation at the bottom of the door where the plastic trim piece is missing.

Half of the RDX weight, or 1968 lbs is above the CG. The impact of 3400 lbs 7.7" below the RDX CG imparted a rolling moment that was a factor of the Accord's speed. Obviously the speed was sufficient.

Higher CG is an unavoidable drawback of the higher ride height SUVs enjoy. I saw a Ford Expedition rolled by side impact from a compact car.

However, consider this:

The Honda Accord CG height is 21.5" (SSF 1.42 @ 61.2" track). Had the Accord struck another Accord 4.5" below the CG, with enough speed, that Accord would roll as well.

The Honda S2000 CG height is 18.7". Even an S2000 would have been struck 1.7" below the CG. Sufficient striking energy would roll an S2000.

 

Looks to me like the Acura ran thru that intersection, was either going straight across the Accord's path, or taking a left turn into (or thru) the Accords lane of travel, which, when the RDX was struck the left turn would influence the RDX to roll over even more so.