DIESEL CAR REGULATION AND TRAFFIC CASUALTIES

Requested by the White House Office of Science and Technology, the National Research Council made a comprehensive study of the human health effects and public policy issues associated with the prospective increase in the use of diesel-powered light-duty vehicles in the US. The authors examined the implications of the increasing use of diesel cars on traffic fatalities. Reducing vehicle weight improves fuel economy but indications are that probability of injuries or fatalities to drivers and passengers in traffic accidents is increased. In the 1990s when diesels are estimated to constitute perhaps as much as 25% of light-duty-vehicle miles traveled, several hundred fewer fatalities and several thousand fewer injuries are likely to occur per yr. However, current policy is to accept potential increases in traffic casualties that accompany vehicle downsizing. If the safety features of passenger cars are not altered, a reduction in average vehicle weight of 100 pounds is estimated to increase the annual number of traffic accident fatalities by approx. 1000. Under certain circumstances these projections of fatality rates could be reduced, i.e. introduction of passive restraint systems and the potential of increased use of diesels for reducing fire-related automobile deaths.