New Study Shows SUVs 5-7 Percent Safer Than Passenger Cars
In anticipation of the
release of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA)
"Early Assessment" of 2006 traffic crashes, SUV Owners of America, released
today an expert analysis of 1997-2005 data for vehicle performance in all
kinds of crashes. It found that SUVs are 5-7 percent safer than passenger
cars in reducing fatality risk. This is particularly important for
consumers that may be downsizing to cut fuel costs -- a dangerous tradeoff.
SUVOA President Barry McCahill said, "The public is being told by some
that small cars are now as safe as larger cars and SUVs, and can do all the
same things. But, 99 percent of cars can no longer tow a boat or camp
trailer, and small cars are not as safe as larger cars and SUVs. Just as
important, light trucks like minivans and SUVs can carry more passengers
safely than passenger cars."
"It's also inaccurate to say that SUV drivers are causing more deaths
to occupants of smaller vehicles. There has been no increase in fatalities
because of the size mismatch between SUVs and cars, and in 2005 the trend
even turned downward for these kinds of crashes," he added.
"People buy vehicles that meet their needs, and they like to do so with
good information in hand. Our intent in augmenting the NHTSA 2006 early
fatality summary is not to advocate the purchase of any vehicle type, but
to provide additional perspective," he said. "We also advise consumers to
read the comprehensive new data summary now available from the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)."
"All vehicles have become safer because of increased safety belt use,
air bags, electronic stability control, improved vehicle structure and
greater awareness about traffic safety. But the laws of physics that
ultimately rule the road have not changed. Equipped with identical safety
equipment, the larger vehicle also gets safer and always performs better in
a crash than a smaller one," McCahill said.
McCahill explained that NHTSA's "Early Assessment" is based on vehicle
registrations and reflects all occupant fatalities, and the effect of
vehicle, roadway situation and driver behavior. The NHTSA analysis does not
measure the safety performance of just the vehicle.
"The 'Early Assessment' chronicles what occurred on the road in 2006,
and that's important to know. Our analysis covers nearly a decade of crash
data, giving consumers additional information to help guide their vehicle
purchase decisions," he said.
McCahill pointed out that NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)
provides test results on the crash performance of individual vehicles to
help guide consumer purchasing decisions. SUVOA's analysis, by a retired
NHTSA engineer, considered both total occupant fatality rates and then
solely driver fatality rates, the latter to get a more accurate picture of
the vehicle's performance (since every vehicle has at least a driver).
He said the NHTSA analysis does not control for the fact that SUVs,
because they typically hold more occupants, tend to have more occupant
fatalities when a crash occurs.
These are the key findings based on vehicles that were involved in
crashes:
-- When the analysis considers only driver fatalities (focusing more on
the vehicle's performance), and most recent years data (2003-2005) to
include the contribution of the newest safety features, SUVs are
5-7 percent safer than passenger cars.
-- In crashes involving a light truck/van (includes SUVS) and a passenger
car, occupant fatalities in passenger cars remained fairly constant
from 2001-2004, but between 2004-2005 they declined by 4.3 percent.
-- For both passenger cars and SUVs there has been a substantial reduction
in overall occupant fatality rates, and by 2005 the rates are virtually
identical per 100,000 registered vehicles (13.64, passenger car /
13.84, SUVs).
-- For both passenger cars and SUVs the occupant fatality rates in
rollover crashes have decreased. The percentage reduction from
1997-2005 is 15.7 percent for passenger cars and more than 19 percent
for SUVs.
-- When considering the more prevalent frontal, side and rear crashes, by
2005 SUVs had become about twice as safe as passenger cars. In 2005,
SUVs had an occupant fatality rate in these crashes that was nearly 50
percent lower than passenger cars (10.42, passenger cars / 5.56 SUVs).
A copy of the full report (with graphics) is available at
http://www.suvoa.com.
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