I’m going to assume, fatherjohn, that you’re not intentionally being disingenuous. I’m probably being overly generous, here, but I’m going to operate under that assumption.
You did notice, I assume, that the statistics quoted on that poseur site include sedans up to 1999, but the SUV info only goes up to 1998. Gosh, that wouldn’t skew the results any, would it?
Go straight to the source rather than through somebody’s interpretation of the facts. On the IIHS site, there’s a wonderful graph of deaths per million passenger vehicles, 1-3 years old, as of 1999. It CLEARLY shows that SUVs are the safest class of vehicles for passengers. Look here: http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/sfsc.htm. Here’s the direct quote from the IIHS site, so you understand: “All else being equal, you’re safer traveling in a passenger vehicle that’s larger and heavier than in one that’s smaller and lighter.”
Or here’s another quote for you, specific to the type of crash tests that the IIHS runs: “The kinetic energy a vehicle must absorb in a crash test increases with vehicle weight, so barrier tests are more demanding of heavier vehicles. But people in heavier vehicles in real-world, 2-vehicle crashes typically fare better than people in lighter vehicles.”
Or better yet, here’s one last quote, again from the IIHS site: “…test results shouldn’t be compared among vehicles with large weight differences.” Since the sedans in question generally weigh 1,000 to 1,500 pounds less than the SUVs, the comparison put forth on the poseur site is operating under a faulty assumption to begin with – an assumption that is CLEARLY stressed on each and every IIHS page with crash-test results.
As I said, I’m going under the assumption that you’re not trying to trick people by intentionally providing false data. I’d prefer thinking that you view the poseur site as the end-all, be-all place for SUV statistics. I hope this little exercise has shown you that they’re wrong, and that you’ll shift your viewpoint somewhat.
