Car vs SUV safety

[cqaigy2]

I knew a guy who hit a dump truck with an F-350. He died. This was just last month, in a new Ford. If you hit something solid, you are better off in the Fit.

A buddy of mine was driving a 1 ton work truck at around 50 MPH when he T boned a volvo that pulled out right in front of him. He didn't have time to react so no braking. He faired well with little injury as did the the driver of the volvo. I'd imagine that would qualify as a severe side hit.

 

[aczlan]

A buddy of mine was driving a 1 ton work truck at around 50 MPH when he T boned a volvo that pulled out right in front of him. He didn't have time to react so no braking. He faired well with little injury as did the the driver of the volvo. I'd imagine that would qualify as a severe side hit.

There is a reason my daily driver is a Volvo (the 4'x6' area between the back of the drivers seat and the tailgate is a bonus)...

Aaron Z

 

[Looking4new]

I got me a dump truck way back when I was young and stupid. 80 mph and got him right square in the rear. Wrote off the front end of a 1964 Pontiac Strato-chief. I walked away from it. So I would have to say that 1964 Pontiacs are the safest cars out there, but that was in 1968 and the rust monster hadn't showed its' ugly head, yet.

 

[Bird]

The only time I had a safety issue that I attributed to the size of my vehicle was with my first showroom new car; a 1962 Austin Healy Sprite.:laughing: Other drivers just didn't see it. The first day I had it, a dump truck changed lanes and forced me off the freeway, but I avoided an accident. However, in the 2 years I had it, I got off work 3 times to find someone had hit it while it was legally parked. And it got hit twice while I was in it. The last time was when I stopped behind an Oldsmobile as we were exiting a parking lot. He suddenly changed his mind and backed up, smashing the front end of the Sprite in spite of me hitting the horn and reverse as quickly as I could to back out of his way. I traded it in, as is, on a new Dodge Dart the next day.:laughing:

 

[JDgreen227]

I got me a dump truck way back when I was young and stupid. 80 mph and got him right square in the rear. Wrote off the front end of a 1964 Pontiac Strato-chief. I walked away from it. So I would have to say that 1964 Pontiacs are the safest cars out there, but that was in 1968 and the rust monster hadn't showed its' ugly head, yet.

My folks had a '64 Catalina...don't you mean Star Chief?

 

[Soundguy]

That's absolutely laughabale. what do you want... geo metro's to haul box trailers?

really laughable. there is PLENTY of legit need for heavy vehicles.

In my view, if you're driving a vehicle with a weight of over around 3,300-3,500 #, you're a threat to the rest of us. You're a threat from safety standpoint, and you're raising the price of our fuel due to your excessive consumption of it. Yeah, you're safe in a bank vault unless another bank vault or tank hits you, but you can usually get out of the way with a smaller, more maneuverable vehicle.

As far as going in the snow, we went to numerous ski slopes in snow storms in a rear wheel drive Fiat 124 sedan in the 70s. It had some kind of good combination of skinny tires, etc. that gave it good snow traction. It was about 2,200 #. Rusted out later, but good driving in the meantime.

Ralph

 

[JDgreen227]

That's absolutely laughabale. what do you want... geo metro's to haul box trailers?

really laughable. there is PLENTY of legit need for heavy vehicles.

Agree 100%...there is no way I could have done my job without a truck big enough to carry tools and materials...oh yes, I would be one of the first ones to buy a lightweight s**tbox that could give me 40 mpg by itself yet pull my 6500 pound travel trailer....

 

[Soundguy]

or pull my 5300# tractor and 4300# trailer

 

[dave1949]

In my view, if you're driving a vehicle with a weight of over around 3,300-3,500 #, you're a threat to the rest of us. You're a threat from safety standpoint, and you're raising the price of our fuel due to your excessive consumption of it. Yeah, you're safe in a bank vault unless another bank vault or tank hits you, but you can usually get out of the way with a smaller, more maneuverable vehicle.

As far as going in the snow, we went to numerous ski slopes in snow storms in a rear wheel drive Fiat 124 sedan in the 70s. It had some kind of good combination of skinny tires, etc. that gave it good snow traction. It was about 2,200 #. Rusted out later, but good driving in the meantime.

Ralph

There is really no comparison between "numerous ski trips" and daily commuting during winter in Poland, Maine where the OP lives. Commuters need to be reasonably on time, plus it matters if they actually get to work or not. Every day should not be a driving adventure, who needs that?

I've had three small cars over the years that we put 110K to 130K miles on each. Some were better than others, but none of them were as capable for winter driving as our Ford Sport Trac 4x4 which weighs 4800 lbs.

1978 Ford Fiesta, 1775 lbs. Good traction, could not plow through slush without dodging around because the track width is too narrow to ride in tracks of the rest of the vehicles.

1985 VW Golf in Germany, 1962 lbs. Good traction and control. I used to pass the RWD Mercedes that were trying to claw their way uphill in snow. Track width consistent with 90% of the other vehicles there.

2006 Honda Civc, 2700 lbs according to the specs I found but that seems heavy. So-so traction, less control than the Fiesta or Golf. Has trouble plowing through deep slush. Track width narrower than most of the other vehicles driven here in winter, of which at least 50% are full size pickups.

 

[Pilot]

Check out this website: http://www.informedforlife.org/demos/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/MasterSCORE2010riskMarch082011.pdf
Takes a long time to load because there is a lot of data there, but it answers your concerns about weight and safety. It takes into account the crash tests, but also adds a consideration for weight. Size matters, but so does design. A Volvo S-50, although well designed for safety doesn't stand much of a chance in a real world accident with an F-250.