<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Sep 18 2007, 02:57 PM) [snapback]514416[/snapback]</div>

I dont have my prius inside door on me right now: problem with the prius?

Step 1 - Install weighing devices in the car seats. (Already done for the passenger seat of a 2007 Prius)

Step 2 - Install tire pressure monitoring devices. (Already done for the 2007 Prius)

Step 3 - Establish weight standards for each car (in progress)

Step 4 - Put interlock in car preventing operation if overloaded.


Just Joking? (I really don't know.)

According to the manual, maximum load for the Prius is 810 pounds, so with 5 people in the car, average weight needs to be less than 162 pounds including clothes and accessories.
Practically speaking, you really only need to worry about this if your tires are underinflated, which was possibly the problem with the Firestone/Explorer issue, along with overspeeding the tires. A lot of Prius owners tend to overinflate the tires from Toyota's recommendations, so it should not be a problem.

Just a wild guess, I bet that big honking SUVs have no problem carrying the extra weight of the average American. Could this be another salvo in the step up to an SUV war on America? Forget about the energy problems facing us now and our children tomorrow, step up to an SUV. I thought that engineers started with a target weight for the passengers to be carried and then designed the vehicle to match or exceed the specs, perhaps the tail does wag the dog and engineers are idiots.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clearview22 @ Sep 19 2007, 07:47 AM) [snapback]514723[/snapback]</div>

The first part of your comment was exactly the way this struck me when I read this originally. In the article I read, the "twist" at the end was that your insurance won't cover you if you're in an accident and total passenger weight exceeds the limit. Not that I've looked into it, but I've never heard of an insurer denying claims because your (properly seated, properly belted) passengers were overweight for the car, nor have I ever heard of an insurer weighing the driver and passengers after an accident. So it struck me as another planted story on the evils of normal-sized vehicles.

Overloaded cars aren't that big of a deal.

Weight limits are for sissies:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(htmlspinnr @ Sep 19 2007, 11:49 PM) [snapback]515141[/snapback]</div>

Same problem there!!!

A few years ago (maybe 4 now) there was a regional turboprop down in the Southeast that crashed. There was an issue with the elevator cables, but the NTSB also concluded that weight was an issue. The current FAA requirements were similar ~150 or so for a passenger. There was talk about raising it, but I haven't heard of anything since.


And boats:

A couple of years ago, a tour boat capsized on one of New York's finger lakes. Weight was an issue there too. The Coast Guard was the same way. Approx ~150ish for a passenger. Same talk about raising the weight requirements.

That's kinda scary since I'm 6'4" and 225 pounds and not fat by any means. Who are these mythical 150lb people? Do they factor in toddlers and newborns with those weight figures? I think they are in serious need of updating.

This was a report from 2004

"...the average height of a man aged 20-74 years increased from just over 5'8" in 1960 to 5'9½" in 2002, while the average height of a woman the same age increased from slightly over 5'3" 1960 to 5'4" in 2002.

Meanwhile, the average weight for men aged 20-74 years rose dramatically from 166.3 pounds in 1960 to 191 pounds in 2002, while the average weight for women the same age increased from 140.2 pounds in 1960 to 164.3 pounds in 2002."

That makes the average weight 178 pounds and the average height almost 5'7".