Are Cars or SUVs Safer Vehicles?
When buying a car there are so many different factors to consider. As injury attorneys, we want to stress safety as the number one most important factor when deciding on a new car. Especially when it comes to crash prevention systems and crash test strength results.
A question that a lot of people have is what is safer, SUVs or cars? Well the answer is, it depends. What do we mean by this? Well mainly that there are a lot of things that determine “safety” in a vehicle. What most people do is look at crash-test scores. While these ratings are important, they don’t always tell you everything you should consider.
According to Consumer Reports, in front-crash tests are between same-sized vehicles. But what if you get in a front-crash with a larger vehicle? Results from the University of Buffalo showed that in car vs. SUV head-on crashes the odds of death were 7.6 times higher for the car driver than the SUV driver. This was true even for cars that had a higher front crash-test rating than the SUV, although is was slightly better at 4.5 times higher.
The data sample for this research included 83,251 crashes. Researchers concluded that for at least head-on crashes, vehicle type is more important indicator for predicting survival than the crash-test rating, although crash test rating still plays an important factor. So you might think, “there you go SUVs are safer!” But this data was solely for head-on crashes.
SUVs are higher off the ground than cars, making their center of gravity higher and causing a greater risk of rollover, which is usually fatal.
When choosing a car, remember that although an SUV might be larger, cars are safer than ever before. Make sure whatever vehicle you choose it has these up-to-date safety features:
- Electronic Stability Control
- Antilock Brakes
- Curtain Air Bags
- Accident prevention systems
- Good Wet/Dry braking
You can try and choose the safest car on the market, but ultimately it is drivers’ decisions to drive safely at all times. That will always maximize your odds of survival.
