Big Guys vs. Little Guys

What Happens When an SUV and Car Collide

Passenger cars by their very nature are smaller and lighter than sport-utilities. Given that sport-utes (combined with pickup trucks) account for approximately 30% of new, non-commercial registrations, the odds of having a collision with a pickup or SUV are increasing.

If this was a perfect world, in an accident your energy-absorbing bumper would come in contact with the energy-absorbing bumper of the other vehicle, absorbing the impact and allowing you to walk away, assuming your seatbelt is fastened. Unfortunately, if you have the bad luck to collide with a sport-utility the bumpers may over-ride one another. SUVs, by their nature, are designed to be driven off-road (please hold the laughter!). This requires a vehicle with increased ground clearance. That greater height then leads to "accident incompatibility."

Obviously, preserving passenger compartment integrity is the key to crash protection, a facet of development and design which has been enhanced lately by the adoption of frontal-offset testing, which is more realistic than the somewhat rare full-frontal crash.

Another emerging concern is the deadly "side impact." Most such impacts occur at intersections, which, by the way, are also where most accidents happen. Though cars built in the last decade have side beams in their doors, designed to reduce cabin deformation, the higher bumpers on a pickup truck or SUV may cause a car's un-reinforced B-pillar to collapse. (The B-pillar is the "post" between front and rear doors that holds up the roof.)

When this part of the car is bent inwards it sometimes strikes the occupant's heads. The good news is that manufacturers are starting to design vehicles with stronger B-pillars; still, consumers worried over safety should consider purchasing cars that offer side airbags or side curtains. These devices serve to protect the head and thorax in such accidents.

So is the alleged advantage of size reason enough to buy an SUV? No. Because of their higher center of gravity, rollover crashes in SUVs account for 48% of vehicle occupant deaths, compared with about 20% for passenger cars. The heavier vehicle's greater size and weight crushes roofs as it rolls, often with disastrous effect on the occupants.

Thankfully, you needn't give up on the traditional passenger car because of the sport-ute fad. Manufacturers have made great strides in occupant protection during recent years; even small cars are now achieving 5-star ratings in crash-tests. And do remember that "active safety" (avoiding the accident in the first place) is still your best insurance against injury. Cars that score best in active safety are often the smallest and most agile.

And that's an advantage worth thinking about.