Safety of an suv vs a car?

Question

Are SUV's really that much safer than cars?

Answer 1

Perhaps the SUV safety issue that has garnered the most attention is rollover.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), SUVs have a rollover rate that is two to three times that of passenger cars.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an insurance-industry-sponsored research organization, SUVs and pickup trucks are disproportionately more likely than cars to be in fatal single-vehicle crashes, especially rollovers.

Answer 2

Modern cars have "crumple zones" and a "safety cage" , some even have strengthening bars in the sides - just in case of a side impact.  

SUV's do NOT need to comply to the same safety criteria, so on that count alone they are not safer than cars.  AND - as stated previously, they are more likely to 'roll' after an impact.

Either stick to a good sized car - or buy a truck...better still - get a Land Rover and stay 'Off-Road'...

Answer 3

It's mostly a question of size and weight...  The more steel you wrap around yourself, the safer you will be in an accident with another (smaller) car.

Answer 4

Are they much safer than cars?  The reality is that suv's are a great deal more dangerous than cars.

One NHTSA official once referred to them as the "neutron bombs of the road," as they tend to kill or maim their occupants in a collision, while leaving the suv relatively unharmed.

Most, not all - but most, suv's are built using "body on frame" construction.  These frames are very heavy, and very rigid; and they do not absorb the kinetic energy of an impact well; rather, they transmit this energy through the vehicle.  Tape an egg to the back of a sledgehammer, and then hit a large rock with the hammer to get an idea of how this works.

There is an suv's height as well.  A higher center of gravity than a car, in a vehicle not much wider than a car, means it is easier to tip; particularly in emergency maneuver situations (swerving into another lane due to a deer on the roadway, wandering onto the shoulder at highway speed, and taking curves too fast and the like).

That height creates other dangers as well. Hit a car with a full size suv, and you have to contend with the suv frame being substantially higher off the ground than the frame of the car you hit.  The higher frame of the suv tends to walk up over the lower frames of cars in a collision, given sufficient speed at impact.

Different standards.  Suv's are not cars, and they are not built to car standards; but rather to what the government refers to as light truck standards.  This means that they do not have to employ the same design safety features as cars do, and they do not have to be built to survive roll over events to the same standard that cars do.  

Those are the basic points, but there are many others.  Try finding the book "The High and the Mighty" at your local library; it does a magnificent job of detailing the problems inherent to suv's.

If you like suvs - that's just fine, but please do keep these basic points in mind.  Don't drive them like you would a car. Be aware of their limitations. And if you want to use one to do actual work with, a plain old pickup truck will do just as well!

Answer 5

its all about the driver and driving style rather than the vehicle of choice.  if you drive slower and safer you will be safer.  if you drive wrecklessly and fast you are more likely to be involved in or cause a fatal collision.

Answer 6

man SUV is also a car, so what're u talking about?