OT: Big Car Versus Small Car: IIHS confirms the law of physics.

[DWCAP]

[quote=flu]
Yet another claim is that minicars are easier to maneuver, so their drivers can avoid crashes in the first place. Insurance claims experience says otherwise. The frequency of claims filed for crash damage is higher for mini 4-door cars than for midsize ones.[/quote]

I find the above to be questionable evidence in support of bigger cars are safer. Yes, smaller cars are involved in more accidents than larger cars, most likley due to the nature of those who drive smaller cars. Most smaller cars are marketed to younger drivers, and those drivers are more likly to get in an accident than older drivers, regardless of the vehicle they are in. If they told me that that the above was true for drivers between 16-24, that would be better evidence that the larger cars are infact safer, and I would appologize for my mistake of being incorrect.

The physics is unassiable. Being in a bigger car is safer than a smaller car when slammed into something. You have a greater force, and will move the other object more than you will move. This is better for big cars and worse for the small cars. Simple as that. It is kinda hard to disagree with this point.

However the physics is also on the side of the small car in stopping distance. A lighter car will have less mass, as is agreed then less force to stop, and will need less room to stop. So, a small car could avoid certain situtations that a larger vehicle could not. Nearly all the accidents I have been in anyway involved in or near or know of involved a breaking car unable to stop in the space allowed. I mean seriously, how often do people strap in and drive the wrong way on the freeway or something similar that would recreate this kinda carnage? I guess surface street driving could lead to something akin to this, but only if people are doing something illegal like running red lights or speeding and swerving across lanes like what happened up on the 79 where two racing cars killed a young mom. At that point we come back to the problem being the driver and not the vehicle.

But, just to be clear, I fully agree with the mountain of evidence that if you want to slam into something at a high rate of speed, bigger is better.

[an]

[quote=flu]It’s not exactly I have two vehicles we could test this out on. AN, you want to donate your G35? 🙂
[/quote]
Sure, if you’ll let me have your GT-R once you’re done w/ my G :-D.

[an]

[quote=flu]It’s not exactly I have two vehicles we could test this out on. AN, you want to donate your G35? 🙂
[/quote]
Sure, if you’ll let me have your GT-R once you’re done w/ my G :-D.

[an]

[quote=flu]It’s not exactly I have two vehicles we could test this out on. AN, you want to donate your G35? 🙂
[/quote]
Sure, if you’ll let me have your GT-R once you’re done w/ my G :-D.

[an]

[quote=flu]It’s not exactly I have two vehicles we could test this out on. AN, you want to donate your G35? 🙂
[/quote]
Sure, if you’ll let me have your GT-R once you’re done w/ my G :-D.

[an]

[quote=flu]It’s not exactly I have two vehicles we could test this out on. AN, you want to donate your G35? 🙂
[/quote]
Sure, if you’ll let me have your GT-R once you’re done w/ my G :-D.

[LuckyInOC]

[quote=qwerty007]Here we go again with simpleton bias. First they changed the way fuel efficiency is measured so the Smart car suddenly doesn’t look so efficient anymore, and now they’ve done a crash test that shows it up in the worst possible light. This little car, is a Mercedes project, went through very rigorous testing, and has been in use in Europe for years. While you might feel safer riding an elephant in the jungle, it’s going to dump a lot of s*** in your back yard. Aside from that the probability of this type of accident happening is remote, and can be more effectively avoided simply by upping the driving test standard, more road safety awareness, and improving road markings, signage etc etc. For example, there are 13 times more fatal accident in the US than the UK, which has a very tough driving test, and government backed road safety awareness schemes. The days of the gas guzzler are pretty much numbered. To me it is incredible that a failing auto industry so out of touch with reality, is still wielding its sword at shadows. [/quote]

qwerty007, you didn’t provide the next sentence in the article that you were quoting:

“According to an estimate, the number of accidents every year in the US is more than six million. These accidents injure millions, while thousands of people are killed. The number of people killed in car accidents in the US is thirteen times that killed in the UK. However, this difference is not very dramatic as the US is 40 times the size of UK.”
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/the-worlds-worst-drivers-car-accident-statistics-from-around-the-world-609862.html

Yes, 13x more than UK, but US is 40x bigger than UK.

And the EU statistics are not much different than ours:

“Out of the total accidents in the EU, 67% are in the urban areas and in 75% of the total accidents, the driver is male. Young drivers between age 18 and 25 are involved in more than 21% of the total accidents and fatalities. Research shows that most of the accidents occur due to reckless driving and intoxication. Other than this, there are large numbers of rollover accidents involving young adults and teenage drivers. The number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously. In the US, about 70 to 80 people die every day due to accidents related to alcohol.”

I am searching to find the statistics of % of EU population are licensed drivers with vehicles between the ages of 18 and 30 or so. My guess is due to the high cost of fuel and the EU’s mass transit system, more people use alternate modes of transportation than in the US.

