Exactly!  The bumper just has to collapse at the
proper rate for a high speed crash.  Some University
showed an experiment where mechanical engineering
students were trying to keep an egg on a falling
platform from breaking when it hit the ground.  No
amount of cushioning under the egg kept it from
breaking.  The egg (just like a person) acquired too
much velocity to survive when it stopped suddenly even
against a soft pillow surface.  A couple of tin cans
with their ends cut out when mounted under the
platform did the trick,  because they collapsed along
their long dimension absorbing the energy so the egg
didn't have to.  I feel frustrated sometimes because
it seems like the principles of making a car safer are
well known.  Unfortunately it would take some clever
mechanical design to figure out how to incorporate
structures like those tin cans in front of the
vanagon.

Rob

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