There's so many factors, types of vehicles, types of collisions, types of drivers, environmental factors, etc. that's it's nearly impossible to judge what they safest vehicle is going to be. Humans are also irrational a lot of times too. Look at how many
still ignore the facts and don't want to put a seat belt on for fear of admitting their own mortality or something.
"It's a smaller car so it's more maneuverable."
"It's a big SUV so there's more mass and is better in a collision with another car."
"Crashing into a solid or deformable barrier shows it's safe."
"Statistically you're safer driving xx vehicle."
Technically all of those could be right under certain circumstances. Then again you have to evaluate everything together and not get stuck on one part of the safety equation.
There are a lot of examples of things that might not seem to make much sense when viewed from one side. First lets take GM's previous minivan design. In the
IIHS and
Euro NCAP testing they have been one of the worst performing vehicles on the market. But according to actual
collision loss data if you go back they are statistically one of the safest vehicles on the road.
Many smaller and mid-size cars have performed better in barrier testing where the mass of a truck or SUV comes into place against them, but "compatibility" testing between vehicle classes isn't that favorable. Since I doubt many have seen a ton of crash test videos, check out the following link:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/databa...4430&existreport=Y&r_tstno=4430&existvideo=Y&v_tstno=4430&database=v&tstno=4430
It shows government testing videos of a Lincoln Navigator and a Dodge Neon in a head-on impact with both vehicles going
only 30 mph each (think about how crash forces increase exponentially the faster you go next time you're cruising along on the highway). Video's number 2, 3, and 7 are good starters to get an idea how the impact affects both vehicles.
And those big, safe, heavy vehicles have their own liabilities. There are always bigger vehicles on the road. Take
this case where full size truck went head-first into a semi at highway speeds (go to "Components" : "Pictures (Images)"). There's tons of other cases of vehicles going into light poles, trees, etc. and in most cases it doesn't matter what you're driving if the speed is high enough.
In the end it seems best to be objective and not try and pick-and-choose safety items but look at the big picture. Take a young inexperienced driver and put every one of them in the seat of the statistically safe minivan and you'd probably see those statistics change. Life is a risk and I try to choose my choices wisely, but I also like driving certain types of cars. Maybe I'd be safer in something else, then again, maybe not.
