Big pickups not as safe as you might think

It is important for every driver to operate his or her vehicle safely and defensively, but many people feel as though they are a lot safer when they are driving a large vehicle. Big pickup trucks are advertised as nearly indestructible rough-and-tumble rides that provide you with maximum protection, but tests that were conducted earlier this year indicate that this is not necessarily the case.

The tests were conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and they involved three big pickups: the Dodge Ram 1500, Nissan Titan, and Chevy Silverado 1500. When they were given side tests, all of three of them were disappointing, registering either poor or marginal scores, in spite of the fact that they are equipped with side air bags.

David Zuby, Vice President of the IIHS, had this to say about the performance of these three pickups in the side tests:

“The size, weight, and height of these large pickups should help them ace the side tests just like the other large pickups we’ve tested. Not these three. They perform worse than many cars we’ve evaluated. These large pickups don’t have to work as hard as smaller vehicles do to protect their occupants. Even with their characteristic advantages, the Ram, Titan, and Silverado still miss the mark when it comes to occupant protection in side crashes.”

One of the reasons that Zuby is saying that pickups don’t have to work as hard to score well in safety tests is the fact that they sit higher off the ground than passenger cars. So when there is a side collision, most of the body of the passenger in a pickup is going to be above the direct point of impact. With a car, the passenger’s entire torso is in the line of fire, as it were.

This study proves that consumers should not assume that a vehicle is safe simply because it is big. It is best to educate yourself and find out how well the vehicle the you are considering buying does in crash tests before making the purchase. For instance, The Toyota Tundra, Ford F-150, and Honda Ridgeline all rated “good” in their tests for front, side, and rear collisions. Do your homework and you take the assumptions out of the equation and replace them with cold hard facts that can save your life.

Driving a vehicle that is engineered to provide drivers and passengers with optimal collision protection is a wise idea. Engaging in consistently safe driving practices while operating a soundly designed car or truck will go a long way toward keeping you and your passengers out of harm’s way.