I would guess the best statistic would be accidents and/or fatalities per miles driven. I am quite sure the average US driver drives many more miles then the average EU driver.

Hunting I will go…

Edit:

This data shows EU countries have 2x more fatalities than US due to Motorized two wheelers.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/roaduse.pdf

This data shows US has about 2x more vehicles per capital than most EU nation including UK. Italy and Germany is higher than most. US has almost 1 car per person.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/exposure.pdf

And here is the best of all “Traffic deaths per 1 billion vehicle kilometres in individual representations since 1970”. US shows the best safety record than most. Sweden and Norway also very good (must be those Volvos). Although, most countries have caught up to US.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/p128.pdf

I wonder why the US rates never went up during the SUV/CUV years…

Lucky In OC

[LuckyInOC]

[quote=qwerty007]Here we go again with simpleton bias. First they changed the way fuel efficiency is measured so the Smart car suddenly doesn’t look so efficient anymore, and now they’ve done a crash test that shows it up in the worst possible light. This little car, is a Mercedes project, went through very rigorous testing, and has been in use in Europe for years. While you might feel safer riding an elephant in the jungle, it’s going to dump a lot of s*** in your back yard. Aside from that the probability of this type of accident happening is remote, and can be more effectively avoided simply by upping the driving test standard, more road safety awareness, and improving road markings, signage etc etc. For example, there are 13 times more fatal accident in the US than the UK, which has a very tough driving test, and government backed road safety awareness schemes. The days of the gas guzzler are pretty much numbered. To me it is incredible that a failing auto industry so out of touch with reality, is still wielding its sword at shadows. [/quote]

qwerty007, you didn’t provide the next sentence in the article that you were quoting:

“According to an estimate, the number of accidents every year in the US is more than six million. These accidents injure millions, while thousands of people are killed. The number of people killed in car accidents in the US is thirteen times that killed in the UK. However, this difference is not very dramatic as the US is 40 times the size of UK.”
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/the-worlds-worst-drivers-car-accident-statistics-from-around-the-world-609862.html

Yes, 13x more than UK, but US is 40x bigger than UK.

And the EU statistics are not much different than ours:

“Out of the total accidents in the EU, 67% are in the urban areas and in 75% of the total accidents, the driver is male. Young drivers between age 18 and 25 are involved in more than 21% of the total accidents and fatalities. Research shows that most of the accidents occur due to reckless driving and intoxication. Other than this, there are large numbers of rollover accidents involving young adults and teenage drivers. The number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously. In the US, about 70 to 80 people die every day due to accidents related to alcohol.”

I am searching to find the statistics of % of EU population are licensed drivers with vehicles between the ages of 18 and 30 or so. My guess is due to the high cost of fuel and the EU’s mass transit system, more people use alternate modes of transportation than in the US.

I would guess the best statistic would be accidents and/or fatalities per miles driven. I am quite sure the average US driver drives many more miles then the average EU driver.

Hunting I will go…

Edit:

This data shows EU countries have 2x more fatalities than US due to Motorized two wheelers.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/roaduse.pdf

This data shows US has about 2x more vehicles per capital than most EU nation including UK. Italy and Germany is higher than most. US has almost 1 car per person.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/exposure.pdf

And here is the best of all “Traffic deaths per 1 billion vehicle kilometres in individual representations since 1970”. US shows the best safety record than most. Sweden and Norway also very good (must be those Volvos). Although, most countries have caught up to US.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/p128.pdf

I wonder why the US rates never went up during the SUV/CUV years…

Lucky In OC

[LuckyInOC]

[quote=qwerty007]Here we go again with simpleton bias. First they changed the way fuel efficiency is measured so the Smart car suddenly doesn’t look so efficient anymore, and now they’ve done a crash test that shows it up in the worst possible light. This little car, is a Mercedes project, went through very rigorous testing, and has been in use in Europe for years. While you might feel safer riding an elephant in the jungle, it’s going to dump a lot of s*** in your back yard. Aside from that the probability of this type of accident happening is remote, and can be more effectively avoided simply by upping the driving test standard, more road safety awareness, and improving road markings, signage etc etc. For example, there are 13 times more fatal accident in the US than the UK, which has a very tough driving test, and government backed road safety awareness schemes. The days of the gas guzzler are pretty much numbered. To me it is incredible that a failing auto industry so out of touch with reality, is still wielding its sword at shadows. [/quote]

qwerty007, you didn’t provide the next sentence in the article that you were quoting:

“According to an estimate, the number of accidents every year in the US is more than six million. These accidents injure millions, while thousands of people are killed. The number of people killed in car accidents in the US is thirteen times that killed in the UK. However, this difference is not very dramatic as the US is 40 times the size of UK.”
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/the-worlds-worst-drivers-car-accident-statistics-from-around-the-world-609862.html

Yes, 13x more than UK, but US is 40x bigger than UK.

