Well, maybe not me personally, by myself with a bag of Doritos and a Big Gulp perched on top of the cupholder since it won't fit inside the darn thing. But me and a couple of friends? Well, despite our relative success in life and being bright folks, we just may be too fat for our cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration long ago set "gross vehicle weight limits". Those rules essentially told manufacturers not to reinforce the chassis with tin foil, for example, because if a vehicle claimed to support a number of adults, each adult would be assumed to weigh 150 pounds. So a four passenger vehicle must carry 600 pounds safely.
Guess what? That includes luggage too.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the 21st century. Cars, those death traps Ralph Nader wailed about, got safer and more reliable. And Americans got heavier and fatter.
The Centers for Disease Control has data showing the average weight of the U.S. population going back to 2002. That study shows American men weighed an average of 190 pounds while American women weighed an average of 163 pounds. (The study also amusingly shows men's waist sizes as 39 inches, which is possible for taller guys, but we think some of those waist measurements were from the guys who wear their pants two inches below their waist.)
Think about the averages again. If 4 men are in a car, the old vehicle standards presumes they weigh 600 pounds. In reality, they weigh an average of 760 pounds. Four men from the old standard are the same weight as today's standard.
USA Today examined this issue and spoke with auto manufacturers about overweight Americans exceeding their vehicle's weight limits. The manufacturers swear to the paper there is a safety limit involved because, as USA Today points out, two 200 pound men aren't supposed to be cleared to ride in a Corvette or a Miata. We believe the manufacturers are conservative just like they are when your vehicle's fuel gauge reads empty, and you know you can drive to the gas station.
What is most worrisome for us is the idea being bandied about now that insurance companies may soon be rejecting claims for structural damage to a vehicle if the combined passenger weight exceeds the manufacturer's posted weight.
Let's be clear. This is bad for consumers, this is bad for the insurance industry and this is bad for manufacturers who point at the government regulations. But those regulations are a minimum, the insurance companies know better and all the regulation in the world isn't changing that 190 pound statistic.
This is not a blog calling for a referendum on national healthy policy regarding obesity. We do need to address that issue through better education and reinforcement of the message. Just as smoking rates declined, obesity can also decline. But the facts are these:
American men in 2002 weighed an average of 190 pounds, not 150.
American women in 2002 weighed an average of 163 pounds, not 150.
Ask yourself this question: Are you weighing less today than you did five years ago? And then ask this question. Why can't two men of average weight (regardless of whether that weight is healthy, the number is the number) drive in a Corvette without the chance for an insurance company to claim the vehicle was improperly operated?
Labels: insurance, overweight, safety, vehicle
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