Are Tiny, Gas-Saving Cars Unsafe? Today Mine Saved My Life
I rolled my Toyota Yaris three times this morning after hitting a six-foot-high dirt embankment at highway speed. I crawled out with no more than a bump on my head, seat belt burn, and a massively stiff neck. So, for all you small car safety-doubters out there, I’ve now got personal experience to say otherwise.
Inevitably, whenever we post about small electric cars, funky three-wheelers, or any other small fuel-efficient vehicle here at Gas 2.0, we get typical responses along the lines of “It may get 60 mpg, but that thing’s a death trap,” or “It’s nice to drive electric, but would you trust that car to your family?”
After this morning’s shenanigans, I can unequivocally say “Yes. Yes I would trust my family to a small fuel-efficient car, and I’m miraculously alive and mostly uninjured… so no, it’s not a death trap.”
- » See also: CARB Unveils DriveClean, a New Web Tool to Help Consumers Pick Green Cars
- » Get Gas 2.0 by RSS or sign up by email.
My Yaris got 40 mpg and weighed less than half (35%) of a Chevy Suburban. From the outside it may not have looked very substantial, but it sure saved me on fuel costs. And, until today, I would have grudgingly agreed that it may not be as safe as driving a behemoth like the Suburban.
But now that my life has stopped flashing before my eyes, and I’ve had a chance to think, it is simply amazing that I walked away from that crash barely bleeding. I mean, just look at the remnants of my car.
In fact, after today, I think I fared better in my Yaris than I would have in a Suburban land yacht. Imagine how many times I would have flipped in the Suburban and the force of impact that would have come along with crashing a 6,447 pound car?
So, for everybody out there that’s using safety as an excuse to not go green, I must ask you to please take a look at that picture of my car and the wonder of how I walked away well enough to write this post the same day. Then try turning around and telling me that these upcoming small alternative cars aren’t safe simply because they’re small.
It’s more a matter of engineering, and, at least in Toyota’s case, those engineers are miracle-workers.
Editor’s note: This post was updated on October 22, at 8:00 am PST, to correct the curb weight of the Chevy Suburban from 8,600 lbs to 6,447 lbs. 8,600 lbs was the gross vehicle weight rating. 6,447 lbs is the weight of the heaviest Suburban — the 3/4 ton model with four wheel drive. My thanks to Ben Wojdyla, Associate Editor at Jalopnik.com, and the commenters on this post who pointed out that discrepancy.
This is true, My Father hit a large rock and flipped his Honda Fit 2 times. Had some bumps and bruises and a compression fracture from the seatbelt that’s it. Safe car
Dude, have your pituitary function checked once a month for about a year. Whiplash often causes pituitary damage that goes undetected till well after the time when you can file an insurance claim. A damaged pituitary will cause muscle deterioration and fibromialgia. Better safe than sorry.
My daughter was driving home at night and got dead on t-boned by a large suburban assault vehicle doing 30 mph. The VW beetle she was driving was “pushed” 30 feet into a telephone pole. After a bit of kicking on the door, she walked away without a scratch. Say what you want, but that car seemed to be built like a F1 cockpit. Outside literally destroyed, interior was intruded upon around 5″. I would buy another one in a heartbeat.
I can dig it. I got tagged in an intersection by a Buick station wagon a few years ago & I was driving a P501 Piaggio three-wheeled delivery van — one of those little Italian Vespacar jobs powered by a 200cc Vespa engine — and that little sucker bounced down the road like an empty Budweiser can with me in it and then rolled up onto a lawn. I’ll bet it was funny from the outside !!! The paint was barely scratched. I am sure glad I wasn’t in a pickup truck.
Yeah, well, try that in a kia.
Toyota’s are safe, the rio…not so much.
To the people that say about MACK Trucks being dangerous to other cars on the road. MACK Trucks have the safest drivers driving them. I personally hate driving beside 18 wheelers or MACH Truch just because their size intimidates me while I am driving my 1994 Chevy Corsica. The reason why most MACK Truck drivers are safe is because that is their job. They drive hours upon hours everyday and go through some vigerous training to be able to drive for a company.
Also all accidents are caused by someone messing up. Whether talking on a cell phrone, being extremely tired, or driving too fast for conditions (ice, snow, wet roads, etc.). In head on collissions the bigger vehicle will always win its common sense. On the other hand they make very few modern cars that can’t withstand roll overs or single car crashes.
Glad you are ok…
As I’ve stated in other blogs, don’t give undo credit to Toyota. The Yaris, according to both Euro and U.S. saftey standards is not that good. It’s 3 star rated for side collisions and 4 star for front collisions. It is bested by almost every other car in its class (including the Chevy Aveo). So, Toyota’s engineers are far from the “Miracle Workers” you are making them out to be.
lol, a suburban is NOT 8600lbs. That’s the max GVWR (maximum vehicle + cargo capacity). The vehicle itself would be in the 5000lb range.
Personally I drive a Grand Cherokee. I get a little less than half the mileage you get, but so what? A yaris would NOT be suitable for my lifestyle; I pull dozens of small FWD cars up icy hills and out of ditches every year around here. And when you spend a significant portion of your miles either hauling lots of stuff or towing a trailer - or locked into 4WD due to last night’s 12″ of snow - there’s really no other option.
And - because I usually work from home and ride a motorbike on the morning commute - I probably burn a lot less gas every year than most, despite driving a 4500lb SUV as my main four-wheeled transportation.
Not that it matters, because I can’t even get in to most compact (or even mid sized) cars with my 6′7″ frame…
Glad you are ok. I think the main concern, however, when calling those small cars ‘death traps’ is that you may get sandwiched between guard rails and an 18 wheeler, or two hummers. In that situation I don’t think the outcome would be as ‘happy’ as rolling your car.
thats good to know, i just bought an 07 yaris and was curious about safety