WATCH: Concrete blocks and BMW meet at 150 km/h

With recent reports having made reference to a possible lowering of South Africa’s maximum speed from 120 km/h, a video has emerged showing what transpires when the V-max is exceeded by a considerable margin.

Initiated by French YouTube channel, Vilebrequin, the video shows an E39 generation diesel-powered BMW 5 Series Touring being rocketed into 72 concreate blocks at 150 km/h, more than twice the speed Euro NCAP and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in North America tests vehicles in their respective crash test evaluations.

Video: Impact of note

Unlike the mentioned assessment bodies though, the stripped-out 5 Series substitutes crash test dummies for a remote control system connected to the accelerator and steering, and in place of the dummies and a driver, a camera connected to a Virtual Reality headset.

Reportedly, a top speed of 200 km/h was being aimed for, but ultimately, only 150 km/h could be obtained from the oil-burning 5 Series that had an alleged 650 000km on the clock.

Using the VR headrest, a runway and the safety of a Tesla Model S chase car, the end result is unsurprisingly shocking and most likely an eye-opener as little of the 5 Series’ front-end remains after the impact.

ALSO READ: Speed limits review: Lack of training in law enforcement

Similar to past experiments conducted by British motoring show Fifth Gear, the most famous being a Smart ForTwo crashed into a cement guardrail and a Ford Focus at 193 km/h, the mangled 5 Series rates as a clear warning for speedsters or drivers intent on going over the limit “just to see what will happen”.

For South Africa…

As is well known by now, most vehicles’ speedometers are out by roughly seven percent, while the “speed over” tolerance level stands at 10 km/h.

According to AutoTrader, a 30 km/h speed limit breach in suburban areas is sufficient enough for a criminal prosecution, with a 40 km/h surpassing applying to urban areas and the highway.

As per the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offenses, or AARTO, speeding fines are dealt with as follows based on the limited being exceeded:

• 11 km/h – 15 km/h: R250 – 0 demerit points
• 16 km/h – 20 km/h: R500 – 1 demerit point
• 21 km/h – 25 km/h: R750 – 2 demerit points
• 26 km/h – 30 km/h: R1 000 – 3 demerit points
• 31 km/h – 35 km/h: R1 250 – 4 demerit points
• 36 km/h – 40 km/h: R 1500 – 5 demerit points
• More than 40 km/h: Court – 6 demerit points

Additional information from carscoops.com.