None of us like to see car accidents. They are a leading cause of death and injury, and a part of modern life that we would all love to see disappear. At the same time, our car accident reconstruction programs, along with insurance records and crash tests, can give us valuable information to make driving safer in the future.
One key trend that data has shown us is that small cars are at a safety disadvantage compared to their larger counterparts. With rising fuel costs and environmental concerns, American drivers are increasingly turning to smaller, lighter, more efficient vehicles. The unfortunate truth is that, even compared to midsize models, small cars are more dangerous to drive.
The reason for this is simple physics, and the data has been backed up by crash tests and various statistics. If two objects collide, greater force will be exerted upon whichever one weighs less. The weight of a car determines speed and directional change.
The size of a car also tells us something about how it will fare in a crash. Specifically, the length from the front tip of a vehicle to the inside of it is rather telling. The more space and substance there is between the driver and the point of impact, the less force will be exerted on them.
Despite higher injury and death rates in smaller cars, we’re reminded of the constant advancements in vehicular safety over the years. Seatbelts, airbags, and electronic controls are all huge benchmarks in safety that have translated into saved lives. However, these types of features are introduced to all vehicles, meaning the smaller cars lag perpetually behind.
These circumstances cause some to argue that everyone should be required by law to drive a smaller car. Unfortunately, experts don’t believe this would help very much in the end, and would actually result in less protection across the board. The only change that has been proven to help is something that drivers tend to be resistant to: slowing down.
Of course, every accident is unique and full of additional factors and variants. That’s why our accident reconstruction and investigation software has proven to be so valuable to law enforcement, insurance, and risk analysts over the years.
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