Another good reason to buy the biggest vehicle that you can afford

Can you imagine what would have happened to a Honda Civic?

When my family was younger, I only bought Chevy Suburbans. That feeling of security was well worth the poor mileage.

Wow. And apparently head-on on a one-way street. Somebodys chi was all messed up that day.

Bulk was a major consideration when we bought a Prius. But there's so many airbags and other safety stuff, we decided to chance it.

Why stop with an suv when you can get that quad cab truck from freightliner thats 500lbs shy of needed a commerial license to operate?

Myself, I want an f750 with full utility body and generator. I was thinking about the gmc topkick 8500 series, but some of those are real lemons and the whole truck is basically worn out instead of just the engine after 150k miles.

Look at which sides of the hoods have the most damage. Assuming both trucks were driving (not one parked) then they were both driving on the wrong side of the road.

I wonder what the result would have been if the Hummer had been a real one.

If you'd been in a civic, the car would have crumbled like it was supposed to, the airbags would have gone off and you'd probably be just as bad off had you been driving the SUV's.

When I win the lotto, this is going to be my next vehicle. It's the International pickup truck so no weight fees like commercial trucks.

I have noticed the car commercials stress size for safety, everyone needs an SUV to pick up 2 small kids and a bag of groceries, and a big SUV makes you cool.

Of course the relatively high gas prices have them scared. They can't really show 1 lone driver stuck in a daily 55 mile commute at 35 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone. Big profits are gone for awhile.

I can't afford it. I guess I'll just have to try to stay alert and properly use my signals, lights, mirrors, and brain. Bummer. I can't drive a big, cool, SUV.

Mass and size does not automatically equal safety. A smaller, lighter, more agile vehicle can avoid collisions that heavy vehicles cannot and are far less prone to rollovers.

One needs to evaluate the relative safety of a given vehicle by looking at far more that ground clearance and curb weight. Look at the data that the insurance companies generate since they're somewhat closely tied to the overall safety of a vehicle than any other industry...

I love my truck as much as the next guy, but I'd feel downright irresponsible if I drove a big truck on fossil fuels just to get myself around. So much consumption to get so little done. Disgusting.

Marty Weiner said:

Can you imagine what would have happened to a Honda Civic?

When my family was younger, I only bought Chevy Suburbans. That feeling of security was well worth the poor mileage.

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Size does not always beat out sound engineering.
Death rate of Honda Civic vs Chevy Suburban and others
[driver deaths per million registered vehicles/year]
2WD Suburban = 73
Honda Civic = 67
4WD Suburban = 47
Chevy Blazer = 308 (2WD 2 door)
= 190 (2WD 4 door)
Ford Excursion = 107
The single vehicle accident rollover deaths in some SUVs and pickup trucks exceeds the total for the better small cars.

http://www.iihs.org/news/2005/iihs_sr_031505.pdf
[Insurance Institute for highway safety]

BIGIRON says: " Bulk was a major consideration when we bought a Prius."
Bulk (volume) and good engineering do make the occupants safer. Weight mainly is good for killing the occupants of the other vehicle in a 2 car collision.

Sorry, neither the Hummer nor BIGIRON's Prius sold enough cars to be in this report.

--Walter

I would think that deaths per milions of miles driven would be a more meaningful number.

I'll stick to my passenger cars and not worry about it. while driving a truck may make me feel safer, I was horrified every time I had to replace the tires on the Silverado I used to own. Ouch!!! besides, that thing got me 10 in the city and 17 on the highway, half the milage I get with cars. I drive quite a bit and my credit card thanks me.

snowleopard said:

Weight mainly is good for killing the occupants of the other vehicle in a 2 car collision.

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Hear hear, if everybody could just drive lighter cars then it would be safer for everybody.
Large cars is also a lot more unhealthy for pedestrians if you hit them.

snowleopard,
The results don't seem to take into account the number of people in the vehicles, only registrations. I've had 6 people or more in my Suburban countless times and 8+ on many occasions. I would bet the married with kids ratio for Suburban owners to Civic owners is probably 5 to 1 or more. That factor in itself implies more people in the vehicle by at least a multiple of 2 and it's probably more like 3 to 1.

I personally know the owners of two Suburban who had head on collisions here in my town with imports and in both cases the Suburban owner AND occupants walked away while the import drivers and occupants (only one in one of the vehicles) died. The only plus to the tragedy was in both cases the import drivers were the ones that crossed over the centerline to cause the head-on. The Suburban will certainly roll over easier. A customer of mine recently rolled his over twice when the stabilizer on his travel trailer broke suddenly at 70 MPH. He, his wife and their two kids walked away with only bruises and a few cuts from flying glass. He bought another Suburban 3 days later and another trailer two days after that.