And the EU statistics are not much different than ours:

“Out of the total accidents in the EU, 67% are in the urban areas and in 75% of the total accidents, the driver is male. Young drivers between age 18 and 25 are involved in more than 21% of the total accidents and fatalities. Research shows that most of the accidents occur due to reckless driving and intoxication. Other than this, there are large numbers of rollover accidents involving young adults and teenage drivers. The number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously. In the US, about 70 to 80 people die every day due to accidents related to alcohol.”

I am searching to find the statistics of % of EU population are licensed drivers with vehicles between the ages of 18 and 30 or so. My guess is due to the high cost of fuel and the EU’s mass transit system, more people use alternate modes of transportation than in the US.

I would guess the best statistic would be accidents and/or fatalities per miles driven. I am quite sure the average US driver drives many more miles then the average EU driver.

Hunting I will go…

Edit:

This data shows EU countries have 2x more fatalities than US due to Motorized two wheelers.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/roaduse.pdf

This data shows US has about 2x more vehicles per capital than most EU nation including UK. Italy and Germany is higher than most. US has almost 1 car per person.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/exposure.pdf

And here is the best of all “Traffic deaths per 1 billion vehicle kilometres in individual representations since 1970”. US shows the best safety record than most. Sweden and Norway also very good (must be those Volvos). Although, most countries have caught up to US.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/p128.pdf

I wonder why the US rates never went up during the SUV/CUV years…

Lucky In OC

[LuckyInOC]

[quote=qwerty007]Here we go again with simpleton bias. First they changed the way fuel efficiency is measured so the Smart car suddenly doesn’t look so efficient anymore, and now they’ve done a crash test that shows it up in the worst possible light. This little car, is a Mercedes project, went through very rigorous testing, and has been in use in Europe for years. While you might feel safer riding an elephant in the jungle, it’s going to dump a lot of s*** in your back yard. Aside from that the probability of this type of accident happening is remote, and can be more effectively avoided simply by upping the driving test standard, more road safety awareness, and improving road markings, signage etc etc. For example, there are 13 times more fatal accident in the US than the UK, which has a very tough driving test, and government backed road safety awareness schemes. The days of the gas guzzler are pretty much numbered. To me it is incredible that a failing auto industry so out of touch with reality, is still wielding its sword at shadows. [/quote]

qwerty007, you didn’t provide the next sentence in the article that you were quoting:

“According to an estimate, the number of accidents every year in the US is more than six million. These accidents injure millions, while thousands of people are killed. The number of people killed in car accidents in the US is thirteen times that killed in the UK. However, this difference is not very dramatic as the US is 40 times the size of UK.”
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/the-worlds-worst-drivers-car-accident-statistics-from-around-the-world-609862.html

Yes, 13x more than UK, but US is 40x bigger than UK.

And the EU statistics are not much different than ours:

“Out of the total accidents in the EU, 67% are in the urban areas and in 75% of the total accidents, the driver is male. Young drivers between age 18 and 25 are involved in more than 21% of the total accidents and fatalities. Research shows that most of the accidents occur due to reckless driving and intoxication. Other than this, there are large numbers of rollover accidents involving young adults and teenage drivers. The number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously. In the US, about 70 to 80 people die every day due to accidents related to alcohol.”

I am searching to find the statistics of % of EU population are licensed drivers with vehicles between the ages of 18 and 30 or so. My guess is due to the high cost of fuel and the EU’s mass transit system, more people use alternate modes of transportation than in the US.

I would guess the best statistic would be accidents and/or fatalities per miles driven. I am quite sure the average US driver drives many more miles then the average EU driver.

Hunting I will go…

Edit:

This data shows EU countries have 2x more fatalities than US due to Motorized two wheelers.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/roaduse.pdf

This data shows US has about 2x more vehicles per capital than most EU nation including UK. Italy and Germany is higher than most. US has almost 1 car per person.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/exposure.pdf

And here is the best of all “Traffic deaths per 1 billion vehicle kilometres in individual representations since 1970”. US shows the best safety record than most. Sweden and Norway also very good (must be those Volvos). Although, most countries have caught up to US.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/p128.pdf

I wonder why the US rates never went up during the SUV/CUV years…

Lucky In OC

[LuckyInOC]

