The chief determinants for the degree of severity of injuries in motor vehicle collisions are vehicle size and weight. If all cars were designed to be equal in standard to the best car currently available in each class, then an estimated half of all fatal and disabling injuries could be avoided. Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) differ from cars in three key areas: they have greater mass and stiffness and the geometry places bumpers above the frames of struck cars, resulting in higher intrusion when striking smaller cars. Thus the safety designs that were effective 10 or 15 years ago are not adequate in today's incompatible vehicle collisions. New technology needs to be developed and implemented. Although mass affects survival in crashes, good vehicle geometry and energy absorbing interfaces are important in developing a heavy vehicle that behaves in crashes like the average car. (Author/publisher)
Abstract