Supersizing vehicles offers minimal safety benefits — but substantial dangers, according to new research from the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The study showed for vehicles that weigh less than the fleet average, the risk that occupants will be killed in a crash decreases substantially for every 500 pounds of additional weight.
However, for vehicles that weigh more than the fleet average, the IIHS said there was hardly any decrease in risk for occupants associated with additional poundage.
According to the study, adding 500 pounds to a lighter-than-average vehicle poses virtually no increased risk to people in other vehicles. But the same weight increase for a heavier-than-average vehicle increases the danger to people in other vehicles.
“For American drivers, the conventional wisdom is that if bigger is safer, even bigger must be safer still,” said IIHS President David Harkey.
“These results show that isn’t true today. Not for people in other cars. And — this is important — not for the occupants of the large vehicles themselves.”
