News Truck VS SUV Safety

After my car accident in a Chevy Metro, I UPGRADED to the Chevy S-10 (the same truck type that hit and totalled Erik's - YamahaTundraV8 - 2000 Tundra) because I wanted a truck. After a while, I was FINALLY able to get a Tundra, but I'm not real happy about the paint. The trim pieces around my door handles are peeling and chipping off on a truck just over three years old.

Well if we're going to talk about safety, a minivan is far more safer than a truck/suv. On accidents that I see, I don't think I've ever seen a minivan flipped over. However, nearly half of accidents I see that involve a truck/suv, the vehicle flips over and really hurts or kills the occupants. But then that comes back to the point of "looking cool". People with kids don't want the looks of a minivan because it makes them look older and as if they have kids. I probably wouldn't want a minivan as well, perhaps if I have more than 2 kids.
People who use trucks to do some "work" gets my respect. Those who use them to make themselves look "cool" or "tough", I just laugh at them. I hanged out with a bunch of off roaders before and we all laughed at idiots who drive around trucks and suvs and never touched dirt with their tires.

^^^The wagon just does a 360 while the truck flips like a fish out of water.

You also have to take into consideration the velocity of that truck at time of impact. Sure, it rolled like a rock down a hill, but we don't know what happened to the occupants of either vehicle. The driver of the truck may've had fewer injuries (overall) then that of the Minivan. I remember the day, and it wasn't too long ago, when Minivans were NOT safe vehicles. I still feel more comfortable behind the wheel of my truck, or an equally heavy SUV, then the Chevy Metro I had a car accident in.

In a car accident, there is also one critical element that comes into play. Inertia. In an impact, the heavier vehicle will impart more energy into the smaller (less mass) vehicle. By design, the car is more susceptible to damage and the occupants to injuries. Minivans may not "roll-over," but I've seen too many where the side hit almost meets the other side. Have you noticed that more and more CARs and MINIVANs have more airbags then the bigger (and SAFER) trucks and SUVs? It is because there are a LOT of trucks out there that are heavy and can do damage.

If you truly want to talk about "safety" ask someone like myself or YamahaV8Tundra who've been in accidents. I was in the small car, between two trucks (Ranger and Ram 1500) and was the only one injured. YamahaV8Tundra was t-boned in his Tundra by some idiot in a S-10, and he walked away.

I would attribute that thru loop holes. Trucks/SUVs aren't subject to the strict safety standards as cars and minivans. Cars to meet a specific guidline for their bumper structures while trucks and suvs don't. Car doors, side doors and rear hatches also have to meet strict guidelines... and trucks don't. Even emmission standards, it's also stricter for cars than it is for trucks/suvs. There is no doubt that in a collission, a truck would probably win, but trucks don't have the safety features that cars don't have. Besides, many people who roll over in their truck and suvs become a turnip for the rest of their lives. I'd rather be dead than to be looking at the ceiling all day while I drool and slap the back of my hand on my chest.

I'm glad that truck and suv sales are going down. In fact, many used car lots are full of trucks and suvs and companies are offering 0% apr, massive reductions and even lower gas payments and people still don't buy them. I guess that's the benefits of high gas prices. I think when it hits $5/gallon, trucks will go the way of the do-do.

I frankly want gas prices to go higher. It would mean less people on the road (less traffic), public transportation will be improved, more fuel efficient cars will be made and less behemoth vehicles as well. $5 - $8 baby!

Buddy had a Metro - just paid it off and hit some deer at night. Deer ran off, Metro dead in the ditch - insurance just cut him a check (car was totaled).

As for which vehicle is more "safe" - that really is hard to fit in an metric, since it depends in the situation. But in the end - the bigger vehicle will win (usually higher ground clearance, beefy bumpers, larger exterior dimensions.)

Just on this mornings commute - a Infinity M35 tangled with a Nissan Pathfinder - classic offset frontal crash. The Pathfinder was pretty badly damaged, but the driver and passenger came out better in that crash versus the people in the Infinity. The M35 is no feather weight either - some 4000lbs vs ~4700lbs for the Pathfinder.

Even a pick up truck's cabin isn't even required to have the same strict guidelines as cars. Sure a Tundra can out crush a geo metro. However, what if you slam into another turck or suv? Since there are hardly any safety protection in the trucks, unlike cars, I wouldn't be surprised if occupants in both vehicles become ground meat while the two trucks fuse together.

Don't lose your head


This civic rolled over and the roof hardly moved an inch

Loop holes? ALL vehicles, regardless of size, have to pass not only manufacturer's safety guidelines but also FEDERAL guidelines. Trucks do have the same safety features as a car, it is just that due to their size they may not need as many airbags, yet they are prone to rolling over more. Some "intelligent" auto manufacturers realize this and have implemented roll-over airbags to reduce injuries in SUVs. I will say I would love to have them in my truck.

