What is the primary factor that can kill during an impact?

The primary factor that can be lethal during an impact is force. Force is a combination of the mass of an object and the acceleration it experiences, most often due to the speed at which it is traveling at the time of the collision. The greater the force at the moment of impact, the more severe the potential injuries or fatalities can be.

In a traffic context, this means that as a vehicle accelerates, not only does its speed increase, but the force generated during a crash also rises significantly. This is governed by Newton's second law of motion, which states that force equals mass times acceleration. Therefore, high-speed collisions tend to result in much greater force and consequently more serious consequences for those involved.

While speed, weight, and distance all contribute to the dynamics of a crash, it is the force generated at the moment of impact that is most critical in understanding the potential for fatality and injury. Speed increases force, weight contributes to the overall force of the collision, and distance can affect the outcome of an impact, but force is the key factor in the context of the injury severity resulting from a crash.