Study: Mid-size SUVs deadlier in rollovers

WASHINGTON - Mid-size sport utility vehicles are nine times as likely as passenger cars to be involved in fatal rollover crashes and twice as likely to kill the occupants of other vehicles in crashes, a government study says.

The study, released Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, examined fatality data from 1995 to 2000 to determine the effects of vehicle weight.

It found large passenger cars, such as the Lincoln Town Car, and minivans had the lowest death rates of all vehicle types. Only vehicles manufactured from 1991 to 1999 were considered.

The study found that the fatality rate for SUVs and passenger cars of similar weight was essentially the same in non-rollover crashes. But death rates rose significantly for SUV occupants in rollover crashes.

"This once again debunks the overall safety claim that mid-size SUVs are in fact safer than a passenger car," said Sean Kane of the safety research firm Strategic Safety.

Eron Shosteck of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said that rollovers represent only 2.5 percent of crashes and that many SUV rollover deaths could be prevented if occupants were wearing seat belts.

In general, NHTSA found vehicles that weighed less were less safe. Among small passenger cars such as the Toyota Corolla, there was a 4.4 percent increase, or an estimated 597 deaths per year, in the risk of a death for every 100-pound reduction in weight.

There was a 3 percent increase in death risk, or 234 deaths per year, for every 100-pound reduction in mid-size SUVs and light trucks such as the Ford Explorer.

Among the heaviest vehicles, such as the Dodge Durango, there was little difference when weight was reduced by 100 pounds.

Details of the study can be found at www.nhtsa.dot.gov

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