Most Americans are too Fat to Drive Newer Vehicles
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I am not sure who is to blame the engineers or the executives. When I read in todays USA Today tire weight limits on most new vehicles, and how these limits are based on passengers not weighing more than 200 pounds, all I could do is shake my head. The limitations are a result of the massive tire recall of Firestone tires back in 2000. In other words car manufacturers are trying to save themselves from being sued.
Based on these numbers that can be found on the “Tire and Loading Information” plate on the drivers side door frame, both me and my wife who weigh over 170 pounds exceed the weight limit of our Ford Explorer by over one hundred pounds. Because of the limitations set if there are any problems we would have little recourse for legal action. Though this is not blatant discrimination its not fair to the average person either.
As usual there is no regulation on what car makers can list as weight limits for tires. Considering that I know lots of people even teenagers that weigh more than the recommended limits for tires today, I wonder if the limit is larger but the manufacturers post a lower number on the labels as a deterrent.
It is just not practical to set the weight limitations for tires so low. In addition if vehicles are designed to accommodate smaller individuals only is that part of the reason that the number of vehicle fatalities over the last twenty years has risen?
Just like there has never been any explanation as to the reason seat belts are not long enough to reach around larger individuals, there will probably never be an answer to this mystery. At this rate most Americans are just simply to fat to drive our own vehicles.
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8 Comments on this post
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Anne said:
Isn’t a Ford Explorer a sports utility vehicle?
Aren’t we suppose to be able to carry things heavier than say, packing peanuts in one of those?If you buy a vehicle of that size, shouldn’t you be able to carry camping equipment, possibly stuff to restore the house and other heavier objects within?
Even 4 to 6 people, of real average human weights, (which is, I believe, for adults acutally is nearer to 200 than 100 lbs), plus the sports or utility equipment of your choice?
How can they even market it as a sport / utility vehicle, if it can’t even carry the people, and forget about the equipment, unless it’s bubble pack or packing peanuts.
Do you suppose, given that at least a Ford Explore is taken to be a sport utilily vehicle, one would have a leg to stand on in terms of what sort of weigths the buyer should expect to be able to carry??
Or are all buyers expected to read the tire specs and choose carefully before purchasing a new car or suv?
September 14th, 2007 at 12:24 pm -
vesta44 said:
I have a Grand Caravan, and it carries about 1200 lbs when I, my husband, my son and his wife, and their two boys are all riding in it. According to this article, it is overloaded, and that’s without anything else in it, like groceries. From now on, when I go to purchase a vehicle, I will be asking questions about weight ratings and the safety of fat people in that particular vehicle. If the answers aren’t good enough, I’ll keep looking till I find a vehicle that suits.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:04 pm -
Glen L Johnson said:
you are correct it is an SUV. It troubles me that there is such a thing for tires on a vehicle but it does not surprise me. When it comes to the auto makers including Ford I think there is no short cut they wont take if it will allow them to cut costs, regardless of the possible problems it can cause for consumers.
September 15th, 2007 at 11:14 pm -
Glen L Johnson said:
If more people took the same type of attitude into making purchases then more businesses would have no choice but to listen.
September 15th, 2007 at 11:17 pm -
Di said:
What the heck? By that logic a family car would not be safe for a family of 4, assuming that both teenagers weight over 100 pounds. So not cool. While I’m in favor of getting more people onto mass transportation, the auto industry itself has done much to undermine the use of public transport for its own benefit - so this particular very cheap move is just bizarre.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:34 pm -
sarah said:
Ironically, most bicycle tires and wheels don’t even have weight limits. The ones I ride aren’t even an inch wide.
Yet my honda has a weight limit of 850lbs. Too bad I take up more than a third of that.
September 21st, 2007 at 10:52 am -
Glen L Johnson said:
Sarah,
Most of us take up more than the limits they say are on the tires.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:06 pm
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