[Physics] Acceleration of a car in a collision

accelerationcollisionforcesnewtonian-mechanics

For example because of newton law $F=ma$ force is acceleration times mass but if I go at a high constant velocity ($900\: \mathrm{miles/hour}$) in my car for examples I have $0$ acceleration but if I hit an obstacle by newton's law it will have no effect on me because $F=ma$ and mass of my car x 0 = 0

But if I do the experiment I will find that I actually hit the obstacle and it does an force on me why?

Best Answer

You're confusing the acceleration of your car with the acceleration in a collision. You actually have to look at it "backwards" from what you've described above.

That is, in the collision you don't do a $F = ma$ calculation where $a$ is the acceleration of your gas pedal. Instead in the collision you have a force $F$ resulting from the collision and you do $a = F/m$ to get the resulting acceleration your car is subjected to.