The Safety of SUVs
Whether you drive a standard SUV or a crossover (a car-based SUV), safety features are a must but not all of them come standard. There are many factors to consider when shopping for a new SUV. While safety features are being improved all the time, some come at a price and its important to look at the crash safety test results of SUVs before making a decision. It's equally important to understand that just because SUVs appear large and sturdy, it doesn't necessarily mean they're safer to drive than a regular passenger car.
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Features
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SUVs are designed with standard safety features, including anti-lock brakes, shoulder and lap seat belts, adjustable head restraints and frontal airbags. Most SUVs have an "occupant classification" in the front passenger seat that deploys the airbag at an appropriate level of force based on a person's size and weight. Additional nonstandard features are electronic stability systems, side curtain airbags and rollover prevention sensors. Some SUVs come equipped with a sonar-based "park assist" that alerts a driver when the rear bumper of his SUV is backing into a person or another object.
Crash Safety
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conduct crash safety tests on SUVs. The IIHS tests SUVs in head-on collisions at 40 mph, and side crashes at 31 mph. It tests the structural sturdiness of an SUV to determine how well it stays intact without collapsing around the driver in the event of a crash. The NHTSA crashes SUVs into a wall head-on at 35 mph, and determines how well the seat belts and airbags protect passengers.
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Rollover Safety
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According to the NHTSA, the rollover rate of SUVs is three times more than that of standard passenger cars. The NHTSA considers the static stability factor (SSF) and the Road Edge Recovery test when determining the potential of an SUV to roll over in an accident. The static stability factor determines an SUV's track width and compares it with its center of gravity, and the recovery test measures the ability of an SUV to correct itself from a potential rollover when two side wheels tip during a quick turn.
Roof Crush
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According to Consumer Reports, one of the leading reasons people are killed in SUV accidents is because the roof collapses on them, causing fatal head injuries. In 2009, the NHTSA enhanced its roof-crush standards in SUVs. In its roof-crush tests, the NHTSA forces a metal plate equal to 1 1/2 times the weight of an SUV onto its roof, and if it collapses more than five inches it won't pass the safety standard.
Considerations
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Electronic stability systems don't prevent rollovers but sense and prevent situations that may result in one. Not all side curtain airbags are designed to work in rollovers, and some aren't available or designed to be installed in the third passenger row of a larger SUV. Wheel and tire upgrades, such as installing larger tires and wheels than the SUV was designed to handle, should be avoided to prevent rollovers. A taller more top-heavy SUV is likely to roll over than a lower one, and suspension and tire design play a large role in the stability of an SUV.
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References
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