Safety Implications of Lightweight Autos ∨
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RMI hired Harris International to conduct an anonymous survey to explore consumer beliefs about the safety implications of lightweight automobiles.
Harris asked a group of 1634 respondents 10 questions. The margin of error is ±3%.
RMI and Harris collaborated to develop questions aimed at discovering general understanding of automobile safety and its relation to design, size, weight, and material.
Based on the results of this survey, RMI concludes that while weight is not at the forefront of consumers’ minds while thinking about safety, when the issue is specifically highlighted, consumers generally believe that they will be less safe if they are driving a car that is lighter than others on the road. Specific conclusions are:
- There are no significant differences between male and female respondents
- Vehicle weight and size are at the bottom of consumers’ list of all vehicle safety factors, but when asked specifically about weight, consumers believe heavier vehicles will be safer
- Steel, the most common automotive material, was believed to be the safest, but aluminum, the second most common material, scored fourth
- More compact car, sedan, and SUV owners would prefer a heavier vehicle, all other things held constant; truck drivers prefer the lighter option
- Type of vehicle owned did not appear to be a major differentiator for any other question
- 58% of respondents believe they would be less safe if their car weighed half as much as others’ on the road, but if ALL cars were half as heavy, 46% believe that all road users would be safer
- In general, consumers understand the positive benefits of fleet-wide lightweighting for themselves
We believe these findings will be helpful for parties interested in marketing lightweight, safe vehicles to consumers, and to parties interested in educating consumers about the safety implications of vehcile weight.
The full results, including breakdown by demographic groups, verbatim responses, and more can be downloaded below for your own analysis and perusal.
Tell us about implications you find in the data here!