Bigger Cars with Stability Control Are Safest
A new report of driver deaths in auto accidents shows that bigger cars and those with stability control are safer. A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published April 19, 2007, shows that the vehicles associated with the lowest death rates are the Chevrolet Astr, Infiniti G35, BMW 7 series, Toyota 4 Runner, Audi A4, Mercedes E & M class, and other larger vehicles. Nearly half of the 15 models with the lowest death rates were SUVs. Not one of the safest cars classified by the Institute were small cars.
Small and sporty cars dominated the list of models with the highest rate of driver deaths. Eleven of the 15 worst performing vehicles, like the Kia Rio and Chevrolet Cavailier, are small or mini.
All but three of the 15 best performing vehicles with the lowest death rate have stability control, a set of systems that helps avoid rollovers and can keep a vehicle from veering off the road. Stability control may save as many as 10,000 lives a year according to the Institute. Stability control is standard in 87% of the 2007 SUV's, 58% of passenger cars and just 8% of pickups. The federal safety agency has mandated that stability control be available in virtually all new vehicles by 2012.
The complete report is available on the Institute's website, www.iihs.org.