Engineering is no doubt a huge factor in vehicle safety. The 2003-2006 Suburban's had driver, pass and optional side impact airbags. .In 2007 models they added curtain airbags as well. For a head on crash if given the option of mid size car, any brand, or a full size SUV, any brand, I will be strapped into the SUV every time. In my mythical head-on collision for purposes of proving a point I hope the other tester aimed at my windshield is driving a mid size car. Engineering plus mass = advantage.

PS: I looked at one of the Ford F750's the other day, it's huge.

I'm totally with DD on this one.

In my hypothetical world, if I'm going driving and know I'll be in a collision, what "normal" vehicle would I choose to drive? Compact, mid, full or Suburban. Easy answer.

I think most of this is pointless unless we are setting up a stunt or something for the myth busters to try when a head one collision was 100% possible.

Ive driven an extended body cargo van and a mercedes 240d. Being a new driver, long time back seat driver and part mechanic, i knew what I was getting into and how to be safe.

Basically know the limits of your steering, braking, acceleration of your car and keep plenty of distance between you and the other guys and always have an escape route.

I have not had any accidents, but a few close ones. Mainly folks stopping on the innerstate for what seems no reason, entry or exit ramps, or changing multiple lanes in one swing. In these cases i just rode the brakes and changed lanes to get out from behind them. One time coming home at after 11pm I saw a semi truck riding in the right and shoulder off and on. He was ten miles below the limit, but i felt safer a few truck lengths behind him and when flash my lights as he swerged into the shoulder.

I think I will stay with my previous statment. if I want to drive a truck, I want a real one or hummer for that matter as they all get similar fuel economy.

I bet the h1 would of dislocated the hood andmaybe dented the bumper if it was driven.

I drive a benz, believe they have a pretty good safety record.

Sorry guys, but right now, high-end supercars are about the safest and most crash-resistant cars on the road. They are designed with superior materials to withstand higher forces associated with speed. For instance, here is the famous Richard Losee Enzo that unfortunately caught some air and crashed a few weeks ago.




Flipped 7 times going near 200mph, the driver walked away. The rear of the car broke away to dissipate energy as it is designed to do, and the carbon fiber tub kept the passenger compartment intact.

No matter how big the car is, the main issue with crashworthyness is how the car dissipates energy away from the occupants and how the passenger compartment maintains its form under stress.

An Enzo could probably avoid collision with an H2 or Ram3500 in the first place, but if they did collide, the trucks would probably ramp up and into the passenger compartment.

JimH said:

I would think that deaths per milions of miles driven would be a more meaningful number.

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You're right, of course, but the data isn't available. This study is from insurance data, I think.
Other deficiencies are:
Different cars are driven by different kinds of drivers; I suspect the Suburban is often driven more conservatively (and with kids in it) than a Corvette.
Some cars may be driven more miles than others.

DieselDave: You're right about the different nature of the owners. The Suburban IS a relatively safe vehicle. If I were to be in a collision with one in my Civic, I lose. But, in a Suburban most deaths are rollovers (overall reasonably safe). Less safe vehicles, like Ford Excursions or a Chevy Blazers have a real problem with rollovers. Large cars are safe and are much safer for the other car's occupants. Some large SUVs are very safe, some are deathtraps and you can't tell by looking at them which are which. At least with a Yugo, you knew what you were in for in an accident.

You really would want the safest vehicles to be those sold as family carriers. This isn't always the case. You have to look at the safety data, not the size of the vehicle.

--Walter

snowleopard said:

Weight mainly is good for killing the occupants of the other vehicle in a 2 car collision.

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Good point. Whatever extra safety the huge mass of these vehicles gives their occupants (and in truth it's a very small amount) it comes at the expense of someone else's life. How do these large vehicles impact the overall death rate? The statistics say that they cause it to rise. They not only cause more deaths in vehicles they hit but they are far less adept at avoiding accidents due to their bulk/poor handling characteristics. Their large size also masks the (generally poor) driving habits of the people who tend to buy them solely for their size (rather than because they actually need them). Until SUVs were prevalent in large numbers the death rate per million passenger miles were steadily dropping. Afterwards, it either leveled off or in some cases even rose. This isn't even getting into the extra cancer deaths caused by these vehicles. Some 600,000 die annually from cancers caused by all forms of environmental pollution in the US alone. While it's difficult to say what percentage is caused solely by driving, if a vehicle burns 3 times the gas per mile it will likely cause 3 times the number of cancer deaths. Making it worse is the fact that SUVs are for the most part exempt from the more stringent exhaust regulations so their exhaust is "dirtier" per given volume than an automobile with the same mpg.

Sorry, there is no good reason for getting a heavier vehicle solely for safety. In fact, the huge weight differential between the lightest subcompacts and the heaviest SUVs is a big problem. Besides that, even the biggest SUV is worthless in a collision with an 18-wheeler.