SUV Owners of America Applauds IIHS for Bringing Much Needed Perspective to SUV Safety Discussions
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WASHINGTON, May 3, 2005 -- The death rate has fallen sharply among car occupants who collide with SUVs, according to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The following are excerpts from the IIHS study and today's Wall Street Journal article "Survival Odds Improve in Car- SUV Crashes."
The bottom line: Survival rates are increasing due to design changes that have made cars and SUVs more "compatible" in the event of a crash.
Another interesting element: People riding in cars are far more likely to be killed in single-vehicle crashes than in collisions with SUVs.
SUVOA applauds the IIHS for bringing much needed balance and perspective to the discussion of SUV safety, and for providing consumers with well- researched, useful information to help guide new vehicle purchasing decisions.
Quotes from IIHS President Brian O'Neill in WSJ Story and IIHS Study:
"Crash incompatibility is a somewhat lesser problem than it was a decade ago. It is still a concern, but it isn't getting worse, even with the introduction of bigger, heavier SUVs over the past decade."
"The extra risks posed by the incompatibilities between cars and SUVS are real, but it's important to note that two-vehicle crashes with SUVs aren't the cause of most car occupant deaths. People riding in cars are far more likely to be killed in single-vehicle crashes than in collisions with SUVs."
"O'Neill is encouraged by the improvements and expects changes from the voluntary agreements, which still need to be phased in, will have a dramatic impact going forward. When the improvements make their way into the fleet, O'Neil said fatality rates in side-impact crashes could drop 30% to 40%."
IIHS Study Findings:
"In cars that collided with midweight SUVs, the death rate fell 39% -- to 42 deaths per million registered SUVs in 2000 to 2003, compared with 69 deaths per million registered SUVs a decade earlier."
"The death rate fell even more in collisions involving heavier SUVs -- to 49 deaths per million registered SUVs from 86 a decade earlier."
"Two-vehicle collisions between cars and SUVs or pickups accounted for 18% of occupant deaths in 1999-2002 model cars during 2000-20003. Nearly the same proportion of car occupant deaths (16%) occurred in crashes with other cars."
"By far the biggest shares of occupant deaths in both cars and SUVs occur in single-vehicle crashes, not collisions involving two or more vehicles."
"The Institute points to more basic safety measures to explain the improvement over the past decade: better vehicle design, improved seat-belt use, and half of all registered cars now equipped with driver air bags, compared with 3% in 1990."
"SUVs have also changed during that time period, going from heavier, more aggressive truck underbodies to SUVs built on car frames that inflict less harm in a crash."
"Currently, some 80% of drivers use seat belts, compared to 50% in 1990."
The study looked at deaths in 2000 to 2003 in model year 1999 to 2002 vehicles compared with 1990 to 1993 deaths in 1989-1992 model-year vehicles. To view the report go to http://www.iihs.org/srpdfs/sr4005.pdf. For more information about SUVOA, visit http://www.suvoa.org/.
