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If you are on highways, being in a small car is a safety risk, especially if the other cars on the highway are bigger. I rented extensively when I was in manag

If you are on highways, being in a small car is a safety risk, especially if the other cars on the highway are bigger. I rented extensively when I was in management consulting and put 30k miles annually driving home on weekends. I can be a safe driver, but i'm also put at risk by other drivers who are not safe drivers. In those cases, you want physics working for you. A more detailed answer: https://qr.ae/pNyaFd https://qr.ae/pNyaFd

ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago
Non-minified link: https://www.quora.com/Are-smaller-cars-necessarily-more-dangerous https://www.quora.com/Are-smaller-cars-necessarily-more-dang...
ChuckNorris89 6y ago
So basically it's an arms race and we should keep arming ourselves with ever increasing cars to stay safe until we ourselves become a 'danger' to others? I feel super unsafe cycling in cities next to giant cars with poor visibility. I get your safety concerns but why for the highway? There are no cars coming from the other direction so accident risk is pretty small. At least in Europe accident are way more common in cities then on high speed Autobahns.
- TuringNYC 6y ago
  In most cities where I have been, there is traffic congestion and speeds are usually low, most accidents are fender-benders. It is inconvenient to get into bumps, but not life-threatening. On highways, at least in the US, the average speed is 65-70mph. You'll see some drivers doing 90 or more regularly. At 90mph, if you are in a compact car, if a truck or SUV hits you, there is a high chance of major injury or death. You are right there are no cars coming from the other direction, but i've seen cars get bumped from the back, then spin. I've seen cars bumped from the corner by a driver who clearly did not check their blind spot, and the small car spins. The small car is at a huge disadvantage, especially in the US where there are massive trucks and SUVs all over the highway. There is also bullying by bigger cars/trucks on highways where they expect small cars to get out of the way and/or drive defensively.

ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago

Non-minified link: https://www.quora.com/Are-smaller-cars-necessarily-more-dangerous https://www.quora.com/Are-smaller-cars-necessarily-more-dang...

ChuckNorris89 6y ago

So basically it's an arms race and we should keep arming ourselves with ever increasing cars to stay safe until we ourselves become a 'danger' to others? I feel super unsafe cycling in cities next to giant cars with poor visibility. I get your safety concerns but why for the highway? There are no cars coming from the other direction so accident risk is pretty small. At least in Europe accident are way more common in cities then on high speed Autobahns.

TuringNYC 6y ago
In most cities where I have been, there is traffic congestion and speeds are usually low, most accidents are fender-benders. It is inconvenient to get into bumps, but not life-threatening. On highways, at least in the US, the average speed is 65-70mph. You'll see some drivers doing 90 or more regularly. At 90mph, if you are in a compact car, if a truck or SUV hits you, there is a high chance of major injury or death. You are right there are no cars coming from the other direction, but i've seen cars get bumped from the back, then spin. I've seen cars bumped from the corner by a driver who clearly did not check their blind spot, and the small car spins. The small car is at a huge disadvantage, especially in the US where there are massive trucks and SUVs all over the highway. There is also bullying by bigger cars/trucks on highways where they expect small cars to get out of the way and/or drive defensively.