Americans love their big vehicles. Massive SUVs and pickup trucks bully the sensible sedan. However, regardless of where you call home, mass is mass. Tragically, a harrowing social media video shows just how deadly a large commercial truck can be when it has a nasty crash with a small, economy hatchback. 

A video on social media shows the deadly impact of mass in a crash when two large trucks obliterate a small hatchback

Safety ratings are important. Ratings from agencies like the NHTSA, IIHS, and EuroNCAP help car buyers make informed decisions based on the safety standards of their intended vehicle. However, a five-star rating or Top Safety Pick+ rating won’t stop a large, heavy truck from causing serious damage.

In a social media video, a white hatchback queues up just behind a cement truck and its roller. Now, these trucks are heavy. Real heavy. A fully loaded cement transport can weigh well over 60,000 lbs. To add to the deadly setup, a box truck pulls up behind the little economy car. Unfortunately, the box truck has difficulty stopping, rear-ending the tiny hatchback.

The force of the impact sends the little car into the cement truck. However, the real devastation came as the box truck continued moving, crushing the hatchback under the rear of the cement truck where American commercial vehicles would typically have a “Mansfield bar.” The bar, the namesake of the late Jayne Mansfield, was intended to prevent the tragic events that led to her death. Mansfield bar or not, the force of a box truck flattening a sub-3,000-lb hatchback into a cement truck is insurmountable. 

It might seem obvious, but even with modern safety technology, larger vehicles are more survivable in devastating crashes. Karl Brauer, an executive analyst at iSeeCars, acknowledges that a smaller car can only do so much. “It’s difficult to overcome physics, even with high-strength steel and airbags,” Brauer said. 

“When two small cars collide the forces are equalized and both vehicles tend to hold up well,” Brauer said of small cars and crashes. “But if a compact hatchback and a full-size pickup truck try to occupy the same space at the same time, the smaller car always loses.”

Check out the video of the frightening crash below!