Study: Capping Vehicle Size Could Reduce Global Traffic Deaths by 40%

A new report from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy found that capping the maximum size of passenger vehicles at 2020 dimensions could reduce liquid fuel consumption by up to 12% and cut transportation emissions by up to 10%. 

According to an article by Kea Wilson in Streetsblog USA, “While it’s not a a silver bullet for the planet’s transportation woes, the report’s authors point out that keeping car sizes in check could also sharpen an even more powerful tool in the transportation reform arsenal: shifting commuters out of cars all together.”

The report notes that if more people started using transit, walking, or biking as a result of feeling safer on roadways, global traffic deaths could drop by as much as 40% by 2050. Shifting to smaller vehicles would also require fewer scarce battery materials, making it easier to make the switch to electric cars.

The report points to the rise of bigger cars in North America as the driver of a global trend. In 2008, SUVs made up around 20% of global sales. In 2020, that number had risen to more than half.