Children not safer in SUVs, study says. Doubled risk of rollovers cited.

[Thom Little]

Children are no safer riding in sport utility vehicles than in passenger cars, largely because the doubled risk of rollovers in SUVs cancels out the safety advantages of their greater size and weight, a study said.

Researchers said the findings dispel the bigger-equals-safer myth that has helped fuel the growing popularity of SUVs among families. SUV registrations climbed 250 percent in the United States between 1995 and 2002.

"We're not saying they're worse or that they're terrible vehicles. We're challenging the conventional wisdom that everyone assumed they were better," said Dr. Dennis Durbin, a pediatric emergency physician who took part in the study, published today in the journal Pediatrics.

.......

On average, the SUVs weighed 1,300 pounds more than the cars studied. The study found that the extra weight of SUVs enhanced safety, reducing the risk of injury by more than a third.

But that was offset by findings that SUVs were more than twice as likely as cars to roll over in crashes. Children in rollovers were three times more likely to be seriously injured than those in non-rollover accidents, according to the study.


http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/13537086.htm

[BiggJawn]

1. So much for everyone's favourite excuse...

That they NEED a 3-ton tank to transport the 21-pound Golden Child in comfort and safety.

It's all about Penis Envy.

[apple_ridge]

2. Perfect response.

I've always said exactly that. People are just using the arms race scenario as an excuse to hide the real reason: "compensation".

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[SidDithers]

21. LOL...

Great reply, BiggJawn :)

Sid

[Wilms]

3. .

[The Onyx Key]

4. That's why I bought a minivan!

Just kidding! :)

[slackmaster]

6. The key to safety is not getting into crashes

Inexperienced drivers are far more likely to get into accidents than are experienced ones. They're especially at risk in a vehicle that doesn't handle intuitively or requires the driver to think ahead more than a typical passenger car.

It doesn't take a scientific analysis to see how often people injured or killed in SUV crashes are young, were distracted, or were not wearing seat belts.

SUVs don't kill. Young drivers and drunks and cell phones kill.

[Realityhack]

14. Sorry but thats only a half tuth at best.

of course inexperienced drivers crash... duh. (though elderly drivers are actualy the most un-safe by accidents/mile driven).

But that is a half truth. The best driver in the world has far fewer options for avoiding an acident in a light truck than the same driver in a smaller safer vechicle.

Futhermore you can controll for factors like seatbelt use fairly easily. Of course seatbelt use and distraction etc have higher corilations than SUV vs Car when looking at faitality rates etc.

But claiming that vehicle type has no effect is either massively ignorant or intelectualy dishonest. No matter who is driving SUVs have a higher chance of 'tripping', No matter who is driving they have a longer stoping distance (on avaerage blah blah blah). No matter who is driving they are more likely to do more damage to another vehicle (for example comming in the window instead of the door).

No shit most SUV many SUV crashes involve inexperienced young drivers, distraction, lack of seatbelts etc. So do many auto crashes. Dosn't mean there is not a safety diffrence.

[slackmaster]

17. I never said the vehicle type had no effect

In fact if you would go back and read my post you would see that I acknowledged that SUVs are harder to control than are regular passenger cars, i.e. "They're especially at risk in a vehicle that doesn't handle intuitively or requires the driver to think ahead more than a typical passenger car.". From context it should be obvious I was referring to SUVs.

No matter who is driving SUVs have a higher chance of 'tripping'

Not true. Getting into an accident (including collisions and improperly executed curves, etc.) is a necessary precondition for any vehicle tipping over or tripping or whatever. More experienced drivers are less likely to have that happen.

No matter who is driving they are more likely to do more damage to another vehicle (for example comming in the window instead of the door).

Again, that applies only when they get into a collision. No collision = No damage.

No shit most SUV many SUV crashes involve inexperienced young drivers, distraction, lack of seatbelts etc. So do many auto crashes. Dosn't mean there is not a safety diffrence.

Consider the demographics of who drives SUVs. I believe you will find they are more likely than cars in general to be owned by someone who is older than the average driver, therefore more experienced and less likely to get into an accident.

I would suggest adding a tier to the driving license structure. Here in California we have three levels: Class A is unlimited, Class B for anything up to three-axle trucks and buses, Class C for passenger vehicles including SUVs and pickups. There should be an advanced version of Class C for inherently risky vehicles like SUVs. Remove the highest-risk drivers from the equation and most of the problem IMO would be solved. (And I am NOT saying SUVs can't or shouldn't be made safer.) Obviously if we let everyone drive tractor-trailer rigs there would be a lot more horrible accidents.

[Realityhack]

15. Forgot...

You might also want to note that not every accident is avoidable. SUVs have much more chance of rolling over once in a crash. So even if you avoid 100% of crashes that it is posible to avoid (throuh your actions) you still are left with a higher rollover rate.

