How The Size Of Your Wallet Protects You In A Car Crash - Yahoo Autos (blog)
When a Cadillac Escalade and a Honda Civic collide head-on, you don’t need a degree in physics to understand that the Escalade is probably going to win. A new study by the University of Buffalo found a correlation between accidents in which personal injury claims are filed and the size and price of the vehicles involved. “We found that vehicle type, curb weight and price are all significant predictors of personal injury cost,” said Dietrich Jehle, a professor of medicine and biomedical research at the University of Buffalo. We also found that for every 1,000-pound increase in weight, vehicles were 19 percent safer. The study draws its conclusions based on the frequency of medical claims in collisions involving 360 different 2010–2012 car and truck models, ranging from the Smart ForTwo microcar to heavy-duty 4x4 pickups. In order to make the data as clean as possible, the study used data collected in states that had no-fault insurance policies and adjusted for driver age and other factors. The UB study makes some valid, if obvious, points: When two or more vehicles collide, heavier vehicles tend to push lighter ones around. The increased change in velocity for the lighter car in turn increases the risk of injury for those inside. Source: www.yahoo.com
