11/13/2025
Why Weight Distribution Matters
📊 Key Insights from the Graph
• Balanced vehicles (≈50% front weight): Fatalities hover around 50 per million, reflecting stable handling.
• Moderately front-heavy (55–60%): Fatalities climb to 75–100 per million, showing increased instability.
• Critical threshold (63%): Fatalities spike to 150 per million, about 3× higher than balanced vehicles.
• Severe imbalance (65–70%): Fatalities plateau around 160–170 per million, confirming that once the rear is too light, recovery from skids becomes nearly impossible.
🚗 Why This Happens
• Physics of imbalance: A heavy front pulls the car forward, while the lighter rear struggles to maintain grip.
• Breakaway risk: The rear loses traction suddenly, leading to spins that drivers cannot correct.
• Human error amplification: Drivers misjudge safe cornering speeds because the rear provides little warning before sliding.
🛞 Safety Implication
• Best tires on the rear axle: This practice directly counters rear breakaway, stabilizing the vehicle even when the front is overloaded.
• Driver awareness: Recognizing that front-heavy cars are more prone to accidents helps encourage safer speeds and cautious maneuvers.
