Car manufacturers keep making bigger cars, and Americans keep buying them. Last year, trucks and SUVs made up 80% of all new car sales, compared to 52% in 2011. Some consumers say they like bigger vehicles because they prefer sitting higher, they use the extra space in the back to haul furniture, or they feel safer in a big car. And it's true; as the weight of your car increases, your chance of surviving a collision goes up.
However, the risk of killing others also increases. Collisions with a truck or SUV have a 30% higher fatality rate than collisions with a sedan.
In 2018, the number of newly registered trucks, SUVs and vans in Mecklenburg County exceeded the number of newly registered sedans. And traffic fatalities have increased since the city of Charlotte launched its Vision Zero goal back in 2019, which sought to eliminate traffic deaths by the year 2030. According to Queen City Nerve's Ryan Pitkin, there have been more than 70 traffic fatalities in Mecklenburg County so far this year.
Mecklenburg represents national trends. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 1-54 in America. In other comparably developed countries, traffic fatalities have been steadily decreasing, but not so in the United States. Traffic deaths hit a low in 2011 as cars rolled out increased safety features, and more Americans were using seat belts. But the rate has risen every year since then — even in 2020, as car travel plummeted due to the pandemic and car fatalities fell in nearly every other place in the world.
On the next Charlotte Talks, we discuss what's behind the quintessentially American consumer preference for more and bigger cars, and we hear from experts on how it affects Charlotte city planning, as well as our climate and safety goals.
GUESTS:
Tesho Akindele, development analyst at Camp North End
Seth LaJeunesse, senior research associate at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center
Zach Ward, consultant at the automotive market research firm JD Power
