hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Soaring numbers of obese people in the UK are leading to cars being redesigned to meet their safety needs, it has emerged.
The heaviest crash test dummies currently in use to calibrate airbags and seatbelts are 15 ½ stone - but experts are warning there is a need to protect obese drivers and passengers with new models weighing 19 ½ stone.
Some 28 percent of adults in England are classed as obese with a BMI over 30, The Telegraph reports.
Soaring numbers of obese people in the UK are leading to cars being redesigned to meet their safety needs, it has emerged
The heaviest crash test dummies currently in use to calibrate airbags and seatbelts are 15 ½ stone ( 217 pounds) - but this may need to go up to 19½ stone ( 273 pounds) with the average Crash dummy weighing 11.5 stones..(161 pounds)
A Euro NCAP spokesman said: 'Restraints optimised for the average-sized driver do not necessarily work equally well for shorter or taller drivers, or, for that matter, for obese or more vulnerable older drivers.'
Safety devices such as seatbelts are normally designed to protect an average sixed adult male weighing 11½ stone.
A heavy driver can 'overwhelm the airbag, effectively ride through the airbag and hit the steering wheel', said Matthew Avery, chief research strategy officer of Thatcham Research.
Data from British road casualties typically does not include the victim's weight.
However, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, around 40 percent of drivers in the US are classed as obese, and are estimated to be 79 per cent more likely to be in a accident.
The same statistics found that the elderly are 76 per cent more likely to suffer an accident than the average man.
Older motorists are also more likely to be injured from airbags, which deploy at speeds of around 200mph and explode up to 2,000lb of force - potentially causing bone fractures.
'For older people, if you deploy the airbag too quickly and too close to the steering wheel, then the airbag can actually be the cause of injuries,' Mr Avery added.
Swedish car model Volvo plans to showcase its new EX90 electric SUV this week, which boasts an interior radar which can track movements less than a millimetre.
Its safety system uses ultrasonic sensors, cameras and a distance-sensing laser system known as Lidar.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...te-road-crashes-number-obese-Brits-soars.html
The heaviest crash test dummies currently in use to calibrate airbags and seatbelts are 15 ½ stone - but experts are warning there is a need to protect obese drivers and passengers with new models weighing 19 ½ stone.
Some 28 percent of adults in England are classed as obese with a BMI over 30, The Telegraph reports.
The heaviest crash test dummies currently in use to calibrate airbags and seatbelts are 15 ½ stone ( 217 pounds) - but this may need to go up to 19½ stone ( 273 pounds) with the average Crash dummy weighing 11.5 stones..(161 pounds)
A Euro NCAP spokesman said: 'Restraints optimised for the average-sized driver do not necessarily work equally well for shorter or taller drivers, or, for that matter, for obese or more vulnerable older drivers.'
Safety devices such as seatbelts are normally designed to protect an average sixed adult male weighing 11½ stone.
A heavy driver can 'overwhelm the airbag, effectively ride through the airbag and hit the steering wheel', said Matthew Avery, chief research strategy officer of Thatcham Research.
Data from British road casualties typically does not include the victim's weight.
However, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, around 40 percent of drivers in the US are classed as obese, and are estimated to be 79 per cent more likely to be in a accident.
The same statistics found that the elderly are 76 per cent more likely to suffer an accident than the average man.
Older motorists are also more likely to be injured from airbags, which deploy at speeds of around 200mph and explode up to 2,000lb of force - potentially causing bone fractures.
'For older people, if you deploy the airbag too quickly and too close to the steering wheel, then the airbag can actually be the cause of injuries,' Mr Avery added.
Swedish car model Volvo plans to showcase its new EX90 electric SUV this week, which boasts an interior radar which can track movements less than a millimetre.
Its safety system uses ultrasonic sensors, cameras and a distance-sensing laser system known as Lidar.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...te-road-crashes-number-obese-Brits-soars.html
