No matter what type of vehicle you drive, if you've spent much time on any road surface in the past couple of years, you must have noticed an explosion. That momentous event is the WILD growth in popularity of larger vehicles called Sports Utility Vehicles, or SUVs. While such vehicles barely registered a blip on the vehicular radar screen when the 90s began, there are now well over sixty million such vehicles on America's roads.
SUVs have become popular for several reasons:
The combination of power and safety have propelled these vehicles
into a position of dominance in sales and, naturally, on the streets
and highways.
Early word on SUVs was the substantially increased safety factor.
Many insurance and safety experts initially hailed the arrival
of such vehicles since they have helped to turn around the previous
trend of smaller, lighter cars which were efficient fuel-users,
but also very vulnerable to heavy damage in higher-speed collisions.
The damage factor was a big contributor to serious driver injuries
and fatalities. On the other hand, SUVs heralded the arrival of
personal transportation that handled collisions better than the
lightweights. Insurance companies originally shrank away from
SUVs because of their high cost; but like everyone else, they
warmed up to them, primarily because of their higher degree of
safety. Manufacturers are still capitalizing on the size feature
as they have announced plans to produce even bigger SUVs. Larger
versions of these vehicles should spur even greater sales.
As the number of SUVs have increased, so has
the amount of scrutiny from safety experts and the insurance industry.
As with anything, SUVs appear to have a negative side. Ironically,
one of the biggest issues is that they're - well - BIG! Although
SUVs make their occupants safer, it comes with a price.
Construction - SUVs are not only heavier than most
private passenger vehicles, they're also stiffer. SUVs react more
like jeeps on wet roadways and on turns, having a tendency to
rollover instead of experiencing increased rear-end motion (fish-tailing)
in smaller vehicles. Further, with their heavier weight and stiffness,
SUVs have bodies which don't have as much "give" during
impacts with other vehicles.
Collision - This means that smaller, lighter vehicles
that collide with SUVs experience a higher level of damage upon
impact. Naturally, the occupants of the smaller vehicles which
collide with SUVs face a higher chance of serious injury or death.
SUVs have front bumpers that are significantly higher than most
vehicles and this can cause big problems. Instead of helping to
mitigate the impact by making contact with the other vehicle's
bumper, it maximizes damage because the SUV's hardest part makes
contact with the more vulnerable body of a smaller vehicle. In
fact, depending upon its speed, an SUV may actually run over the
top of a smaller car.
Increased Liability - the nature of the construction
elements of an SUV during accidents with smaller cars results
in these types of vehicles inflicting more serious bodily injuries
to other operators. This fact increases the likelihood of more
lawsuits against SUV owners and operators. More claims increase
the cost to insurers and results in higher insurance rates. In
fact, a number of insurers have told the public to expect higher
rates or perhaps premium surcharges for SUVs in order to make
up for their greater exposure to causing serious accidents.
Well, yes, but only up to a point. While SUVs may fit the needs of persons who put a premium on vehicle strength and safety, the positives are balanced by the fact that such vehicles inflict more serious damage on smaller vehicles and their occupants; this fact is going to result in increased claims and insurance costs. Further, as the number of SUVs on the road increases, there will be a diminishing return on their safety. Why? Because instead of colliding with smaller vehicles, the probability will increase that SUVs will crash into other SUVs. In the end, a person interested in buying and driving an SUV will just have to consider the positives and negatives and make a decision….oh, the responsibility of being a king of the road.
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