Bigger is safer

My daughter plans to get a small car — one of those Kia Fortes — because she wants brand-new, the price is good and it gets great gas mileage. I’m worried that smaller is less safe if there’s an accident, especially now that SUVs (even though some are smallish) are so prevalent. She insists that my idea that bigger is safer is outdated 1980s thinking because cars (including smaller, less expensive cars) have so much more safety equipment these days. What do you think?

There’s really no way to get around the fact that size usually matters.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has examined this issue from many perspectives. And here’s its conclusion: “All other things being equal, occupants in a bigger, heavier vehicle are better protected than those in a smaller, lighter vehicle. Both size and weight affect the forces people inside a vehicle experience during a crash. The magnitude of those forces is directly related to the risk of injury.”

Here’s part of how the IIHS explains it: When the front of the vehicle is longer, that greater distance to where the car’s occupants are seated is a big advantage in frontal crashes, as the crash zone is bigger and absorbs more of the force of the impact. Frontal crashes account for about half of vehicle deaths.

Moreover, when two vehicles collide, the heavier one will push the lighter one backward, so there’s more force on the occupants in the smaller/lighter car.

And, IIHS adds, heavier vehicles fare better in some kinds of single-vehicle crashes because they’re “more likely to move, bend or deform objects they hit.”

What’s the chance she’ll have an accident?

According to the National Safety Council, there are about 10 million accidents of all kinds each year, ranging from minor to massive.

Certain things increase the chances of getting in a wreck: impaired driving (drugs or alcohol — about 30 percent of fatal accidents are because of impaired drivers); driving after dark, especially between midnight and 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays); speeding or driving too fast for conditions; and, especially these days, distracted driving (using phones or other electronics). These things she can control, though, of course, there’s nothing she can do about others’ driving behaviors.

What’s your question? Sharon Peters would like to hear about what’s on your mind when it comes to caring for, driving and repairing your vehicle. Email Sharon@ ctwfeatures.com.