How mini cars stop global warming

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The article below is good news for the environment. After all, dead people have a relatively small carbon footprint, once they finish decomposing. And dead kids don’t grow up to have kids of their own, an extra bonus, carbon-wise. No wonder the government wants to force the industry to produce smaller cars, and Al Gore wants a steep gas tax hike. After all, he and the Obamas, Kennedys, Kerrys, Clintons, George Soros and their Hollywood friends won’t be driving them.

And, of course, the more people driving motorized skateboards, the lower the chances that I’ll get killed as I wheel my Hummer from my 15-room home to the country club!

Guns Don't Kill People, Smart Cars Kill People

Three front-to-front crash tests, each involving a microcar or minicar into a midsize model from the same manufacturer, show how extra vehicle size and weight enhance occupant protection in collisions. These Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests are about the physics of car crashes, which dictate that very small cars generally can't protect people in crashes as well as bigger, heavier models.

The Institute didn't choose SUVs or pickup trucks, or even large cars, to pair with the micro and minis in the new crash tests. The choice of midsize cars reveals how much influence some extra size and weight can have on crash outcomes.

The laws of physics prevail:

The Honda Fit, Smart Fortwo and Toyota Yaris are good performers in the Institute's frontal offset barrier test, but all three are poor performers in the frontal collisions with midsize cars.
These results reflect the laws of the physical universe, specifically principles related to force and distance.

Greater force means greater risk, so the likelihood of injury goes up in the smaller, lighter vehicle. Crash statistics confirm this:

--The death rate in 1-3-year-old minicars in multiple-vehicle crashes during 2007 was almost twice as high as the rate in very large cars.

--The death rate per million 1-3-year-old minis in single-vehicle crashes during 2007 was 35 compared with 11 per million for very large cars.

--Even in midsize cars, the death rate in single-vehicle crashes was 17 percent lower than in minicars.

The lower death rate is because many objects that vehicles hit aren't solid, and vehicles that are big and heavy have a better chance of moving or deforming the objects they strike; this dissipates some of the energy of the impact.

"There are good reasons people buy minicars," says Institute president Adrian Lund. "They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests. Equally clear are the implications when it comes to fuel economy. If automakers downsize cars so their fleets use less fuel, occupant safety will be compromised. However, there are ways to serve fuel economy and safety at the same time."

Source: Press Release, "New crash tests demonstrate the influence of vehicle size and weight on safety in crashes; results are relevant to fuel economy policies," Insurance Institute For Highway Safety, April 14, 2009.

For text:
http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041409.html

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