Small can be safe

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

How does an F1 driver walk away from a 150MPH crash?

Weight works against you is a single car crash. And stopping distances have a lot to do with weight. Accident avoidance has a lot to do with weight.

I'll take a strong and light car with good crush zones, that is nimble and has good brakes -- over a massive lump any day. SUV's did horribly is crash tests, and they tend to roll over a lot more easily than do cars.

We need to look at deaths per million miles driven -- and I'm pretty sure that the best rating is a car. One of the worst was a Ford F150.

Here's a list of the 10 worst vehicles to crash in (from bad to worst):

10. Hummer H3 -- Front: Acceptable, Side: Acceptable, Rear: Poor

9. Jeep Patriot (without optional side-airbags) -- Acceptable, Marginal, Acceptable

8. Pontiac G6 Convertible -- Acceptable, Marginal, Marginal

7. Mitsubishi Raider/Dodge Dakota -- Acceptable, Marginal, Poor

6. GMC Canyon/Chevrolet Colorado -- Acceptable, Poor, Marginal

5. Mazda B Series/Ford Ranger -- Acceptable, Marginal, Poor
Mitsubishi Raider

4. Chevrolet Aveo -- Acceptable, Marginal, Poor

3. Saab 9-7X/Chevrolet TrailBlazer/GMC Envoy -- Acceptable, Poor, Marginal

2. Suzuki Forenza -- Acceptable, Poor, Poor

1. Kia Rio/Hyundai Accent -- Acceptable, Poor, Poor

Honorable Mention: Chrysler 300 (Good, Poor, Marginal), Mazda 3 (Good, Poor, Marginal), Audi A4 Cabriolet (Good, Marginal Poor), BMW 3 Series Convertible (Good, Marginal, Poor), Buick LaCrosse (Good, Marginal, Poor)

Okay, here's something:

ConsumerReports.org - IIHS report shows the best and worst cars in driver safety

[ConnClark]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

ConsumerReports.org - IIHS report shows the best and worst cars in driver safety

That last link has data on actual fatalities per million cars registered and they had this to say.

"Results from the IIHS study show that vehicle weight and size factor into the death rate. Generally, the smallest, lightest vehicles have the highest fatality rates in crashes. None of the 15 vehicles on the lowest-fatality list are small, while 11 of 16 on the highest list are small."

just what I have been saying all along.

[RH77]

Here's what I take issue with...

Since Trucks and Utes haven't been selling, manufacturers have to pimp their "safety". I just witnessed BMW's latest scheme to sell the X3 Somewhat Useless Vehicle:

A crash advert featuring actual survivors of a crash in an X3 and an image of NOT the actual vehicle crashed (a mother and her newborn child -- a heart-tugging yarn). My guess is they hand a fender-bender (to avoid false advertising).

I'll take the safety of a properly designed subcompact over an SUV any day. Playing on the ill-informed public is dirty pool, IMO.

RH77

[Frank Lee]

SUV also = Suddenly Unwanted Vehicle LOL

[Formula413]

Originally Posted by ConnClark

"Results from the IIHS study show that vehicle weight and size factor into the death rate. Generally, the smallest, lightest vehicles have the highest fatality rates in crashes. None of the 15 vehicles on the lowest-fatality list are small, while 11 of 16 on the highest list are small."

This fails to take into account the increased ability of a smaller vehicle to avoid an accident altogether.

[bgd73]

This subject arises occasionally. It is so very logical:

light and tough == less crimple zone
heavy and weak is just as bad as heavy and strong. I have wrecked every category of auto...the subaru loyale was the miracle maker out of 3 in different weight categories (totalled) Anyway...9 years with metal plates pins, aches pains and twice as old as myself later...

I make videos while being a passenger in a tractor trailer. Upon a ride into the hills of western maine I sped up the rather legthy 20+ minute clip. We were behind a geo metro. the freaky little car was all over the place in the sped up clip. appeared normal while fiming. Looked just like a little bug with tiny wheels.the drivers head looked misproportianelty large in comparison to the little fish bowl he was driving (to save fule no doubt).

I found several that are surprising between safety and car weight. New steel and old steel is a factor too...ie: An old sube could rip an outback in half, while claimed to be 800 pound lighter...all on account of steel type and crumpleness...real bumpers, to the point where you could stand on them, or tow hook.airbags allowed airbags to engineer softer steel in todays cars, it is only part of the silent war for people who know better. Another backwards adding a star to so called true ratings...

I found many.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

Which vehicle would you rather be in?

Mini Cooper vs Ford F-150 Crash Test - Sweet's Car Blog

[ConnClark]

Originally Posted by Formula413

This fails to take into account the increased ability of a smaller vehicle to avoid an accident altogether.

This list is based on fatalities per number of vehicles registered not fatalities per accident. So that would be taken into account after all. It would also take into account the ability of the average driver to utilize this ability.

small and light does not equal safe Q.E.D.

[Will]

I told myself that I was not going to post on this thread. The recent death of my sister is still too raw. She hit a Yukon head on in her Cavalier. The math is not hard. They walked away.

This whole thing seems to boil down to choices. I chose to sell off my Buick Century and buy a Gen. 1 Geo Metro xfi because the chance to make an environmental difference was worth the personal risk to me. My wife was deeply concerned about that choice, and I understood her concern. We compromised and I got a gen 2 Metro with airbags and better crash data. It's all about choices. NO, generally small cars are not as safe as large cars, but how much is the part you can do for this planet worth to you? Is it worth a little more risk? To me the answer is yes...

By the way, only I ride in my Metro. My wife and 1 year old do not. They only ride in her Buick. This is another choice I have made.

[Formula413]

Lets just say for the sake of argument that larger vehicles are always safer than smaller vehicles, across the board, in every type of crash. Is anyone (on this forum no less) actually advocating their use for that reason?