There is an interesting article in today's New York Times which describes the latest findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
While acknowledging differences within categories the general results were summed up as follows:
You may need to register to read the story, but a link to the full article can be found on the front page:
http://www.nytimes.com
Drive happy,
Moo
While acknowledging differences within categories the general results were summed up as follows:
Before I'm accused of posting this as a blanket indictment against all S.U.V.'s, let me specify that the sport utility vehicle death rate is elevated by the inclusion of midsize units (avg. weight 4,000 lbs.). Looking only at the largest S.U.V.'s (5,100 lbs. avg.) the article ranks them as the third safest, just behind minivans and large passenger vehicles (3,600 lbs.avg.), and in front of midsize passenger vehicles such as the Prius (3,000 lbs. avg.). So, although weight alone does not determine a vehicle's safety, heavier S.U.V.'s are considerably safer than lighter S.U.V.'s.The traffic safety agency reported last week that there were 16.42 deaths of S.U.V. occupants in accidents last year for every 100,000 registered S.U.V.'s. The figure for passenger cars was 14.85 deaths for each 100,000 registered; pickups were slightly higher than cars at 15.17 deaths per 100,000, while vans were lowest at 11.2 occupant deaths for every 100,000 registered.
You may need to register to read the story, but a link to the full article can be found on the front page:
http://www.nytimes.com
Drive happy,
Moo