cars they are growing This triggers increasingly serious consequences not only for the climate but also for public health in cities. During the years when SUVs became popular among the public, the average size of any commercial vehicle continued to increase. But even small cars seem to get bigger and bigger over time. automotive ‘obesity’ This goes beyond its aesthetic appearance.
Before going any further Particles from wear in vehicle brakes, tires and roads They already account for about half of the pollutant particles emitted into the air from road traffic. However, this situation will get worse because the size of the vehicle fleet and vehicle volume in cities is gradually increasing.
Vehicles purchased today are larger than the vehicles they replace. This affects parking and raises concerns about the safety of other road users. An American study showed that: Children were eight times more likely to be killed by an SUV than by a car. normal. According to British newspaper The Guardian, larger vehicles also have a greater impact on climate and air pollution.
The trend towards larger (and therefore heavier) cars began in the 1990s. The average weight of European cars has increased by around 9% in the last decade. Additionally, small SUV sales increased fivefold and large SUV sales increased sevenfold.
A growing number of toxicological studies warn of possible conditions. Health damage caused by pollution from brakes, road asphalt and tire wear.
An experiment shows pollution
Professor William Hicks and his team at Imperial College London created a computer simulator to study air pollution from brakes. In their latest study, six different vehicles took simulated drives around London to see if there were big differences between different types of vehicles. The brakes of the large SUV had to work twice as hard as the brakes of the small compact car.This caused more particle pollution.
So what happens to electric cars? The batteries in these vehicles generally make them 20% heavier than their gasoline and diesel counterparts. But hybrid and battery-powered vehicles have regenerative braking: They use electric motors to slow down, helping to recharge the battery each time they do so. They use friction brakes only during hard and slow braking.
In the experiment, despite its added weight, The brakes of hybrid and battery-powered vehicles worked less than their gasoline and diesel counterparts.. Brake pollution was reduced by 88% in the international driving test and 68% in the London test.
Driving style also affects
Hicks told The Guardian: “That’s it for me. Driving styles can affect emissions from brake wear. “Aggressive driving and braking, common in urban driving, causes more direct wear between the disc and pad, but also heats the brakes, resulting in more ultrafine particle emissions.”
“Long-term, Intelligent traffic control and driver attitude must support efficient driving. However, in the short term, drivers can reduce air pollution by driving safely. “This can be achieved through traffic calming measures, media campaigns and driver awareness courses.”
However, the effects caused by the weight of vehicles are not limited to automobiles. A previous study in London found links between increasing numbers of heavy trucks and increases in types of particle pollution from brakes, tires and road wear.
Reference work: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c01072
Reference article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/08/autobesity-on-course-to-worsen-air-pollution-caused-by-motoring
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