Personal Injury Blog

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Safer Design Reduces Risk of Death to Other Motorists in SUV Accidents

September 29th, 2011

 

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

A number of automakers participated in efforts to come up with newer, safer designs

When an SUV or pickup truck is involved in an accident with another vehicle, the occupants of the other vehicle are at a much higher risk of being killed.  However, those risks to occupants of other vehicles have been declining.  Los Angeles car accident lawyers have found that safer design has made these accidents much less dangerous.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, about ten years ago, motorists involved in accidents were more likely to be killed when the other vehicle was an SUV or pickup truck, than when the other car was a passenger car, like a sedan or minivan.  However, new data by the Insurance Institute suggests that those dangers to occupants of other vehicles involved in SUV accidents are not as serious anymore.  In fact, motorists now are just as much at risk of death in accidents involving other passenger cars, as in accidents involving sports utility vehicles or pickup trucks.

This wasn’t always the case.  Because of the difference in size and poor design of SUVs and pickup trucks, these accidents often resulted in serious injuries or fatalities to the people in the other vehicle.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, part of the reason for this decline in fatalities involving sports utility vehicle and pickup truck accidents is the improved crash protection that many cars and minivans now come with.  Many cars now come with side air bag systems that do a better job protecting occupants of a smaller car from side-impact injuries.  Additionally, passenger cars now come with much stronger structures that absorb impact.

The other factor has to do with the change in design of SUVs and pickup trucks.  These new designs allow the front structure of the pickup truck or SUV to line up with a passenger car.  This leads to distribution of energy, and lesser impact to the smaller car in the accident.

The reduced numbers of deaths in SUV and pickup truck-related accidents has come through an increased focus on safer car design by automakers.  In 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked automakers to address safety concerns involving SUVs and pickup trucks.  Those concerns came because of the increasing mix of vehicles on American roads and the risk to passenger cars from accidents involving these bigger vehicles.  A number of automakers, including BMW, Honda, General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Mazda, and Volkswagen participated in efforts to come up with newer, safer designs.

One of the decisions that came out of these conferences was to make the front ends of sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks more compatible in order to reduce the possibility that these would override a small passenger car during an accident.  The new designs have meant better alignment and fewer injuries to occupants of the smaller car.

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