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There is a bit of truth in your friends thoughts - when cars are crash tested it's using their own kinetic energy, so a bigger heavier car must be proportionall

There is a bit of truth in your friends thoughts - when cars are crash tested it's using their own kinetic energy, so a bigger heavier car must be proportionally stronger to resist the crash forces, and get the same rating. So all things being equal, a big heavy car with the same crash occupancy rating as a small light car will be better to be in in crashes which involve another car.

Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
Yeah, it's true and I hate it. It has created an arms race for bigger and bigger SUVs. And of course, people completely ignore how poorly those vehicles handle. They can't turn on a dime, can't brake worth shit, and are prone to rolling. I feel like driver's ed courses should include having to do emergency maneuvers in both a giant Chevy Suburban or Ford Expedition as well as a smaller Toyota Camry, or even a Miata. You know what's better than a car that protects you during a crash? One that's agile enough to avoid it to begin with.
- Stratoscope 4y ago
  This brought back a sad memory. I happen to have a .to domain (from the Kingdom of Tonga) and used to write a blog there. In 2006, the Crown Prince and Princess of Tonga, Tu’ipelehake and Kaimana, were killed along with their driver Vinisia Hefa when their Ford Explorer rolled over multiple times after being clipped by a speeding driver on Highway 101 through Menlo Park. I can't second-guess the past, but I have a feeling that if they had been in a more agile vehicle, Vinisia may have been able to keep the vehicle upright and under control. I wrote about it at the time: https://mg.to/2006/07/08/prince-tuipelehake-and-princess-kaimana-r-i-p.html https://mg.to/2006/07/08/prince-tuipelehake-and-princess-kai... The Mercury News link is broken (I will fix it when I get a few minutes) so here is the Wayback copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20060713193143/https://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14994390.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20060713193143/https://www.mercu... Just today I came close to having a similar incident. I was in my old Kia Rondo, a car-based "crossover SUV", making a lane change to the right on the freeway. Even after checking my blind spot I somehow missed this guy zooming up on the right. He honked, I swerved, the Rondo handled well, no harm done. And I am hopeful that even if we had clipped each other, my car-driving reflexes would have worked. I shudder to think what might have happened if I was driving one of those huge truck-based SUVs.

Sohcahtoa82 4y ago

Yeah, it's true and I hate it. It has created an arms race for bigger and bigger SUVs. And of course, people completely ignore how poorly those vehicles handle. They can't turn on a dime, can't brake worth shit, and are prone to rolling. I feel like driver's ed courses should include having to do emergency maneuvers in both a giant Chevy Suburban or Ford Expedition as well as a smaller Toyota Camry, or even a Miata. You know what's better than a car that protects you during a crash? One that's agile enough to avoid it to begin with.

Stratoscope 4y ago
This brought back a sad memory. I happen to have a .to domain (from the Kingdom of Tonga) and used to write a blog there. In 2006, the Crown Prince and Princess of Tonga, Tu’ipelehake and Kaimana, were killed along with their driver Vinisia Hefa when their Ford Explorer rolled over multiple times after being clipped by a speeding driver on Highway 101 through Menlo Park. I can't second-guess the past, but I have a feeling that if they had been in a more agile vehicle, Vinisia may have been able to keep the vehicle upright and under control. I wrote about it at the time: https://mg.to/2006/07/08/prince-tuipelehake-and-princess-kaimana-r-i-p.html https://mg.to/2006/07/08/prince-tuipelehake-and-princess-kai... The Mercury News link is broken (I will fix it when I get a few minutes) so here is the Wayback copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20060713193143/https://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14994390.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20060713193143/https://www.mercu... Just today I came close to having a similar incident. I was in my old Kia Rondo, a car-based "crossover SUV", making a lane change to the right on the freeway. Even after checking my blind spot I somehow missed this guy zooming up on the right. He honked, I swerved, the Rondo handled well, no harm done. And I am hopeful that even if we had clipped each other, my car-driving reflexes would have worked. I shudder to think what might have happened if I was driving one of those huge truck-based SUVs.