According to the latest report released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, from 2006-2009 SUVs had a driver fatality rate that was half that of cars.
SUVs used to have a higher rollover rate, which contributed to their lower safety rating, but that is no longer the case thanks to the new anti-rollover technology.
“The rollover risk in SUVs used to outweigh their size/weight advantage, but that’s no longer the case,” thanks to electronic stability control, said Anne McCartt, IIHS senior vice president for research. “Pound for pound, SUVs have lower death rates.”
The study counts the number of years that each model has been on the road and multiplies that by the number of that model’s vehicles. SUV driver fatalities totaled 28 per million registered vehicle years compared to 52 for trucks and 56 for cars. The safest segment is minivans, which only had 25 driver fatalities per million registered vehicles.
What vehicle had the highest driver fatality rates in the study? The Nissan 350Z.
Full Story: IIHS
