Why I Strive For MPG In A Big Pickup

[RH77]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

The per 1 million vehicles does that It levels the playing field by raising or lower the fatality number

Oops, my bad -- didn't see that.

I know the street racer / aggressive driving crowd upped the numbers on my car. The result? As you said, just look at the insurance...

-RH77

[brucepick]

Yes - it's actually a million registered vehicle-years. A million vehicles registered for a year. Two million registered for a half year = same as half a million registered for two years. So the published numbers are a pretty good reflection of cars being on the road. If all cars were driven the same distance annually then it would be a very even comparison. So the study just assumes that the driven miles average out within each model. They group together same-design model years that fall within whatever years are included in each published study. Such as the '96 - '00 Civics could be considered together.

The layout and text look exactly like the IIHS data I've seen and saved. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, iihs.org.

[Randy]

I think the IIHS is the main source of death statistics, the latest are in special report 42-4 on this page. They're really all over the map in safety. A Golf is about as safe as the F350 2wd for example. Another interesting report is 40-5, which is on SUV vs. car crashes: for the most part the SUV "wins" by increasing deaths in the car, not by making its own passengers safer.

Note that the IIHS likes bigger, heavier vehicles. They lobbied for the new CAFE standards where larger vehicles can get lower mileage. The reason is pretty simple: deaths are rare, but small crashes with minor injuries (e.g. whiplash) are common. So those claims are more expensive, and they have a much more direct relationship to weight and size.

[diesel_john]

"BTW the car most involved in rollovers is the Corvette"

that is probably true what they failed to mention was, the owner wasn't driving.

my '92 LT1 vette is another special type of vehicle. I was looking at it today and the top of the intake manifold is about an inch higher than the top of the tire. What amazes me is I get 30 mpg on long trips and 26-27 local highway.

[DifferentPointofView]

Isn't there something about if you have a car and a truck, both have 5 star crash test ratings, but the car weighs 2000lb's and the truck weighs 4000lb's, and they both meet head on in a collision, the people in the car are 8 times more likely to die?

Then take a car that weighs 2000lb's, and meet it with a semi that weighs over 13 tons... hmmmm. that sounds interesting.

I don't think that at anytime we are gonna get rid of big heavy vehicles, because some people want them for their luxuries, some need them for their hauling capabilities, and we're always gonna have freight. and lets face it... we're always gonna have stankin' rich people who can afford to drive big heavy gas guzzling vehicles! (truck, or no truck. we'll always have those Bugatti veyron drivers lol.)

I always thought that this tidbit from the Veyron was funny.

The top speed was verified once again by James May on Top Gear, again at Volkswagen's private test track, when the car hit 407.9 km/h. When getting close to the top speed during the test he said that "the tyres will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's OK because the fuel runs out in twelve minutes."

It also consumes more fuel than any other production car, using 40.4 L/100 km (5.82 mpg) in city driving and 24.1 L/100 km (10 mpg) in combined cycle. At full throttle, it uses more than 125 L/100 km (2.1 mpg), which would empty its 100 L (26.4 gallon) fuel tank in just 12 minutes[9].

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by DifferentPointofView

Isn't there something about if you have a car and a truck, both have 5 star crash test ratings, but the car weighs 2000lb's and the truck weighs 4000lb's, and they both meet head on in a collision, the people in the car are 8 times more likely to die?

I don't necessarily know if it's 8 times.... But NHTSA and IIHS state that you can not compare crash test data between weight classes. The only test that can be compared across the board is IIHS side impact (the one with the destructive barrier) - see below

Originally Posted by IIHS

NOTE: Side impact crash test ratings can be compared across vehicle type and weight categories, while frontal crash test ratings cannot. This is because the kinetic energy involved in the side impact test depends on the weight and speed of the moving barrier, which are the same in every test. In contrast, the kinetic energy involved in the frontal crash test depends on the speed and weight of the test vehicle.

Based on deaths rated from deadliest to least deadly....

Frontal - Most common single car accident including front offset impact (think tree or pole)
Side Impact
....
Rear Impact - Most common two car accident for commuters

Rollover is very uncommon (only 3% of all reported crashes)... But, they have a high fatality density. That is, in the unlikely event you get in a rollover - death is more likely.

I don't think that at anytime we are gonna get rid of big heavy vehicles, because some people want them for their luxuries, some need them for their hauling capabilities, and we're always gonna have freight. and lets face it... we're always gonna have stankin' rich people who can afford to drive big heavy gas guzzling vehicles! (truck, or no truck. we'll always have those Bugatti veyron drivers lol.)

I don't disagree... And I have no problems with people that use their vehicles for their purpose. My problem is when Jane has to keep up with the Joneses citing large=safety for her Dodge gonna go get a taco piece of farm equipment :/

[DifferentPointofView]

I think that if you live in the city and drive an SUV, that's stupid, when are you ever gonna actually use it's off-road high ground clearance and towing power capabilities when all you do is drive to the office every morning?

Oh, wait, I forgot that SUV's are now designated moon-pie getters

Exceptions include people who actually use their SUV for the U part, or drive to work which is in the badlands or something.

[diesel_john]

use it to tow the boat from storage to the lake every spring and use it to tow the boat from the lake to storage every fall.

so whats not to like, as long as one doesn't use it in between.

i have seven old vehicles each one for a specific purpose. i always use the smallest vehicle that will do the job.

[RH77]

Nevermind...

[Frank Lee]

You could opt out...