Weight Class - Statistics show that if two vehicles with the same NHTSA full frontal rating crash into each other head on, but one vehicle weighs twice as much as the other, the occupants of the lighter one (2000 lbs / 909 kgs) are eight times more likely to be killed than the occupants of the heavier vehicle (4000 lbs / 1818 kgs).  However, vehicle weight offers no safety advantage or disadvantage in single-vehicle crashes.

Weight Class Categories

	3500 lbs / 1590 kgs or more
	3000-3499 lbs / 1363-1589 kgs
	2600-2999 lbs / 1181-1362 kgs
	2300-2599 lbs / 1045-1180 kgs
	Less than 2300 lbs / 1045 kgs

Keep in mind that crash test results shouldn't be compared among vehicles with large weight differences (more than 15%), so we have divided the vehicles into 5 distinct weight categories.  

The weight we use is the specific weight of the vehicle used in the  test that was conducted.  Very often a differently optioned vehicle will weigh 10% more or less than the weight we've assigned to it.  Please re-adjust the weight class category to meet the exact weight of your vehicle. Different engine, transmission, and accessory option packages can make a big difference.  The weight class rating for a any given model is not set in stone.

Weight Matters - The following chart is from an IIHS News Release dated 2-10-98.  The left-most column gives the weight class of the vehicles in the first column of each pair (that is, " cars," "pick-ups," & "SUVs").  Columns 1, 3, and 5 show the death rates (per million vehicles per year) for cars, pick-ups, and SUVs of different weights; columns 2, 4 and 6 show the death rates for the occupants of the other vehicle in the two-car collision.  

Occupant death rates in two-vehicle crashes, 1990-95 model passenger vehicles versus other vehicles ( deaths per million vehicles per year) Weight Class (lbs) Vehicle crash pairs 1990-1995 Cars  Pick-ups SUVs Cars  Other  Pick-ups  Other  SUVs Other  less than 2500  109 35   105 58 2500-2999  83 43  89  88 54  75 3000-3499  60 48 56  116 53  75 3500-3999 53  57  52  115  37  92 4000-4499 49 58 44  144 29 91 4500-4999     45 169 29 110 5000 +     38 181 25 112 (Of note, occupants of the lightest cars have dramatically higher death rates.  Also, most significantly from a safety point of view, heavy pickups and SUVs are associated with far higher death rates in the OTHER vehicle than in themselves, or than death rates caused by comparably heavy cars. )  (Source IIHS)

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