[SomeRandomer123]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

A BMW test driver was killed in an accident that took place on the Autobahn while the man was behind the wheel of a 3-Series hybrid prototype.

The crash took place on September 21 on the A92 in the proximity of the carmaker’s Dingolfing factory. The driver was involved in a series of high-speed test for the hybrid 3er, with the car passing some trucks at a high rate of speed. One of the trucks in front of the car entered the latter’s lane, with the driver quickly swinging the car to the right in order to try and avoid the crash.

Unfortunately, the BMW went into the rear of the truck’s trailer. The impact was extremely violent and the driver was instantly killed - he was the only one in the car, so at least there are no other casualties. The authorities closed the A92 for a few hours and are now studying the evidence in order to complete the investigation.

Source: Autoevolution

[ƒ°]

[justinnum1]

holy shit

[Maz335i]

OMG...this sucks!

My thoughts go out to his family...

[chrisny]

Why on earth would a high speed test be done on any public road, instead of a controlled environment?? That sucks.

[SomeRandomer123]

Originally Posted by chrisny

Why on earth would a high speed test be done on any public road, instead of a controlled environment?? That sucks.

Maybe it was of his own accord...

Very sad either way.

I've not seen a wreck like that for a long time and it could've been so much worse for others, such as the fire-fighters, if those lithium batteries became unstable and/or caught fire.

[Honker]

Very sad. Condolences to drivers family.

What happened to the doors? All I see is the drivers side rear door. All other doors are gone. I assume they cut the roof off to get to the driver, but would they cut off the other 3 doors also or did the impact send them flying?

[PlannBee]

Wow. What a douche bag truck driver.

[Canyon Carver]

No matter how safe the car is, you hit something like that at speed, no car will protect you...very sad and tragic.

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

Wow!

[M3 Piotr]

Originally Posted by PlannBee

Wow. What a douche bag truck driver.

They cut you off on purpose...slow drivers see a car flying in the left lane and they move in to "pass" a car in front of them, but they only do it at about 5mph faster than the car they are passing. A lot of times you are right on their rear and they just move over into your lane. There is a lot of jealousy because you drive nicer faster car....

[BMWI6]

Is it me or do the roof pillars on the new BMW's seem weaker than in previous generations? I saw another 5 series accident where the roof caved in, this never happened in BMW's before. Im not saying whether this was a survivable accident or not, they just look weaker for whatever reason. You can even see it on the new crash test videos.

[Gjm127]

Still don't get why they do high-speed test runs on public roads. The car still isn't approved by testing and they go doing these tests in public putting people's lives in danger.

Feel very sad for the driver and his family.

That crash was horrible btw. The car's a complete mess. I didn't think any impact could cause the car to be in such shape after a public collision. Interesting to see what BMW does after this. It surprises me now that the 3er won ''safest car of the year'' a couple months ago.

[anerbe]

Originally Posted by chrisny

Why on earth would a high speed test be done on any public road, instead of a controlled environment?? That sucks.

Public road testing is part of all vehicle's validation process. This will include KM's on the Autobahn with no speed limits. Unfortunately, it's the occasional misjudgement of drivers that cause such accidents (whether the truck driver totally missed the 3 series when passing, or the test driver was driving past traffic at too high a speed).

When in Germany, I'll open the car up on wide open parts of the Autobahn, but I definitely slow down as I approach cars that occupy the next lane. You never know what the other driver is thinking.

Although you can put countless KM's on a car in close tracks, the auto industry relies heavily in longer term field testing. Should an auto company not be allowed to test a new braking or cruise control system in public, and just release it to the market?

[BMWFreaky]

R.I.P BMW test driver.
is the F30 save enough ? I think so
b.t.w I think that the fire-fighters had to cut the doors and the roof off to get to the dirver

[E90PAT]

DAMN!!

[Grumpy514]

Wow that is terrible, i wonder how fast he was going.

RIP.

[kokopuffs405]

[InTheDarkster]

RIP... prayers for him and family...

[avsbmw]

wow so sad

[LemonOne]

Now we know the F30 3 series Hybrid cost 1 human life.
Sad day for BMW.

[L8*Apex]

First, thoughts go out to the family and friends of the driver killed.
Second, to those speculating the doors did not "fly off". They were cut off as well as the roof by the emergency responders. It's common practice to get to the occupants of a vehicle. Also, there is nothing wrong with BMW pillars. There is not a car currently made that would withstand the amount of energy absorbed in this crash without massive damage. Nor is there a human body that can absorb it.
Being a firefighter myself its actually kind of sad to see these pictures because I know what this person looked like. This is essentially a death scene and unfortunate that its being pasted on the Internet. You probably wouldn't want your mom or dads moment of death pictured for the unwashed masses to speculate over. Disrespectful to the dead.
Peace to his family in the difficult years ahead.