Test designed to explore vehicle velocity impact with utility poles
BY JEAN JACQUES BOHL
Last Saturday around 12:15 p.m., Wood River High School physics and robotics students conducted a real-life “mythbusters” type experiment by crashing a Ford van traveling 55 miles per hour into a utility pole in Slaughterhouse Canyon in Bellevue.
The pole sheared off, causing significant damage to the van and indicating that passengers in the van, particularly those in the back seats, could have been killed or seriously injured. Test results showed that the back seats could be more vulnerable because the sheared-off pole crashed onto the van, partially crushing the rear section.
Chris Cey, physics teacher at Wood River High School, explained that the experiment was intended to explore a commonly held belief that it’s safer for a vehicle to hit a utility pole at a high rate of speed rather than at a lower rate of speed because at higher speed the impact would be lessened if the pole sheared off.
Test results showed that it is not a good idea to make that assumption.
The test, while deemed a success, did not go entirely as planned. Students intended the van be moving at 45 mph when it hit the pole; however, a glitch in the speed system, attributed to a faulty police radar reading, had the van moving at 55 mph upon impact.
Cey said he was extremely pleased with the test since the experiment had originated with his applied physics students.
“This is an opportunity for a real-world learning project,” Cey said. “A true project-based learning, taking education to the next level with real results as an outcome.”
The test took place about a mile up Slaughterhouse Canyon in Bellevue. All south Valley law enforcement agencies were on hand as well as the Bellevue and Hailey fire departments. The Blaine County School District provided shuttle buses for onlookers, which numbered about 60.
Cey said the test cost about $1,700. Sun Valley Auto Club assisted with the funding by selling a donated car for $1,000. The Blaine County Education Foundation contributed $700 for technical and mechanical costs.
The Hailey Fire Department donated the van, while Idaho Power provided a standard class 3 utility pole. Wood River High School engineering teacher Kevin Lupton’s robotics students constructed the equipment needed to drive the van via remote control.
Juniors Joseph Anderson and Kevin Browder designed and built most of the equipment.
Cey explained that the project had its origins two years ago during State Highway 75 road construction south of Ketchum when students became alarmed over how close newly installed utility poles were to the highway. He said that concern raised the question of safety versus vehicle speed upon impact with a pole.
Cey said plans are already underway for a similar test next year, with a different remotely controlled van hitting another pole at a speed in the range of 35-40 mph.