This is a naive analysis of the forces involved. Would you rather be hit by a semi-truck going 1mph or a bike going 28mph?
The semi truck won’t actually “hit” you. Not in a way where you’re imparted with it’s full kinetic energy.
The semi truck won’t actually “hit” you. Not in a way where you’re imparted with it’s full kinetic energy.
I'm actually not sure. The initial impact would hurt more with the bike, suggesting that perhaps momentum or something else proportional to velocity (not v^2) is a good heuristic there.
But if I tripped after impact, the bike would do no further damage to me and the semi would be ~1s away from killing me.