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NHTSA
Releases Study on Vehicle Weight, Safety
Weight reductions in
passenger cars, lighter vans, pickup trucks, and sport utility
vehicles (SUVs) increased the risk of fatal crash involvement,
a study by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has concluded. The
study of 1991-99 models also found that large four-door passenger
cars and minivans had the lowest fatality rates of all vehicle
types.
The study, done on
the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences, found
that:
- Modest (100-pound)
weight reductions in heavier (3,850 to 5,000 lbs.) light trucks
and vans (LTVs) had little net effect on crash fatalities.
- Modest weight reductions
in the heaviest LTVs (greater than 5,000 lbs.) were associated
with a reduction in fatalities in other vehicles.
- One hundred-pound
weight reductions in lighter LTVs and most passenger cars significantly
increased fatality risk.
- Large 4-door passenger
cars had the lowest fatal crash rates followed closely by minivans.
The highest fatal crash rate was observed in small 4-door cars,
mid-sized SUVs and compact pickup trucks.
Two factors accounted
for the difference in fatal crash rates between large passenger
cars (average weight 3,596 lbs.) and mid-sized SUVs (average weight
4,022 lbs.). Mid-sized SUVs were nine times as likely to involve
a rollover fatality and twice as likely to cause a fatality in
occupants of other vehicles. In non-rollover crashes, the fatality
rate for the occupants of SUVs and passenger cars of similar weight
was essentially equal.
The study examined
fatality data from 1995-2000 involving 1991-1999 model vehicles.
Researchers adjusted the data to account for differences in driver
age and gender, rural versus urban driving and other variables
such as nighttime driving.
The
full study is available for download on the ARC
Network web site (3,108KB
- PDF)
Return
to October 2003 Newsletter |
