A new study disputes the idea that heavier SUVs are safer for kids than cars. An article in the Arizona Daily Sun describes the study which found that any benefit from being inside the heavier SUV is canceled out by the high risk of rollovers.
The researchers looked at accidents involving nearly 4,000 children under age 16 between 2000 and 2003, and found child injury rates of about 1.7 percent in both cars and SUVs. The study examined only 1998 or newer cars and SUVs with second-generation air bags.
On average, the SUVs weighed 1,300 pounds more than the cars studied. The study found that the extra weight of SUVs enhanced safety, reducing the risk of injury by more than a third.
But that was offset by findings that SUVs were more than twice as likely as cars to roll over in crashes.
Children in rollovers were three times more likely to be seriously injured than those in non-rollover accidents, according to the study.
Car buyers can check the NHTSA's SaferCar.gov website for vehicle safety information including results from crash tests and rollover ratings.
