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.”
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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.
Bounced like a soccer ball, eh?
Ah yes, but WHY did you roll your car three times into an embankment, that would be the 100 dollar question. Perhaps a larger vehicle might not have rolled at all, or lost control.
Every car is crash rated to survive up to 60 MPH, or it is pulled from the market. Just cause you made it through, doesn’t make your tiny car safe. It just makes you lucky. =p
Also keep in mind that most all cars and SUVs have started to put many more safety components on the cars. Just 3 or 4 years ago, many of the smaller Toyotas did NOT have leg, side body or side head airbags. With continued research and testing, safety becomes better. But I do agree with the other posters… In a match between two vehicles, one being a large SUV or truck - the larger vehicle will win. and that doesn’t even begin to address commercial semi vehicles on the highways in CA and other states - Nothing is going to beat those.
Glad you’re okay though!
WHY HAVEN’T YOU CALLED THE OFFICE?
Congrats on the survival! Looks like a pretty bad wreck. I generally agree with you that these smaller cars are pretty safe but there is no way around the laws of physics. So, one car rollovers are one thing but head on or side impact against anything heavier (which is most everything on the road these days) might end worse. Be careful, look both ways even on green and hope for the best.
I was in an accident a few years ago where somebody in a Toyota Echo (the conventional version of the early Prius) pulled a U-turn in front of me. I was driving a Mazda B4000 4X4 pickup, and I hit the Echo in the driver side door at about 40mph. Yes that totaled the Echo, but the driver (who didn’t even see me until I hit the car!!!) only suffered facial lacerations and a bad case of shock. Police who responded were amazed that she didn’t at least break a shoulder. SO here’s another case where a little car held up, in this case held up to a collision with a mid-size pickup. Here’s adding the the data set!
Large Volvo vs a small renault modus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I
The Yaris is a decently safe car, but in a roll most modern cars (ie not BOF trucks and since the updated roof standards of teh mid ’80s) do very well. In a roll much of the energy is dissipated during the rolls without impulse to the occupants. This Yaris looks pretty similar to how an early ’90s Escort and Caprice looked after roll over accidents. In both cases the drivers had similar injuries to you.
I have driven a Yaris and have noticed that the rear end wants to come loose under hard braking. It is as if front to back braking is not balanced and the rear locks-up while the front dives. Did this performance characteristic have anything to do with you losing control and getting into the accident in the first place? The Honda Fit is a similar class of car and exhibited much better prowess and actual turning ability under heavy braking in my test drive. Because of this I would say the Fit is a much safer car for its ability in avoiding an accident.
It comes down to simple physics: F=m*a Assuming that acceleration (deceleration) remains the same in a wreck ie the wall does not move, the mass of the vehicle is directly proportional to the force of the wreck. A smaller car releases less stored energy, becasue it stores less. That’s right, everytime you press on the gass, you are storing energy that either gets released in the form of heat on the brakes or as a large bang when you hit a wall or tree.
I am glad you are OK. I am assuming that you wore your belts right? A friend just lost her 13 year old son in a wreck where everyone wearing a belt walked away. He did not.
One of my friends struck a guardrail at 70mph on the highway, and her Yaris looked about the same as yours in the end. She came out with back pain and of course the seatbelt bruise, that’s it.