As for being dead, then staring at the ceiling all day while you "drool," you are mistaken. I've seen many people "walk" away from a roll-over with injuries they can recover from. Most people who die in roll-overs are a result from the velocity they were going and/or being unrestrained. It should go without saying to everyone who rides or drives, but once you get into ANY vehicle, buckle-up.

As for wishing for gas prices to go up, just so you see other people suffer, is childish. How could you say public transportation would improve and more fuel efficient cars would be made when they aren't when gas is $3 a gallon? I can afford gas for my truck, should it go up even more, but some people's ONLY form of transportation is a large SUV or pickup. You don't realize that there are FAMILIES that enjoy the safety of an SUV over a minivan, and they need the space of such a large vehicle for their family, and they currently can barely afford gas for said vehicle. Why should they be penalized?

Yes, it is inevtiable that gas prices are going to go up as our natural supply of oil dwindles. It is conservatively estimated that at the current rate we are drilling for oil, that it will be gone in 10 years or less. More likely less. I will whole-heartedly agree that we, meaning EVERYONE, needs to try to take a roll by mailing or contacting our senators and the proper officials to encourage the development of flex-fuel (gas/propane), E85, hybrids and other technologies to reduce the dependency on oil overall as oil replacement technologies (hydrogen fuel cell) are being developed.

Wrong. I suggest you look up the federal guidlines on the different type of vehicles. As I have pointed out from a previous post, trucks are EXEMPT from roof and pillar rigidity as cars.

Sure trucks pass federal TRUCK guidelines, but there is NO federal guidelines for trucks, as strict as cars. Cars are REQUIRED to not have their roofs cave in, cars are required to have a bumper to not collapse at a certain velocity, cars are required to pass an emission law MUCH STRICTER, than trucks.

Trucks were primarily meant to do "work", as to why the FEDs didn't put a strict regulation as cars. However, people didn't start to make use of them as people movers starting in the early 90's after the mini-van craze. Do some research bud, you'd be surprised to see how much loop holes trucks and suvs have. Did you know that in some states, you can get a tax break, for driving around a truck as long as you claim you "use it for work", even tho you drive around 2 kids and a wife?

Suffer? Gas prices is WHAT CONTROLS what the automakers make. You think people started buying hybrids because they are great looking speed deamon cars? Think again, nobody bought econoboxes before the OPEC ordeal in the 70's, why? Gas was as cheap as water. Now that gas is expensive, there is literally a waiting list for those hybrids.

You also think that car makers are dying to make hybrids and fuel efficient cars? No. They make more money selling rebadged pick up trucks than they do econoboxes. You do know that Toyota LOSES money with every Prius they sell. You do know that no corporation likes loses.

Any logical person would know that the production of more fuel efficient cars would sky rocket once gas becomes very expensive. Hmmmm... think hard and you will see that the ugly Scions and the ugly hybrid sales skyrocketed during high gas prices and trucks and suvs plummeted.

As for public transportation, when the demand for it increases when people stop driving their cars, the government would be forced to make more buses and further develop public transportation.

Buses?!? MOST buses crank out enough polution to account for TEN or more PICKUPS! I do agree public transportations needs to be addressed, but when you have cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas in the Southwest that is HARD to control when the growth is sprawling out.

Yes, we are in a gas crisis. There is absolutely no denying it, and hybrids are just a bandaid on a gushing artery. We need to address it before there is no oil left.

Back to the original concern, safety, well let me just say this. Let me hit you in your Corolla with my Tundra at 50MPH head on and see which one of us walks away, or is less injured.

I wouldnt say that applies to all trucks . The Tundra rates very high from the NHTSA and comes on tops on being a good performer. I've allready tested that factor on a side impact (45 mph ) side intrusion on my drivers door which caused my Tundra to slid into the curve and take out the axel and rear rim / tire Im lucky to be alive today. Thanks to the safety beams and good protection in the tundra.
Old Tundra
New Tundra

Sure, but lets have the collision in the middle of a tight turn going 50mph. ;-)

But you're forgetting that those buses hold about 50 people. Most commuter are only ONE in a car. Hmmm... 50 pickups or 10 pickups... which one is a bigger polluter?

New York has a very dense population, yet their public transportation is pretty good. A lot better than Los Angeles. The government will NOT start moving, until there is an urgent need or a crisis on their hands. A bunch of poor people writing letters will simply be ignored. However, when you have thousands of people angry, and gas prices are ridiculously high... they will start to move.

I too think that hybrids are an idiotic idea. They barely get any better mileage than econoboxes of the same size. I drove an Echo before (rental) and it was only about 2mpg shy of a Prius. Many hybrid owners as well claim that the EPA ratings do not reflect their actual mileage.

I don't think we're going to run out of oil, that's a liberal scare tactic. The problem is that refineries can NOT keep up with the demand. China and the rest of Asia are fighting for the same resources. We do need to take actions, but when people drive gas guzzling vehicles, and then cry that we need to do something... that seems hypocritical.

Dude, look at YamahaV8Tundra's truck. He WAS hit at 45-50 MPH in the side, and walked away.