[quote=qwerty007]Here we go again with simpleton bias. First they changed the way fuel efficiency is measured so the Smart car suddenly doesn’t look so efficient anymore, and now they’ve done a crash test that shows it up in the worst possible light. This little car, is a Mercedes project, went through very rigorous testing, and has been in use in Europe for years. While you might feel safer riding an elephant in the jungle, it’s going to dump a lot of s*** in your back yard. Aside from that the probability of this type of accident happening is remote, and can be more effectively avoided simply by upping the driving test standard, more road safety awareness, and improving road markings, signage etc etc. For example, there are 13 times more fatal accident in the US than the UK, which has a very tough driving test, and government backed road safety awareness schemes. The days of the gas guzzler are pretty much numbered. To me it is incredible that a failing auto industry so out of touch with reality, is still wielding its sword at shadows. [/quote]

qwerty007, you didn’t provide the next sentence in the article that you were quoting:

“According to an estimate, the number of accidents every year in the US is more than six million. These accidents injure millions, while thousands of people are killed. The number of people killed in car accidents in the US is thirteen times that killed in the UK. However, this difference is not very dramatic as the US is 40 times the size of UK.”
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/the-worlds-worst-drivers-car-accident-statistics-from-around-the-world-609862.html

Yes, 13x more than UK, but US is 40x bigger than UK.

And the EU statistics are not much different than ours:

“Out of the total accidents in the EU, 67% are in the urban areas and in 75% of the total accidents, the driver is male. Young drivers between age 18 and 25 are involved in more than 21% of the total accidents and fatalities. Research shows that most of the accidents occur due to reckless driving and intoxication. Other than this, there are large numbers of rollover accidents involving young adults and teenage drivers. The number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously. In the US, about 70 to 80 people die every day due to accidents related to alcohol.”

I am searching to find the statistics of % of EU population are licensed drivers with vehicles between the ages of 18 and 30 or so. My guess is due to the high cost of fuel and the EU’s mass transit system, more people use alternate modes of transportation than in the US.

I would guess the best statistic would be accidents and/or fatalities per miles driven. I am quite sure the average US driver drives many more miles then the average EU driver.

Hunting I will go…

Edit:

This data shows EU countries have 2x more fatalities than US due to Motorized two wheelers.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/roaduse.pdf

This data shows US has about 2x more vehicles per capital than most EU nation including UK. Italy and Germany is higher than most. US has almost 1 car per person.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/exposure.pdf

And here is the best of all “Traffic deaths per 1 billion vehicle kilometres in individual representations since 1970”. US shows the best safety record than most. Sweden and Norway also very good (must be those Volvos). Although, most countries have caught up to US.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/irtad/pdf/p128.pdf

I wonder why the US rates never went up during the SUV/CUV years…

Lucky In OC

[ucodegen]

I found the reporting on the article on the safety of microcars when in collisions with SUVs to be biased. I do agree that passenger compartment intrusion is a serious problem though. If you look at the damage to the ‘A-column’ that the 3 microcars show, only the Mercedes Smartcar’s ‘A-column’ stayed intact and the passenger compartment was not intruded upon in the crash. The narration tries to make is sound bad, though, by saying it nearly flipped. Well guess what. A Ford Expedition SUV often flips when one of its tires looses it tread or rapidly decompresses, much less getting into an accident. High CG’d SUVs are more likely to flip when hit from the side by a car than car would be.

[ucodegen]

I found the reporting on the article on the safety of microcars when in collisions with SUVs to be biased. I do agree that passenger compartment intrusion is a serious problem though. If you look at the damage to the ‘A-column’ that the 3 microcars show, only the Mercedes Smartcar’s ‘A-column’ stayed intact and the passenger compartment was not intruded upon in the crash. The narration tries to make is sound bad, though, by saying it nearly flipped. Well guess what. A Ford Expedition SUV often flips when one of its tires looses it tread or rapidly decompresses, much less getting into an accident. High CG’d SUVs are more likely to flip when hit from the side by a car than car would be.

[ucodegen]

I found the reporting on the article on the safety of microcars when in collisions with SUVs to be biased. I do agree that passenger compartment intrusion is a serious problem though. If you look at the damage to the ‘A-column’ that the 3 microcars show, only the Mercedes Smartcar’s ‘A-column’ stayed intact and the passenger compartment was not intruded upon in the crash. The narration tries to make is sound bad, though, by saying it nearly flipped. Well guess what. A Ford Expedition SUV often flips when one of its tires looses it tread or rapidly decompresses, much less getting into an accident. High CG’d SUVs are more likely to flip when hit from the side by a car than car would be.

[ucodegen]

I found the reporting on the article on the safety of microcars when in collisions with SUVs to be biased. I do agree that passenger compartment intrusion is a serious problem though. If you look at the damage to the ‘A-column’ that the 3 microcars show, only the Mercedes Smartcar’s ‘A-column’ stayed intact and the passenger compartment was not intruded upon in the crash. The narration tries to make is sound bad, though, by saying it nearly flipped. Well guess what. A Ford Expedition SUV often flips when one of its tires looses it tread or rapidly decompresses, much less getting into an accident. High CG’d SUVs are more likely to flip when hit from the side by a car than car would be.

[Author]

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