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Bigger not Safer When It Comes to SUVs

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 28 Michael Kahn writing for Reuters reported that "Bigger is not necessarily better on the open road according to a study, which researchers said on Wednesday shows lightweight, fuel efficient autos are safer for the driving public than the average sport utility vehicle.

Researchers at the University of Michigan and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found SUVs are just about the most dangerous cars on the road for all drivers -- a not-so-surprising conclusion considering the size of the vehicles and the impact they have on smaller autos in a crash.

But the risk analysis also concluded that many SUV owners rumble down the road in the mistaken belief their hulking vehicles make them safer than motorists driving smaller cars.

"Our main results are that sport utility vehicles are not necessarily safer for their drivers than cars," the report said. "On average they are as risky as the average mid-size or large car, and no safer than many of the most popular compact and subcompact models.

The study, which the Berkeley laboratory publicized this week, comes as more and more SUVs fill U.S. roads, and adds to the debate over whether making autos smaller and more fuel-efficient puts drivers at higher risk.

The analysis, recently presented to lawmakers in Washington, compared the risk of death in traffic accidents based on vehicle types and models sold between 1995-1999 using data on traffic deaths published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"We focused on the risk not only to occupants of the vehicle model in question in all types of crashes, but also on the risk to the drivers of other vehicles involved in crashes with the model in question," said Tom Wenzel, a researcher at the Berkeley laboratory who co-wrote the report.

The researchers also factored in the age and sex of the typical driver of a specific vehicle model and how that auto was normally driven. The result showed for some kinds of cars -- but not SUVs -- certain characteristics played a strong role in safety.

RATING SAFETY

For example, sports cars were found to be extremely dangerous to their drivers, who tend to be young and aggressive. And the safest vehicles were minivans, which the researchers said were typically driven with special care because they are often used to transport children.

But the report added there was no evidence a driver's age and sex were responsible for the higher SUV risk, leaving researchers to conclude the vehicles' weight might make them more dangerous because they are harder to control and more prone to rolling over.

"Some of the higher risk in SUVs relative to cars is due to the tendency of SUVs to rollover and the danger to these types of crashes to unbelted drivers," the report said.

Representatives from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But the auto industry trade group released its own study Wednesday that said many consumers choose SUVs because they are seen as safer to drive during hazardous driving conditions.

The study conducted for the group said 24 percent of SUV owners indicate they feel "very safe" in the vehicles while more than 79 percent of owners report using their SUVs in harsh weather because of their greater control.

Recently released sales data show Americans last year bought nearly 600,000 more SUVs, minivans, vans and pickup trucks than they did passenger cars, the group said. These vehicles now account for almost 52 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States.

Wenzel said his study indicated that design, rather than size, appeared to be the critical safety factor for vehicles, noting a wide range in risks between different subcompact and compact models.

According to the report the safest small cars, the Volkswagen Jetta and Honda Civic, were shown to be twice as safe as the comparably sized Chevrolet Cavalier, Ford Escort, and Dodge Neon.

Even so, when considering the combined risks to all drivers on the road, most cars are safer than the average SUV, the report said.

"All the evidence in our study shows that vehicles can be, and in fact are being, made lighter and more fuel efficient without sacrificing safety," Wenzel said. "The argument that lowering the weight of cars to achieve high fuel economy has resulted in excess deaths is unfounded."