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.
Dude, take some basic physics. All other things being equal, a lighter car will flip FASTER than a heavier car.
Now, factor in relative tire size, center of gravity, actual weight, and etc and you have a complex equation.
It may well be (though I doubt it) that flipping a Yaris is safer than flipping a Volvo, but if at some point in the flip you plan to hit anything heavier than a vagrant or a mailbox, then you should choose the Volvo.
Not only because it has extra reinforcement, but because it weighs more. Did you ever do that experiment in physics where you roll a big ball and a little ball down a slope into each other? Yep, you always want to be the big ball.
-XC
Each year I put about twice as many miles on my 450 lb. motorcycle as do on my 4300 lb. F150 4X4. I don’t have any illusions about which vehicle I’m safer with.
There may be many reasons to drive an ity bitty gas sipping car, but safety isn’t one of them.
First off, I’m glad you came out OK. Secondly, I’m sorry about the car.
However, one accident that you yourself personally survived is nothing but anecdotal evidence. There are myriad variables involved in vehicular accidents, and another coin toss and things could come out differently.
For example, I survived a head-on while driving a 1974 Fiat X-1/9 and my opponent was a full-sized Ford pickup truck (This happened on a two-way freeway access road, and the sun was setting in my face, so I never even saw him). Combined closing velocity was about 70-80 MPH.
Somehow, miraculously, when I came to rest, I was sitting sideways across the seats with my legs in the passenger seat. Not a scratch. I had a bruised forehead from hitting the windshield, but otherwise I was fine. There was NO CAR beyond the steering wheel, and the pickup’s front license plate was right where the car ended, well within arms reach. My legs should have been crushed, at least. Now, does this attest to the safety of 1974 Fiat X-1/9’s? No, and neither does your brush with luck. Oh, the guy in the truck was able to drive away, while they had to sweep the Fiat off the street.
I’ve ridden motorcycles for over 30 years and have well over 100K touring miles under my belt, so I’m not averse to taking risks when I travel (And I currently own a Beemer), but today I drive a RAM 1500 QuadCab 4×4 pickup truck, and part of the reason is because it is NOT weighed down by all the federally mandated safety features that cars are. The other reason is because in vehicular collisions, mass and momentum are the biggest factors. I want those factors on my side unless I’m on two wheels, then I ride like I’m invisible and every cage is actively trying to kill me.
I’m glad you’re ok and I agree the car protected you well.
However, I need to add my voice to the chorus with regard to an object in motion hitting a stationary object. The energy must go somewhere. Mid-sized and large vehicles will absorb more of the energy. It is basic physics and Newton’s laws will not be denied.
My concern is the group of people who believe that different sized vehicles are the only concern. There are (and always will be) trees, poles, bridges, and other solid objects that will not absorb any energy in an impact. Even if bigger vehicles went away or were segregated, people still need to drive in areas where there will be solid objects at the roadside and there will slippery surfaces.
Also, ask yourself this; When someone invents a technology that allows an F-150 to get the equivalent of 50 mpg or even 100, do you not believe that everyone who can will buy the biggest thing they can afford? (Answer: They bought huge SUV’s like mad when gas was $1/gal. They will again.)
Again, I’m glad you fared well. I recommend Ibuprofen (not aspirin as it is a blood thinner and will cause more bruising) for the inevitable swelling. Also, start writing down details - multiple times - so that you don’t forget any of them. And get all of your personal stuff out the car before the yard scum pick over it.
Why is it always “If it was hit by an SUV, therefore we need to make sure everyone is in a small car”. Umm, in case you did not notice, there is a class of vehicle that includes Peterbuilt, Freightliner, Mack, IH, etc. Exactly how you gonna get those off the road and make the world safe for SMART cars?
For you to assume that I’m a bad driver because I crashed is, excuse me, asinine.
Suffice it to say that just because only one car gets banged up in a wreck, it doesn’t mean that another car wasn’t involved.
Nick, suffice it to say, but one crash is simply a demonstration that one could survive an accident. To make the next leap that ergo small cars are as safe as large cars is asinine.
You survived an accident. Don’t get cocky. Indeed, just try to consider some people are less concerned about surviving an accident than avoiding an accident. You provided no evidence to suggest you couldn’t have avoided the accident better in a suburban when you failed to in a Yaris. I drive a small car, and I can think of numerous reasons its not safe, and I take that into account when I drive. I have no illusion that if I hit a 6′ barrier and rolled, that I would simply walk away.
The story Jon linked to (Comment #1) is one of the biggest pieces of crap I have ever read. I do not dispute the idea that SUVs are not as safe as advertised, or that “active” safety is just as important as “passive” safety. But in his desperation to show how much safer cars are, the author compares perhaps the clumsiest SUV ever made — the Chevy Trailblazer — not to a regular passenger car like the Camry, but to a freakin’ Porsche Boxster! Yeah, my Accord handles just like a Porsche, just as I am sure Nick’s Yaris used to.
If that weren’t bad enough, the plethora of unsourced assertions, pseudo-psychoanalytical B.S., and plain snideness in this article demonstrates that it is more propaganda than straight reporting. And that’s the problem with a lot of this “green” pablum — facts go out the window in furtherance of “the cause.” It reminds me of Christian fundamentalist defenses of “intelligent design” theory.
Having read through all these posts it’s obvious everyone has an opinion. So here’s mine…
There are way too many variables in play in this particular wreck to make a blanket statement about the safety of small cars versus big cars/Suvs. In this particular incident you were very fortunate that the car did what it was designed to do. The fact that the car rolled several times was a factor in your survival since enormous amounts of energy was dissipated away from you. Had you hit an immovable object such as a solid barrier or a large tree instead of a dirt embankment, you may have had a much more tragic outcome. Had your car come to a sudden stop all that energy would have been transferred to you and your body would not tolerate it very well. It’s the same concept that has led to safer barrier walls at racetracks.
With any wreck there is always going to be an element of luck. A matter of inches one way or another. I would much rather take my chances by having my car roll multiple times than having it come to a sudden stop by hitting an immovable object. Of course it is much better to avoid the wreck to start with and that leads to an entirely different conversation. Glad you are ok.
Re: Your earlier comment…
Your car was a quarter roll away from crushing you. I fix up cars as a hobby and I can’t express enough how lucky you are.
I realize you hate SUV’s and your agenda is going to cloud your judgment in this situation, but I do implore you to take a step back and realize how lucky you got. In a safer car it wouldn’t have been so close.
Everybody makes their own decisions in life, but for me safety will always trump mileage.
So we are now using anectdotal evidence to declare automobile safety ratings?
I presume it’s the same sound scientific discovery process used in climate studies.