Safety Misconceptions

Matters of safety seem to be a common reason why people are deterred from buying a smaller car. There is often a general conception among, especially American motorists, that small cars are unsafe.

This is not at all the case.

Firstly, I am not claiming that a lighter car is less affected than a heavier car in the event of a crash. Simple physics shows that in a collision, the lighter car will be moved more, all other factors being equal. The thing is, though, the construction of the car as well as its safety features are also key factors in a car’s protection. So features like front and side airbags and the car’s overall crash rating are paramount.

Secondly, it is crucial to understand that safety on the road doesn’t solely consist of what happens in a collision. What is also key is accident avoidance. In fact, ability to prevent a crash is actually more important because if you never have a crash, you don’t have to worry how you or your car holds up if you do.

Small cars are much more agile than the large, lumbering trucks and SUVs that dominate American roads. Small cars can maneuver out of the way of a possible collision, are smaller such that they are less likely to get swiped by another car while a larger car would get hit in the same situation, and (most crucially) stop faster than bigger, heavier cars.

The Truck

Lets look at a particular menace from around the United States, and especially the South: the pickup truck. Trucks were designed as a workhorse: they can can drive off the road and carry a hefty load behind the cabin. As such, they are great for commercial use or by individuals whose jobs require them to haul large quantities of equipment of materials regularly, such as farmers or contractors. However, this is where their use should have ended. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Trucks are coveted around the southern United States for their apparent allure, but driving such a large vehicle makes about as much sense as a U-Haul truck being your daily driver; it’s a towing vehicle meant for specific purposes. One excuse often heard among those who drive trucks or want to do so is that they are safer. However, Trucks are a more of a hazard than protection.

Firstly, lets talk about one of the key safety flaws in the pickup’s design. Other than the usual issues that come with such a large vehicle, the truck is made dangerous by its key feature: the truck bed. While the front wheels of a truck have lots of weight over them keeping them down on the road, the rear wheels have very little weight pushing them into the road, as an almost always empty cargo space is all that sits above them. Now, this weight distribution discrepancy between the two ends of the car also creates a dangerous difference in traction between the two pairs of wheels. So while the front wheels will be planted solidly on the road, the rear wheels are likely to slide out from the car under heavy cornering, an effect called ‘oversteer’. Now this lack of weight pushing the rear tires into the road combined with the fact that most trucks are rear-wheel drive, which means the back wheels are already more likely to slip under acceleration, makes pickups much more likely to lose control and spin. And when you do lose control, pickup trucks are actually more difficult to correct than other vehicles.

To prove that a large truck does not at all mean safety, compare the crash ratings of a Dodge Ram 1500 and a Ford Fiesta or a Mini Cooper, the former being a large pickup truck and the latter two being a small hatches. While the Ram 1500 recieved 5 stars in side-impacts, it performs horribly in all other categories, only getting 3 stars for rollovers and a dismal 2 stars in frontal crashes; the leads the 1500 to getting a 3-star overall rating. On the contrary, a Ford Fiesta receives an overall rating of 4 stars, with 4-star ratings in frontal collisions and rollovers and a 5-star rating in side impacts. Similarly, the Mini Cooper receives 4 stars overall, with 4-star ratings in frontal collisions and rear side collisions and 5-stars ratings in rollovers and front side collisions.

Furthermore, a recent study of teen drivers showed that they are twice as likely to be severely injured in an accident when driving a pickup truck. The problem is that trucks create a false sense of power and safety, causing more aggressive driving by those behind the wheel of these massive vehicles. Also, trucks are very top heavy, which causes a high frequency of rollovers.

So, the reality is that “pickups generally don’t fare as well as other vehicles in crash tests,” and that by no means is small car less safe than a big truck. Safety consists of a wide range of areas, and the case can easily be made that, when all areas are taken into account, trucks can often be the wrong choice.

Resources:

Quote and other material: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20101121-Teen-pickup-drivers-double-risks-of-8210.ece

Crash Ratings: SaferCar.gov, http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.aspx?year=2010&make=MINI&model=Cooper