system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do rear end collisions cause so many injuries but 11,000 horsepower dragsters accelerating from a standstill cause no damage to the driver?
gpt
A dragster still accelerates at a relatively steady rate...it's \~4g average for a top fuel dragster, less than a typical rocket launch. The \*steadiness\* is key, as is the fact that the driver is ready for it and thoroughly strapped into a seat designed for it with a harness designed for it and their head against the headrest. There's very little motion of the body.

In a rear-end collision the acceleration can be much higher, on the order of 16g, because it's such a sudden impact, and your head generally isn't constrained...at the time of impact, it's free in space because we don't usually drive with our heads back against the headrest.