Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahoe_Hybrid
Don't tell me to buy a prius
if I wanted to die in a accident i would have bought a smart car instead...
The speed limits are high in my AREA 45 to 60mph in the surface streets and if you get hit at that speed you're dead.... even if you have 20 air bags
I have seen it happen lots of times
|
I'm sorry, but I don't believe that ginormous = safe propaganda one bit.
Sure, in a head-on collision you're safer in a heavier vehicle. But looks can be deceptive. A 2021 Ford F-150 starts out at around 4,000lbs, the same as a lot of full sized sedans. Depending on options a Dodge Charger can weigh 500lbs more than an F-150 curb weight. Sure, your Tahoe has a curb weight of around 700 to 1,000lbs more than that. But you could load the Charger with about that much weight if you wanted to.
Besides, weight and size isn't everything. You're more likely to get into a rollover accident in an SUV. That can cause you to become partially ejected from your vehicle right before it crushes you. I saw a guy kill himself this way right in front of me. He didn't even go off the road, just rolled his Jeep right in the middle of the road with no cars coming after hitting a patch of ice and then dry pavement. Roll overs also let things penetrate your vehicle. I had a friend who rolled his SUV and got impaled by a fence post. I don't know about you, but where I live nearly all highways are lined with metal fence posts waiting for SUV and pickup drivers to roll over on top of them. And I know, you're probably thinking that you're such a good driver that you'd never get into a rollover. But roll overs can happen when other cars just slightly bump into yours. Ever see a police car do a pit maneuver on an SUV? It usually ends up in a rollover.
You're also more likely to get killed by your own cargo than in a sedan, unless you have a good cargo net. Years ago this is how the neighbor lady died. She was in a single car accident, reportedly going only 25 mph before the accident, and was killed by her ski equipment coming up front from the back of her SUV. Of course the same principle applies to hatchbacks and station wagons.
You are also more likely to run over other people, including your family members, especially young children. This is because it's harder to see you're surroundings. When driving school bus there was one time a girl decided to rest on the front of the bus. Good thing we have crossover mirrors on school buses. This is also the reason a pickup truck driver ran over the rear of my flatbed trailer at the Home Depot parking lot. You don't stop for what you can't see.
Looking at driver death rates, the 2008 Tahoe is pretty good statistically, with 18 in a million dying in the 2WD model and 10 in a million dying in the 4WD model. Speaking of the Prius, looking at 2010 to 2011 data 16 in a million Prii drivers have died, which is very close to your Tahoe's statistics. Subarus usually have the lowest death rates statistically. Looking at similar years the Subaru Legacy has a 0 in a million death rate.
Personally I met in the middle of heavy weight and nimble hybrid and got a full sized Toyota Avalon hybrid that gets 40-45 mpg on the highway with no modification or special way of driving other than avoiding going over 65mph.