SUVs Get Higher Marks For Safety As Vehicle Related Deaths Plummet

Over the last decade SUVs have received less than rave reviews for their safety features but according to a new study the 3,000 to 3,499 pound vehicles along with other vehicles in that weight class have become far better at protecting passengers.

Federal data from 2008 to 2009 shows that significantly less fatalities have been reported in relation to SUVs with 16 deaths per million registered vehicles. That number is 64% less than the 44 deaths per million rate recorded in 2000-2001.

During that same period the death rate for car occupants hit by a car or SUV remained unchanged.

An officer of the institute that completed the study told the Wall Street Journal that “It used to be, pound for pound, pickups and SUVs were more deadly than cars.”

According to experts SUV related fatalities have been one of the biggest highway safety problems of the last two decades.

The new study comes after U.S. automakers redesigned their SUVs and equipped their vehicles with better safety technology.

According to one of the study’s researchers:

“You can pick up a car today that is light years safer than 20 years ago.”

Do you feel as if new SUVs manufactured today drive better and offer better overall safety standards than SUVs purchased a decade ago?