http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:scAiH_1xp7YJ:www.suv.org/safety.html+suv+damage+accident+smaller+autos&hl=enCRASH COMPATIBILITY
While SUVs pose serious safety problems for their occupants, recent studies are showing that SUVs are greatly increasing the danger on our roads for drivers and passengers in other cars.
Federal information shows that although light trucks account for one-third of all registered vehicles, traffic crashes between a light truck and any other vehicle now account for the majority of fatalities in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions. Of the 5,259 fatalities caused when light trucks struck cars in 1996, 81 percent of the fatally injured were occupants of the car.(9) In multiple-vehicle crashes, the occupants of the car are four times more likely to be killed than the occupants of the SUV.(10) In a side-impact collision with an SUV, car occupants are 27 times more likely to die.(11)SUVs simply are not compatible in accidents with smaller-sized cars. It is natural to think that SUVs would cause more damage in accidents, because they tend to be heavier than other cars.
However, the danger from SUVs appears to be caused by more than just their weight. Comparisons between vehicles that have similar weights, like the Ford Taurus, a mid-sized sedan, and the Ford Ranger, a pick-up (which provides the platform for the Ford Explorer), have shown disproportionate impacts in accidents.
The increased damage results in large part from the design of these vehicles. On average, light trucks and SUVs are designed to ride eight inches higher than a car. SUVs also have a more rigid frame - usually consisting of two steel rails. Most cars only use one rail. These two design factors greatly increase the damage caused in a crash with a passenger car.
In March 1999 NHTSA examined the design of many popular SUVs and found that the height and frames of SUVs make them extra lethal to people riding in smaller vehicles. Differences in vehicle weight did not account for the extra risk. NHTSA conducted tests showing what happens when an SUV crashes into a Honda Accord. Several SUVs were crashed into the front driver's-side corner of the Accord. A Ford Explorer caused the most damage to the Accord. While the results might indicate that the Explorer is the safer vehicle, video of the crash test shows that the Explorer nearly rolled over after hitting the Accord, and teetering on two wheels for several moments.(12)
This study was very important because it examined how many car occupants killed in accidents with SUVs might have survived had the accidents involved passenger cars weighing the same as SUVs. This is in important finding, because auto manufacturers have maintained that the weight of SUVs make them dangerous to smaller cars, not the design. The NHTSA study concludes that 2,000 people would have survived if their vehicles had been hit by a heavy car instead of a heavy SUV. Two thousand is five percent of the nation's annual traffic fatalities. The study declares that light trucks and SUVs are twice as likely to cause a fatality in the struck car than a passenger car of comparable weight.(13)
In response to studies like this, automakers have begun saying they will make changes to make SUVs more compatible with other cars. When Ford Motor Company introduced it's new monster, the Excursion (19 feet long, 6 1/2 feet wide, and weighing in at 8,500 pounds), Ford added a front beam and a rear tow hitch to prevent other vehicles from sliding under the Excursion during an accident. The Excursion will be the largest SUV on the market and could be extremely dangerous in an accident with a smaller vehicle since almost every vehicle on the road is smaller. Ford has not added the safety beam to its other SUVs.
The compatibility issue is not confined to crashes. The size and design of SUVs raises other safety issues. For instance, placement of headlights is a serious nuisance and a potential safety problem. On large SUVs, the headlights are mounted higher than on cars. Large SUVs have headlights mounted 36 to 39 inches above the ground - the same height as the side mirror on a small car. The glare from SUVs' headlights can appear to other drivers as bright as high beams. Glare can be 10 to 20 times worse than recommended levels when headlights are at the height of a driver's eyes or side mirror, according to a study by the Society of Automotive Engineers. (14)
Automakers traditionally claim that they are simply giving the public what they want with SUVs. But recent survey results show that the public is concerned about SUVs compatibility with other passenger cars. In March 1998, the Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) conducted a poll which found that nearly 80 percent of car and SUV owners feel "very strongly" or "somewhat strongly" that automakers should make safety changes to SUVs and other light trucks that would reduce risk to car occupants. This overwhelming majority points to a growing concern among the public that SUVs and cars have a hard time coexisting on the roads.(15)
With today's SUVs growing ever larger, automakers have begun a war of escalation - like a new arms race. In the end, the result of this race may be lower overall highway safety.
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