[slackmaster]

18. Now THAT is true

...not every accident is avoidable.

Yes, but MOST are the result of aggressive or negligent driving, or distractions like cell phones and intoxication. The only ones that are truly unavoidable involve unexpected mechanical failures, or unexpectedly bad road conditions. Most of the time if people obey traffic laws, pay attention to the road, and practice courteous driving, accidents don't happen.

[onehandle]

7. This is new news? SUVs were proven to be killing machines years ago.

Both to passengers and "opponents" in sedans.

[KittyWampus]

8. Meanwhile The SUV's Increase The Risk For OTHER Drivers

who opt for lighter, more fuel-efficient and space saving cars.

Heck, even my station wagon is dwarfed by the Suburbans.

[democracyindanger]

9. Study Shows Children No Safer in SUVs

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/03/national/a043208S20.DTL

Children are no safer riding in sport utility vehicles than in passenger cars, largely because the doubled risk of rollovers in SUVs cancels out the safety advantages of their greater size and weight, according to a study.


Researchers said the findings dispel the bigger-equals-safer myth that has helped fuel the growing popularity of SUVs among families. SUV registrations climbed 250 percent in the United States between 1995 and 2002.


"We're not saying they're worse or that they're terrible vehicles. We're challenging the conventional wisdom that everyone assumed they were better," said Dr. Dennis Durbin, a pediatric emergency physician who took part in the study, published Tuesday in the journal Pediatrics...

In related news, SUVs remain menaces to other vehicles on the road.

[rainbow4321]

10. 2 kids, their mother, and maternal grandparents died this weekend

In a rollover of a 2006 SUV...very, very sad..they think driver fatigue played a part in the tragedy. 3 generations destroyed.


http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/010306dnmetcrash.3afe7c5d.html

The Suranis, their three children and her parents packed into a rented minivan and began the long journey home. Shortly before 2 a.m. Monday, Mrs. Surani lost control of the vehicle on a New Mexico highway near the Texas border, authorities said.

The van flipped onto its roof and slid 50 feet, killing Mrs. Surani, 38; her parents, Khadija Nanjwani, 64, and Sherali Nanjwani, 68; and the Suranis' sons, Amar, 13, and Aahil, 8.

Mr. Surani, 43, was in critical condition Monday night at an Amarillo hospital.

His 3-year-old daughter, Seyna, suffered only minor injuries, police said. She was placed in the custody of the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department until family members arrived, police said.

[slackmaster]

22. This tragic incident involved a minivan, not an SUV

Minivans in general are supposed to be much safer than SUVs.

The article doesn't mention whether or not people were all wearing seat belts or in proper child safety seats.

[Realityhack]

12. The words 'No Shit' come to mind.

You have to be a willfuly ignorant, brain dead, chimpanie (say like *) to think that SUVs are safer than cars.

Funny how so many people still think it though.

Kinda makes you understand why democratic ideas (you know ones based on actual data and shit) are so hard to get people to understand and back.

[Mountainman]

13. Well SUV's center of gravity is higher than sedans, you'd expect them

to roll over more easily. In SUV's there is more weight above the axles than in a lower riding car. Maybe the "low riders" in CA have had a good thing going all along.

Makes you wonder why so many pickup trucks are jacked up so high you need a step ladder to get into them.

[Realityhack]

16. You know what I hate about these things...

On average, the SUVs weighed 1,300 pounds more than the cars studied. The study found that the extra weight of SUVs enhanced safety, reducing the risk of injury by more than a third.

So what was the TOTAL injury rate? Not just in the SUV but what about the injury rate for the accident over all?
I am so much better than everyone else on the road that I should drive a mack truck because it will punch through everything else in an accident? Fuck that shit. As a society I think we should encorage vehicles to be safe overall not just for the one vehicles occupants.

My question
which is worse car v car or suv v suv in an accident for total injuries? How about that stat?
Then we can look at suv v car.

[slackmaster]

19. Developing better driving skills would help a lot IMO

Accident rates are much lower in Germany than in the USA, mainly due to superior driving skills. It's way too easy to get (and keep) a license here.

[drdtroit]

20. Amen to that!

I was always told that driving was not a "right", instead it was a "privilege".
It seems that now it has become an "entitlement".
:patriot:

[LeftyMom]

23. Of course

SUVs are way behind the curve in terms of safety features, even the most elementary safety precatutions like shoulder belts and adjustable headrests in all positions are still uncommon in that class while nearly universal in minivans and large sedans.

Kids are safest properly restrained in a the rear of a minivan (second row is safest, but the third row is still a very safe position) or large sedan.

By the way, the best thing you can do for your child's safety, whenther you drive a Suburban or a Mini, is to keep them secured in a correctly installed child restraint for as long as posssible. It's important to have your child's seat's use and installation inspected by a child passenger safety technician, because the misuse rate is about 90%. You can find a CPST at www.safekids.org