Hacker News Reader

For (~100kg) pedestrian, I am sure the difference in lethality from being hit by a 1000kg vehicle vs a 3000kg vehicle is insubstantial. Where the weight would matter is for vehicle-vehicle collisions.

View on HN

The vast majority of pedestrians survive getting hit by a car, not all incidents happen at highway speeds. A difference between a mass of 1 and 3 tons would absolutely make a difference in lethality.

I think its more that you are liable to roll off a car vs get exploded from an suv.

Dubious claim. A vehicle might as well be a wall with infinite mass vs a pedestrian. Deformation, breaking and being passed out of the way are what counts.

8000 pedestrians killed vs 104,000 emergency visits for non fatal crash related injuries:

https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/pedestrian_safety/i...

Weight is directly called out as a factor:

> SUVs can cause more harm to a person on foot when a crash occurs because of their greater body weight and larger profile

I think they were probably referring to the handling of such a ridiculously heavy car.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com