4 ms·

The article has linked large cars to increased fatalities without even offering an idea as to how they're related. Why are larger cars more fatal? Is it the hoo

The article has linked large cars to increased fatalities without even offering an idea as to how they're related. Why are larger cars more fatal? Is it the hood being higher off the ground? Increased mass leading to lower maneuverability?

vlunkr 4y ago
They are taller and heavier. I don't know about the studies or numbers, but just imagine that you are walking, biking, or driving a small car, and you are hit by a small car vs. a truck or SUV. The location and force of impact is very different in all those cases.
yndoendo 4y ago
E = mc^2. The bigger the vehicle the more mass the more force and time needed to come to a safe stop. More force on impact to the driver and pedestrians.
- causality0 4y ago
  I believe you mean e=1/2mv^2. Einstein's mass-energy equivence formula doesn't have much to do with the kinetic energy of being hit by a truck.
  - brucethemoose2 4y ago
    Unless the truck is fast enough to spontaneously trigger nuclear reactions. Or fast enough to have a nontrivial mass from pure kinetic energy (though I think the nuclear reactions would start happening well before then).
    - dtgriscom 4y ago
      https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
- dtgriscom 4y ago
  Big does not have to mean slow to stop; you just have bigger brakes (and since they're power, the force doesn't matter). Once the vehicle::pedestrian mass is high enough, a higher ratio won't change the kinematics much. And how are you thinking that a driver of a big vehicle is more at risk than that of a small one? And, Einstein has nothing to do with it.
antognini 4y ago
A big factor is the height of the hood. When a smaller car hits a pedestrian, the hood is usually at or slightly under the pedestrian's center of mass, so the person will often roll up onto the hood. In a bigger car the hood is substantially above the center of mass so that a person cannot roll up --- they end up being forced under the car, which is much more dangerous.
Spooky23 4y ago
The biggest thing is that safety standards vary for what the congress defines as a “truck” vs a “car”. Trucks are moneymakers and the big 3 automakers historically lobby hard to stop changes. Change = lost margin. Up until the 90s, full size pickups had saddle tanks that were likely to explode in a side collision, for example. Doors didn’t require crash safety reinforcement, etc. A lot of that has been addressed by regulators, but the hood height thing has not. Car hoods are designed to catch and roll pedestrians. A low speed hit will hurt and probably result in injury. With a newer pickup truck, some of which require cameras to even see the road in front, you get knocked down, crack your head on the pavement, and likely get run over.
- dtgriscom 4y ago
  > Car hoods are designed to catch and roll pedestrians Citation? I know that's more likely with a car than with a big truck, but is that a conscious design choice, or just that a low driver position requires a low hood to see anything at all?

vlunkr 4y ago

They are taller and heavier. I don't know about the studies or numbers, but just imagine that you are walking, biking, or driving a small car, and you are hit by a small car vs. a truck or SUV. The location and force of impact is very different in all those cases.

yndoendo 4y ago

E = mc^2. The bigger the vehicle the more mass the more force and time needed to come to a safe stop. More force on impact to the driver and pedestrians.

causality0 4y ago
I believe you mean e=1/2mv^2. Einstein's mass-energy equivence formula doesn't have much to do with the kinetic energy of being hit by a truck.
- brucethemoose2 4y ago
  Unless the truck is fast enough to spontaneously trigger nuclear reactions. Or fast enough to have a nontrivial mass from pure kinetic energy (though I think the nuclear reactions would start happening well before then).
  - dtgriscom 4y ago
    https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
dtgriscom 4y ago
Big does not have to mean slow to stop; you just have bigger brakes (and since they're power, the force doesn't matter). Once the vehicle::pedestrian mass is high enough, a higher ratio won't change the kinematics much. And how are you thinking that a driver of a big vehicle is more at risk than that of a small one? And, Einstein has nothing to do with it.

antognini 4y ago

A big factor is the height of the hood. When a smaller car hits a pedestrian, the hood is usually at or slightly under the pedestrian's center of mass, so the person will often roll up onto the hood. In a bigger car the hood is substantially above the center of mass so that a person cannot roll up --- they end up being forced under the car, which is much more dangerous.

Spooky23 4y ago

The biggest thing is that safety standards vary for what the congress defines as a “truck” vs a “car”. Trucks are moneymakers and the big 3 automakers historically lobby hard to stop changes. Change = lost margin. Up until the 90s, full size pickups had saddle tanks that were likely to explode in a side collision, for example. Doors didn’t require crash safety reinforcement, etc. A lot of that has been addressed by regulators, but the hood height thing has not. Car hoods are designed to catch and roll pedestrians. A low speed hit will hurt and probably result in injury. With a newer pickup truck, some of which require cameras to even see the road in front, you get knocked down, crack your head on the pavement, and likely get run over.

dtgriscom 4y ago
> Car hoods are designed to catch and roll pedestrians Citation? I know that's more likely with a car than with a big truck, but is that a conscious design choice, or just that a low driver position requires a low hood to see anything at all?