Myth #4: Minivans and SUVs are extremely safe vehicles to drive.
Fact: Let’s consider the minivan first. They look big and sturdy. They seem to have a stable, wide base. And it really seems so convincing when many minivan manufacturers continually promote their high crash-testing scores, even to the point of showing a crash test scene in a TV commercial. But minivans may not be as safe as both drivers and manufacturers would like to think. Keep in mind, the structural design and safety equipment of minivans are equivalent to sedans. As a result of having the design of a sedan but the height of an SUV, minivans will not do so well in a crash with another vehicle its own size.
While minivans do better than SUVs in rollover rates, minivans lack the safety features that SUVs are equipped with. Now what about the SUV? As just stated, they suck when it comes to rollover rates. But put on top of it the fact that SUVs are classified as “light trucks” by the government, the roof may not hold up as well as a car’s because light trucks don’t have to meet the same roof-crush standards as passenger cars. Seems if you’re gonna roll-over more easily that it’d be a good idea to have a solid roof, huh? Here is a rather complete comparison of these two types of vehicles. Another good site to check out would be cars.com. And probably the best site to read regarding general vehicle safety is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as they are “an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses — deaths, injuries and property damage — from crashes on the nation’s roads.”
You can find them at: http://www.iihs.org. Whatever you do, be sure to research, research, research the safest vehicle, given the size, fuel economy, etc you’re looking for. As I’ve said, we do a lot of injury treatment massage on people who’ve been in car accidents. These folks usually “just” have whiplash or low back pain. Not that these aren’t annoying and painful conditions, to the point of creating great frustration and disability in one’s life. But these are not the people who end up in the hospital for surgery with several broken bones….or worse yet, the ones that end up in the morgue. With that in mind, many of our patients feel like they’ve been given a second chance. And with that second chance, they’re much more concerned with the true safety of the next vehicle they choose to drive. Remember: Car models and technology are always changing. So, research, research, research.