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.
Glad to hear you’re ok!
Being an Australian myself, looking at the USA there seems to be a cultural resistance to small cars which goes past all logic and reason. Small cars are very common over here and mindset of “small = WEAK” is completely alien to us.
If I wanted to check the safety rating of a car I’d simply look up the NRMA yearly safety ratings to see how my purchase idea fared.
You should watch that movie “Final Destination”. It’s just a matter of time for you now…..
While on vacation this past summer, I was witness to an accident where a Smart fortwo was cut off by a Toyota Camry at about 50mph. Both cars were quite messed up, but the driver of the Smart opened her door, climbed out, and was helped to the side of the road. She was dazed, but pretty much unhurt. I expected to see the worst in the aftermath, but was in a state of awe after seeing how that little car stood up in the collision!
That’s a pretty small sample of crashes to conclude anything but it’s impressive that the door pillars held up and the roof wasn’t bashed in more.
Glad you are ok, but are you actually looking at the picture of your car? You are alive in spite of your car, not because of it. That car was totaled something bad, and it’s a miracle that you weren’t badly injured.
cmanjohn,
When I look at that picture, it looks to me like the car performed admirably by doing what it was designed to do in an accident: absorb impact without transferring the energy to the driver… not that I survived in spite of my car.
You’re absolutely right, however, something you didn’t consider, something most people don’t consider, is how much safer small cars are in accidents they AVOID. The mass=safety argument assumes you’re going to drive into an accident and there’s nothing you can do about it. But smaller cars, with their shorter braking distances and sharper handling, and less obstructed visibility, are much better at not getting into the accident in the first place. Stats compiled showing deaths per vehicle on the road, rather than deaths per accident, reflect this — most of the safest cars are small, such as the Jetta at #4.
All this is expanded on in this excellent article on Gladwell. If you can read it and still want an SUV, you’re beyond help:
http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html
Oops, I see I’m the second person to link to the exact same article. That’s how good it is!
“Yep, that’s how Yaris rolls”
right on the front page to the Yaris link.
Excellent!
And what, exactly, were you doing that caused you to hit an embankment at highway speed?
I think the car you’re driving is less of a safety issue than the person behind the wheel, in most cases.