Obese people are more than twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured in a car crash, according to research.

Findings at the University of Washington and the University of Auckland shows overweight drivers are more likely to suffer a heart attack or falling asleep at the wheel, while emergency services find it harder to remove them from their wrecks.
 
And cars aren’t designed for the overweight.

The RAC Foundation claims seatbelts and airbags are designed for average-sized people, while crash test dummies are based on the averaged sized male.

Edmund King, spokesman for The RAC Foundation, said: “Some motorists are too dependent on their cars. They need to break that dependency which also affects fitness and health by getting out from behind the wheel more often.”