SUVs and pedestrian/cycle safety

In stats19: Work with Open Road Traffic Casualty Data from Great Britain

background-image: url(https://www.jato.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Chart-4-1024x401.jpg)

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# to reproduce these slides do:
pkgs = c("rgdal", "sf", "geojsonsf")
install.packages(pkgs)

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options(htmltools.dir.version = FALSE)

# get ods data
if(!file.exists("veh0105.ods")) {
  download.file("https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830778/veh0101.ods", "veh0101.ods")
  download.file("https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/794455/veh0103.ods", "veh0103.ods")
  download.file("https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830779/veh0104.ods", "veh0104.ods")
  download.file("https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/794433/veh0105.ods", "veh0105.ods")
  download.file("https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830786/veh0128.ods", "veh0128.ods")
}
# veh0101 = readODS::read.ods("veh0101.ods")
# veh0103 = readODS::read.ods("veh0103.ods")
# veh0104 = readODS::read.ods("veh0104.ods")
# veh0105 = readODS::read.ods("veh0105.ods")
# veh0128 = readODS::read.ods("veh0128.ods")
library(tidyverse)
veh0128 = readr::read_csv("https://github.com/ropensci/stats19/releases/download/1.1.0/veh0128.csv")
veh_names = "QASHQAI|fiesta")
veh0128_sub = veh0128 %>% 
  filter(str_match(string = `Generic model 1`, veh_names))

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Source Jato: SUVs make up 40% of total car registrations

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???

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background-image: url(https://cdn1.carbuyer.co.uk/sites/carbuyer_d7/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/car_images/peugeot_3008_cutout_best_mid_suv_2019bestbuys.jpg?itok=GMiNNkDy)

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Largely unnoticed

In tax band E, D or even A - C for electrics

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Defining SUVs

.pull-left[

No standard definition

• In USA: "rugged automotive vehicle similar to a station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis"
• In UK: "powerful vehicle with four-wheel drive that can be driven over rough ground. The abbreviation SUV is often used." ]

.pull-right[

Data on weight and height is hard to come by

https://www.epa.gov/compliance-and-fuel-economy-data/data-cars-used-testing-fuel-economy

MOT data excludes weight: https://www.gov.uk/transport/car-motorcycle-and-van-mot-tests

But we do have good data on tax band

]

Suggestion: define on weight (energy, size) + height (colision height)

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background-image: url(https://informedforlife.org/demos/FCKeditor/UserFiles/Image/weight%20graph%20with%20ave.%20passenger%20vehicle.png)

Source https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=281280

???

Previously my cars have always been midsize sedans. Chevrolets, Mazdas, etc. My intent was and may be still to purchase a more economical commuter. I test drove a Civic, Accord, Elantra, Sonata, Camry, Mazda3, Mazda6, Corolla, and Camry. I'm nothing if not thorough about figuring this out. I've noticed a huge uptick in the average size of vehicles around me during my 2 hours of round trip commuting each day (this is a newer job).

I really noticed this from the drivers seat of a Honda Civic. It seems like only about 10% of the vehicles in my area are actual cars anymore. Pickups, SUVs, Crossovers, Minivans. I never used to feel like safety was a major concern in a smaller vehicle, but it just seems like in the event of a crash I would be much more likely to be on the... squished... end of the accident. Is this unreasonable?

Huge cobenefits of downsizing

knitr::include_graphics("https://royalsocietypublishing.org/cms/attachment/6cf8790d-1cc3-4e01-b140-e913718b3f2e/rsta20160364f03.jpg")

Serrenho et al (2022) The impact of reducing car weight on global emissions: the future fleet in Great Britain https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0364

???

2008 book by Scott Burkun aimed at software architects

Too techy for me, about managing 100s of people!

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A Sport Utility Vehicle for the 21st Century

Source: Quicab

• Slower
• Lighter
• Physical activity
• Better air quality

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Saves lives

???

2015 book by Daniel Levitin

Too techy for me, about managing 100s of people!

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.pull-left[

knitr::include_graphics("https://ec.europa.eu/easme/sites/easme-site/files/getreal_growinggap_e_year2022.jpg")

]

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.pull-right[

Real world emissions have diverged

EU tests show size of gap

See the Get Real report

]

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Road crash data

From open STATS19 data (stats19 R package)

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Next steps

.pull-left[

Crash data vs size (engine + tax data)

]

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.pull-right[

Estimate potential lives saved

]

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class: center, middle

Thanks!

Contact me at r. lovelace at leeds ac dot uk (email), @robinlovelace (twitter + github)

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Check-out my repos at https://github.com/robinlovelace/

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For more information on stats19 data, see stats19 on GitHub

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Thanks to all the R developers who made this possible, including (for this presentation):

remark.js, knitr, and R Markdown.

Slides created via the R package xaringan.

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Thanks to everyone for building a open and collaborative communities!

stats19 documentation built on April 4, 2025, 1:41 a.m.