SUVs Safer Thanks to New Auto Technology | Daniel R. Rosen, P.C.

By Linda Dailey Paulson, blogger for Carrentals.co.uk.

Sport utility vehicles once had a reputation of being as dangerous as they were large, but automakers have sought to change this. These types of vehicles have become increasingly safer thanks to new technologies designed to make them more stable.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) publishes an annual study (PDF) on safety, which includes mortality rates sorted by vehicle. The latest study shows that SUVs, which once had some of the highest death rates, now have some of the lowest.

?The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says SUVs are now safer than cars of the same weight because of anti-rollover technologies,? according to Gary Richards of San Jose Mercury News. ?The rollover risk in SUVs used to outweigh the advantage they had because of size and weight, but no longer.?

The technology responsible for the improvement is Electronic Stability Control that is now considered a key safety feature. This technology helps prevent rollover crashes in these typically top-heavy vehicles. According to Jeffrey Archer at AutoTrader.com, each of the top-rated SUVs named in the IIHS study offers Electronic Stability Control as a standard feature.

In 2001, when there had been a great deal of negative press surrounding the Ford Explorer?s safety record, Ford decided to make Electronic Stability Control standard equipment on all Ford SUVs.

?At the time it was an expensive option that nobody had heard of, and none of the dealers were ordering [it],? says Jerry Reynolds, a former auto dealer who is now an automotive writer and host of The Car Pro Show on Sacramento, California, radio.

?Although the Firestone [tire] issue was the cause of Explorer rollovers, little was known ten years ago about the danger of SUV rollovers,? Reynolds notes. ?The SUV craze was exploding and automakers were pumping them out in record numbers, and designers were scrambling to get out the next new model. They were getting taller, shorter, narrower, and had a high center of gravity. This is not a good combination, especially when drivers panicked and made a sudden move left or right.?

Despite Electronic Stability Control having been available as a standard feature on many vehicles, most consumers do not know what it is or how it works.

Reynolds explains:

ESC uses the speed sensors on each wheel and the computerized system has the ability to brake individual wheels [...] ESC adds a control unit that monitors steering wheel angle and vehicle rotation around the vehicle?s vertical axis. This unit uses the steering and rotation information to detect that the vehicle is about to travel in a direction different from the one indicated by the steering wheel position. Then ESC automatically brakes the appropriate wheel to help the driver maintain control. In a lot of the ESC systems, engine power is reduced when needed.

Seven of the top 10 vehicles in the latest IIHS study with the lowest mortality rates were SUVs. Those SUVs with the lowest scores ? zero fatalities per million registered vehicles ? included the Ford Edge, Nissan Armada, and Land Rover?s Range Rover Sport and LR3. Also cited in the report were the Honda CR-V, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Acura MDX.

AutoTrader.com?s Archer continues:

The test also highlighted one important factor that appears to make a significant difference in vehicle mortality rates: weight [...] Cars weighing less than 2,500 pounds saw 71 deaths per million registered vehicles, a number which dropped to just 41 deaths for cars between 4,000 and 4,500 pounds. SUVs saw the same trend, with 39 deaths per million between 3,000 and 3,500 pounds, which dropped to 20 per million for SUVs above 5,000 pounds.

?The lesson: even with all of today?s advanced safety features, it?s still better to have as much metal around you as possible,? said Archer.

Linda Daily Paulson is a legal and technology journalist who writes for Carrentals.co.uk, one of the largest car rental sites worldwide, referring over 16 million quotes to car rental companies since its launch.

Image by born1945, used under its Creative Commons license.

Source: http://www.danielrrosen.com/2011/09/suv-safer-thanks-to-new-technologies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=suv-safer-thanks-to-new-technologies

mot mmi reba mcentire archer elizabeth banks cate blanchett holly madison