It is widely known that America’s roads are more deadly than those in other rich countries. But there is debate about why. One of our data journalists, Doug Dowson, found research by academics at the University of California, Berkeley that concluded that America’s heavy, bloated cars and trucks are a big factor. To dig deeper he spent months collecting data on crashes in America, eventually building a dataset of more than 7.5m collisions across 14 states. His analysis shows that, although bigger cars protect their occupants, for every life that the heaviest 1% of SUVs and trucks save in a crash more than a dozen are lost in smaller vehicles. Our cover in America this week explains how to make roads safer despite the growing popularity of giant vehicles. As a driver of an SUV myself, it has given me (and hopefully our readers) some food for thought.

Outside America, our cover looks at China’s economy, which faces a crisis of confidence. A lack of reliable information is compounding the problem. Observers believe the government is massaging data and suppressing sensitive facts. By backtracking on its decades-long policy of partially liberalising the flow of information, China is jeopardising its plan to restructure the economy around new industries. Xi Jinping’s strict control of information risks turning the country into another example of how autocratic rule is not just illiberal but also inefficient. Something similar happened in the Soviet Union.

Finally, I am excited to tell you that students around the world, who are 16 and older, now have free access to our Espresso app, which contains a short briefing every day on the most important stories in business, politics and culture, as well as videos and translation into four languages. Part of this offer includes access to our morning World in Brief newsletter. If you are a student, or the parent or teacher of one, then subscribe here.