So you’ve decided to buy a car, minivan, SUV, or pickup. Now the question is, which one? If you factor safety into your choice
(most people do), then you probably want to know, what’s the safest vehicle to buy? Safety has numerous aspects, so there’s no direct answer, although it’s clear that some vehicles are safer than others. You can find safer vehicles in various
price and style groups
Start by recognizing that safety involves AVOIDING CRASHES to begin with and then
PROTECTING YOU if and when a crash occurs.
CRASH AVOIDANCE
All vehicles have basic features to reduce crash likelihood — lights so other motorists can see you, brakes to stop, etc. New technology is being added to help
avoid crashes in the first place. These features alert you if you stray from your
lane or get too close to a car in front of you. Most of the new features haven’t been
scientifically evaluated yet, but some show promise and one already is proving effective:
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL.You’ll find it by various trade names (StabiliTrak, Stability Assist, etc.), but the
systems are basically the same. They’re extensions of antilock brake technology that help drivers maintain control in the worst situation — loss of control at high speed. These systems engage automatically to help bring a vehicle back in the intended line of travel. Electronic stability control lowers the risk of a fatal
single-vehicle crash by about half. It lowers the risk of a fatal rollover crash by as much as 80 percent. To see if a vehicle you’re thinking of buying has electronic stability control,
go to
iihs.org/ratings/esc/esc.aspx.
DON’T COUNT ON AVOIDING CRASHES.
Despite everyone’s best efforts, millions of crashes occur each year. Tens of thousands of them involve deaths. So the most important aspect of shopping for safety is to choose a crashworthy vehicle — one that reduces death and injury risk during a crash.
TOP SAFETY PICKS CRASHWORTHINESSThe first crashworthiness attributes to consider are vehicle size and weight. Small, light vehicles generally offer less protection than larger, heavier ones. There’s
less structure to absorb crash energy, so deaths and injuries are more likely to occur in both single- and multiplevehicle crashes. If safety is one of your major considerations PASS UP VERY SMALL, LIGHT VEHICLES. This doesn’t mean you have to buy the heaviest vehicle you can find. It wouldn’t necessarily be safer because those weighing more than about 4,500 pounds afford only small injury risk reductions.
At the same time, they increase the injury risk for people riding
in other vehicles with which they collide.
BIGGER GENERALLY IS SAFERDRIVER DEATHS PER MILLION REGISTERED vehicles
Note: Rates are adjusted to account for some differences in driver age and sex within and between vehicle types. Remaining differences in vehicle use patterns and driver demographics may account for some of the death rate differences. While the risk of death generally is higher in smaller and lighter cars, SUVs, and pickups, vehicle size and weight don’t tell the whole story. There are safety differences among vehicles that are similar in size and weight. Some light car models,
for example, are safer than others. Some midweight SUVs
are safer than others. And so on. This is because some
models have MORE CRASHWORTHY DESIGNS than others. You can’t tell the difference by looking at the vehicles. You need to compare their crash test results.
Most popular vehicles have been tested, so buy one with GOOD CRASHWORTHINESS RATINGS in front, side, rollover, and rear-end crashes.
To find and compare safety ratings for hundreds of vehicles, go to
iihs.org/ratingsAND
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