People think they're safer in a SUV because it's big and heavy and gives the macho feeling they can't be harmed.
SUVs are NOT safer.
SUVs roll over more often than cars.
The size and weight make SUVs more hazardous to anyone they might hit.
A 2003 NHTSA study showed SUVs have nine-time the rollover risk. Analysis from about 4,000 accidents involving children shows that the rollover risks outweigh any benefit from the larger vehicle. See here: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/10/15/vehicle.weight.ap/
Children involved in rollover crashes were three times more likely to be injured in the accident.
The numbers increased dramatically when children were not properly restrained in an SUV, with a risk of injury 25 times higher than children who were properly restrained.
Of those children who were injured in SUV rollovers, and not properly restrained, almost half suffered serious injuries compared to just three per cent of those who were appropriately restrained in SUVs.
And for children in passenger cars who were appropriately restrained during an accident the risk was less than two per cent.
Here is a kicker that is sure to be challenged (especially by the insecure and vain):
New York Times reporter Keith Bradsher says, "[SUV owners] tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors and communities. No, that’s not a cynic talking – that’s the auto industry’s own market researchers and executives."
Washington Monthly’s review of his book summarizes the research more aggressively:
Unlike any other vehicle before it, the SUV is the car of choice for the nation’s most self-centered people; and the bigger the SUV, the more of a jerk its driver is likely to be.
Here’s hoping that in addition to high gas prices, both these studies help everyday consumers (and mobsters!) change their purchase behavior to a slightly more environmentally friendly vehicle.