Shift to Smaller Cars Raises Safety Questions, Insurance Group Says

July 24, 2008

  • July 25, 2008 at 1:36 am
    Gill Fin says:
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    I agree. Like many, my GMC Yukon with the 8.1 liter engine is relegated to weekend warrior status, towing etcm maybe just a handful of times per year. In my region you cannot give away these SUVs and as such, these vehicles will go the way of old motorhomes for the same reason.
    They are usually impractical. Furthermore, volvo, saab, mercedes have all produced very safe vehicles without difficulty. It simply needs to be a priority to make vehicles that will survive the kinds of accidents described. Lastly, I believe we have sacrificed safety for aesthetics. We don’t have to. Just like many autos now use the same braking systems, transmission and drive trains, and engine technology, they can utilize the same technology for safety. Reverse engineering allows Kia and Hyundai to learn now mercedes achieves safety.

    If Americans REALLY want it, that is.

  • July 24, 2008 at 2:53 am
    Stat Guy says:
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    I am just waiting for the day when some enterprising engineer figures out how to get better gas mileage out of a 6 or 8 cyclinder engine, enough to make it economically viable again; then you’ll see demand for SUVs return. I drive a Honda Civic but if I had my ‘druthers, I prefer my Dodge Van with the big captain’s chairs and windows with curtains; better on my back and legs on the long drives and safer in collisions, to be sure but the MPG are so low that I only use it once or twice a year.

  • July 24, 2008 at 3:16 am
    lastbat says:
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    According to conspiracy theorists we’ve been able to get great mileage all along but the oil companies have been keeping it from us. I admit it does seem fishy the average fleet mileage of Ford vehicles hasn’t changed since the Model T (25 mpg) but who am I to talk? My bet is we could get the mileage now, but you’d have an 8-cylinder vehicle with all the kick and power of a two-legged mule just topping the Rockies on a diet of marsh mud.

    What I really want is my flying car that folds up into a briefcase. C’mon Hannah-Barbara, where’s my car? I was supposed to be in airborne gridlock by 1999.

  • July 25, 2008 at 8:39 am
    cometalia says:
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    IIHS is just an extension of the growing nanny state who believes that we are not capable of travelling safely in smaller vehicles. Safety is much more than what happens to vehicle occupants in the event of a crash. Safety means having the skills to avoid the crash in the first place but we don’t teach people to drive in this country. We teach people how to pass a driver license test.

    I recently read a fascinating study about how drivers lose control of their cars. They don’t lose control-they abdicate it. An amazing number of both men and women,when faced with a potential crash, do nothing to try to prevent it. Some put their hands over their eye,wait a few seconds, and hit something and bleed profusely.

    I have been hit by a soccer mom SUV filled with her litter of screeching kiddies. She said it was my fault because my car was so small and she didn’t see it. She didn’t see the stop sign that she ran through either. I saw her coming at me and I steered away from her and minimized the impact. I was paying attention-she wasn’t. She was driving a “safe” road blimp filled with safety gizmos. I was driving a 35 year old microcar with nothing fancier than seat belts and an alert driver. Which was the safer vehicle IIHS?

  • July 25, 2008 at 9:21 am
    Anon says:
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    Cometalia, I agree with your last paragraph, my last car (a 2000 Dodge Intrepid) was hit TWICE by people in SUVs pulling out of parking spaces. Both times the drivers claimed they did not see my car… they didn’t see a full-sized sedan?

    I know driving on the highway behind one of those billboards is a pain. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to make split second decisions to avoid road debris, potholes, broken down vehicles, etc because it’s not possible to see through their back window to see what’s ahead.

    Plus adjusting the mirrors to drive at night to keep their HIDs out of my eyes so that I can see the road.

    Good riddence to the excess SUV, fashion pick-up trucks and full-sized vans that can sleep a family of 4.

  • July 25, 2008 at 2:28 am
    Marc says:
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    Good trend. I will be able to see to make turns, pass and avoid debris.

  • July 29, 2008 at 11:19 am
    underwriter says:
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    Since when did we shift from “The size of SUV’s significantly increase the hazard to drivers of mid to small size sedans…” to “Oh no! Don’t take the SUV off the road! It will endanger drivers!” ??? I wonder where we would be now if instead of designing larger vehicles for the family the auto industry had designed better use of space. We might not even be in the oil crisis we are now. hmmmmmmm.



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