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IIHS Study - More Americans Are Dying For Higher Gasoline MPG - Vehicle Size Matters In Saving Lives - SUV's Safest, Small Cars Killers


High Price Of Oil Causing More Americans To Die On Our Roads

But First Snide's Remarks: When the decision to buy a smaller but more dangerous car is forced on Americans because of economic necessity, the ongoing political obfuscation of the truth about a drop-in biofuel replacement for gasoline crosses the line into a criminal action.

This report shows that under Big Oils yoke, more American motorists are dying in small car accidents because more American families are suffering from the high cost of the fuel they must use. In addition more Americans are cringing at the Un-American actions that our politicians aid and abet in the name of the continuation of the gasoline status quo.

Our politicians and bureaucrats must overcome Big Oils 100 year old inertia and bring down the roadblocks that are delaying a mandate to replace foreign oil and its despots.

If our leaders both in government and in business can’t or won’t force this change, than we believe that now is the time to organize an “American Summer “ and take to the streets to show our anger to those in Washington DC who, no matter the damage to America, continue to pander and support the purveyors of oil to the detriment of Americans. Now is the time when we should all get mad as hell and not take it anymore. What do you think? msnide@theautochannel.com

Arlington VA June 9, 2011; the IIHS reported that dying in a vehicle crash as become much less likely than it used to be for people in all types of passenger vehicles.

For occupants of SUVs, the change has been dramatic. In the past, the top-heavy vehicles frequently rolled over, giving many models some of the highest driver death rates.

But drivers of today’s SUVs are among the least likely to die in a crash, the Institutes's latest calculations of driver death rates show. The change is due largely to the widespread availability of electronic stability control (ESC), which helps prevent rollovers. With the propensity to roll over reduced, SUVs are on balance safer than cars because their bigger size and weight provide greater protection in a crash.

The overall driver death rate for 2005-08 models during 2006- 09 was 48 per million registered vehicle years. Rates for each of the more than 150 vehicles span a huge range from 0 for 7 models to 143 for the Nissan 350Z sports car.

When the rates are looked at by vehicle style, minivans have the best record with a driver death rate of 25.

SUVs aren’t far behind at 28. Pickups average 52 driver deaths per million registration years. Cars average 56, but smaller cars fare worse than bigger ones.

For example, 4-door minicars have a death rate of 82, compared with 46 for very large 4-doors.

When cars and SUVs of similar weight are compared, the SUVs have lower death rates.

The Institute computes driver-only death rates because the presence of passengers varies. Across vehicle types, size is a huge factor.

SEE COMPLETE REPORT HERE(PDF)


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2009 IIHS Crash Tests:Small Cars Equal More Injuries
Americans Want Big Cars and Pickups... Detroit Wants to Build Big... So Let's Have Big...BUT!