NHTSA Hosts Vehicle Mass-Size-Safety Workshop (05/2013) 

NHTSA conducted a workshop on May 13-14, 2013, on issues related to fuel economy, vehicle mass reduction and the effects of vehicle mass and size on vehicle safety.

The purpose of the workshop was to bring together experts in the field to discuss questions that NHTSA must grapple with when we establish CAFE standards for model years 2022-2025 –  like how much mass reduction will be feasible for different vehicles, how much that mass reduction will cost, and whether there will be safety effects as a result of that mass reduction.

NHTSA researchers, along with other government researchers, auto manufacturers and supplier representatives, and other experts, presented latest findings on these questions, solicited public feedback, and discussed future projects.

Workshop Materials

• Official Transcripts -- Day 1 | Day 2
• NHTSA Administrator David Strickland's Opening Remarks

Panel 1: Engineering Realities – Structural Crashworthiness, Occupant Injury and Advanced Vehicle Design

• Tamm, NHTSA, “Assessment of Vehicle Mass Reduction Feasibility, Cost and Safety Effects for CAFE and GHG Rulemaking”
• Peterson, Lotus, “An Analysis of Impact Performance and Cost Considerations for a Low Mass Multi-Material Body Structure”
• Kolwich, FEV, “Light-Duty Vehicle Technology Cost and Mass Analysis”
• Singh, EDAG, “Feasible Amount of Mass Reduction for Light Duty Vehicles for Model Years 2017-2025”
• Thomas, Honda, “Honda’s Study and Report on the Study Commissioned by NHTSA ‘Mass Reduction for Light Duty Vehicles for Model Years 2017-2025’”
• Schmidt, Alliance, “NHTSA Mass-Size-Safety Symposium: Engineering and Market Realities”
• Zuidema, Arcelor Mittal, “The Role of Body-in-White Weight Reduction in the Attainment of the 2012-2025 US EPA/NHTSA Fuel Economy Mandate”
• Richman, Kaiser, “Lighter and Safer Cars by Design”
• Rehkopf, Plasan, “Carbon Composites Entering Mainstream Automotive”
• Ridella, NHTSA, “Fleet Safety Evaluation Methodology: Application to Lightweight Vehicle Designs”

Panel 2: Statistical Evidence of the Roles of Mass and Size on Safety

• Kahane, NHTSA, “Relationships Between Fatality Risk, Mass, and Footprint in Model Year 2000-2007 and in Future Passenger Cars and LTVs”
• Wenzel, LBNL, “Relationships between Mass, Footprint, and Societal Risk in Recent Light-Duty Vehicles”
• Van Auken, DRI, “An Assessment of the Effects of Passenger Vehicle Weight and Size on Accident and Fatality Risk Based on Data for 1991 through 2007 Model Year Vehicles”
• Nusholtz, Chrysler, “Fleet Fatality Risk Sensitivity to Vehicle Mass/Size Change in Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crashes”
• Nolan, IIHS, “The Relative Safety of Large and Small Passenger Vehicles”

How do I comment on the workshop proceedings?

NHTSA strongly encourages interested parties to submit written comment on the workshop proceedings to the mass-safety docket. We will leave the docket open and encourage you to check back as we will upload new studies and information as it becomes available. The docket can be accessed at http://www.regulations.gov; you can input the docket number NHTSA-2010-0152 at that website and upload comments electronically, or you can contact Rebecca Yoon (202.366.2992) at NHTSA for assistance with submitting comments.

• 2011 Mass-Size-Safety Workshop