An Assessment of the Effects of Vehicle Weight and Size on Fatality Risk in 1985 to 1998 Model Year Passenger Cars and 1985 to 1997 Model Year Light Trucks and Vans

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Michael Van Auken ◽  
J. W. Zellner
Keyword(s):  
Passenger Cars ◽  
Fatality Risk ◽  
Vehicle Weight ◽  
Light Trucks ◽  
Model Year

Roof Strength Survey of Production Passenger Cars, Light Trucks, and Vans

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason J. Sigel ◽  
Jack Bish ◽  
Terence Honikman ◽  
Donald Friedman ◽  
Carl E. Nash
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Hydraulic Cylinder ◽  
Vehicle Safety ◽  
Safety Standard ◽  
Passenger Cars ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
Light Trucks ◽  
Motor Vehicle Safety ◽  
Roof Strength ◽  
Model Year

We have developed and used a repeatable roof strength survey tool to assess the force resistance characteristics of over 50 passenger car, SUV, pickup, and van roofs. In a rollover, the initial roof-to-ground contact typically fractures and/or separates the vehicle’s bonded windshield. Subsequent trailing-side roof-to-ground impacts apply lateral forces to the roof and its support pillars. In 1971 the National Highway Safety Bureau (NHSB) recognized this rollover sequence and proposed a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) that tested both sides of the roof in sequence. Our repeatable roof strength survey tool uses a hydraulic cylinder to pull the upper A-pillar, roof rail, windshield header intersection toward the rear of the opposite front door sill imitating the proposed 1971 test, but at a more realistic roll angle. It is used first on one side of the vehicle with the windshield intact before being repositioned on the other side after the fractured and separated windshield is removed and the test repeated. Tests on three vehicles of the same make, model, and model year have validated the repeatability of the test and protocol. Results from all the vehicles demonstrate that in the first side test, the strength of the roof is typically about half the strength recorded in a typical FMVSS 216 test, a further decrease in force resistance occurs after the windshield has failed, and similar elastic restoration of the deformed structure occurs on both sides.

Effect of Fuel Economy on Automobile Safety

2005 ◽  
Vol 1941 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjana Ahmad ◽  
David L. Greene
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Economy ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Cointegration Analysis ◽  
Corporate Average Fuel Economy ◽  
Traffic Fatalities ◽  
Passenger Cars ◽  
Light Duty ◽  
Light Trucks ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Light Duty Vehicle

Since 1975, the fuel economy of passenger cars and light trucks has been regulated by the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, established during the energy crises of the 1970s. Calls to increase fuel economy are usually met by a fierce debate on the effectiveness of the CAFE standards and their impact on highway safety. A seminal study of the link between CAFE and traffic fatalities was published by R. W. Crandall and J. D. Graham in 1989. They linked higher fuel economy levels to decreases in vehicle weight and correlated the decline in new car weight with about a 20% increase in occupant fatalities. The time series available to them, 1947–1981, includes only the first 4 years of fuel economy regulation, but any statistical relationship estimated over such a short period is questionable. This paper reexamines the relationship between U.S. light-duty vehicle fuel economy and highway fatalities from 1966 to 2002. Cointegration analysis reveals that the stationary linear relationships between the average fuel economy of passenger cars and light trucks and highway fatalities are negative: higher miles per gallon is significantly correlated with fewer fatalities. Log–log models are not stable and tend to produce statistically insignificant (negative) relationships between fuel economy and traffic fatalities. These results do not definitively establish a negative relationship between light-duty vehicle fuel economy and highway fatalities; instead they demonstrate that national aggregate statistics cannot support the assertion that increased fuel economy has led to increased traffic fatalities.

Meeting the Challenge: A Stochastic Assessment of the U.S. Light-Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Bastani ◽  
John B. Heywood ◽  
Chris Hope
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Economy ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Corporate Average Fuel Economy ◽  
Passenger Cars ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
Light Duty ◽  
Stochastic Transport ◽  
Light Trucks ◽  
Light Duty Vehicle ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. Department of Transport and EPA have recently proposed further regulation of the light-duty vehicle corporate average fuel economy and GHG emissions for model years 2017 to 2025. Policy makers are setting more stringent targets out to 2025 in a context of significant uncertainty. These uncertainties need to be quantified and taken into account systematically when evaluating policies. In this paper, a stochastic technology and market vehicle fleet analysis is carried out, using the STEP (Stochastic Transport Emissions Policy model), to assess the probability of meeting the proposed CAFE targets in 2016 and 2025, and identify factors that play key roles in the near and midterm. Our results indicate that meeting the proposed targets requires (a) aggressive technological progress rate and deployment, (b)aggressive market penetration of advanced engines and powertrains, (c) aggressive vehicle downsizing and weight reduction, and (d) a high emphasis on reducing fuel consumption. Three scenarios are examined to assess the likelihood of meeting the proposed targets. The targets examined here, 32.5 and 34.1 mpg in 2016 and 44 and 54.5 mpg in 2025, are reduced from the nominal CAFE values after allowing for the various credits in the proposed rulemaking. The results show that there is about a 42.5% likelihood of the passenger cars average fuel economy falling below 32.5 mpg and a 5.3% likelihood of it exceeding 34.1 mpg in 2016, and about a 4% chance of it exceeding 44 mpg in 2025, under the plausible-ambitious scenario. Under the EPA/DOT preferred alternative scenario, the likelihood of passenger cars average fuel economy meeting or exceeding 34.1 mpg in 2016 and 44 mpg in 2025 increases to about 74% and 34.5% respectively. The probability of meeting these combined CAFE targets drops to less than 1% in both near and mid terms, once light trucks are included in the mix. This analysis quantifies the probability of meeting the targets therefore to enable risk-based contingency planning, and identifies key drivers of uncertainty where further strategic research is needed.

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