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Is there any actual data that shows there is correlation between the mass of vehicles and number of people killed? Obviously heavier cars are more deadly when

Is there any actual data that shows there is correlation between the mass of vehicles and number of people killed? Obviously heavier cars are more deadly when hitting people with all the other variables fixed, but not all these variables are independent. They could also depend on the weight of the cars. For example, maybe the car becomes easier to control/steer when it's heavier (totally made up point), which counters the inherent risk introduced by the weight. Without real-world data I won't be too quick to say heavier car is more dangerous.

toomuchtodo 5y ago
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/808569 https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/...
- thrdbndndn 5y ago
  Thanks for the link! I'll post the conclusion for the light trucks weight reduction part (fatalities part, there is also non-serious injuries part in the paper) here as TL;DR for other people. Reducing the mass of light trucks would significantly increase the fatality risk of their occupants in collisions with objects and big trucks. But downsizing of light trucks would significantly reduce risk to pedestrians, motorcyclists and, above all, passenger car occupants. There would be little effect on rollovers because, historically, there has been little correlation between the mass of light trucks and their rollover stability (width relative to center-of-gravity height). There would also be little change in collisions between two light trucks, if both trucks are reduced in mass. Even though the effect of mass reductions is statistically significant in four of the six types of crashes, the net effect for all types of crashes combined is small, because some of the individual effects are positive and others are negative. The benefits of truck downsizing for pedestrians and car occupants could more than offset the fatality increase for light truck occupants. It is estimated that a 100-pound reduction could result in a modest net savings of 40 lives, (0.26 percent of baseline fatalities). However, this estimate is not statistically significant, the 2-sigma confidence bounds range from a savings of 100 to an increase of 20 fatalities; the 3-sigma bounds range from a savings of 130 to an increase of 50 fatalities. It is concluded that a reduction in the weight of light trucks would have a negligible overall effect, but if there is an effect, it is most likely a modest reduction of fatalities
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
sjg007 5y ago
There are millions of F150s. If you get into an accident what is the probability it is with an F150? Or an SUV or something bigger that requires a commercial driving license. We also know that speed kills and people are driving faster today than ever before.

toomuchtodo 5y ago

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/808569 https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/...

thrdbndndn 5y ago
Thanks for the link! I'll post the conclusion for the light trucks weight reduction part (fatalities part, there is also non-serious injuries part in the paper) here as TL;DR for other people. Reducing the mass of light trucks would significantly increase the fatality risk of their occupants in collisions with objects and big trucks. But downsizing of light trucks would significantly reduce risk to pedestrians, motorcyclists and, above all, passenger car occupants. There would be little effect on rollovers because, historically, there has been little correlation between the mass of light trucks and their rollover stability (width relative to center-of-gravity height). There would also be little change in collisions between two light trucks, if both trucks are reduced in mass. Even though the effect of mass reductions is statistically significant in four of the six types of crashes, the net effect for all types of crashes combined is small, because some of the individual effects are positive and others are negative. The benefits of truck downsizing for pedestrians and car occupants could more than offset the fatality increase for light truck occupants. It is estimated that a 100-pound reduction could result in a modest net savings of 40 lives, (0.26 percent of baseline fatalities). However, this estimate is not statistically significant, the 2-sigma confidence bounds range from a savings of 100 to an increase of 20 fatalities; the 3-sigma bounds range from a savings of 130 to an increase of 50 fatalities. It is concluded that a reduction in the weight of light trucks would have a negligible overall effect, but if there is an effect, it is most likely a modest reduction of fatalities
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

sjg007 5y ago

There are millions of F150s. If you get into an accident what is the probability it is with an F150? Or an SUV or something bigger that requires a commercial driving license. We also know that speed kills and people are driving faster today than ever before.