Trucks are super helpful for moving things around, especially pickups, due to them having a lot more space inside compared to your regular automobile. Many workers will depend on their pickup trucks to help them complete their duties while working, getting them from A to B when they are required for specific tasks.
There is a lot of discussion regarding whether trucks or cars are safer in an accident, especially as larger automobiles and trucks grow more common among ordinary motorists. Larger automobiles are generally preferred by several drivers since it is vastly believed that they are safer to drive.
In an accident or a collision, however, there are so many more factors to take into account than simply the size of the vehicle.
In this article, we are going to look at why people think larger vehicles, such as pickup trucks, are so much safer to drive than your usual automobile in 2024, and we will find out whether this is the truth or not.
So, let’s jump straight into the facts.
How Safe is a Pickup Truck to Drive?
In 2019, the IIHS (the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) revealed the findings of their most recent pickup truck safety tests. In the passenger side small overlap test, it graded the performance of 11 crew cab pickups: four small and seven large.
According to the IIHS, a minor overlap crash happens when a vehicle’s rear edge collides with another automobile, or an obstacle that has fallen onto the road, such as a tree or an electrical post.
In the IIHS passenger side test, the Ford F-150 pickup truck was named the highest scorer.
It was noted that “the structure withstood the test of time… the airbags and seat belts worked effectively together to keep the passenger and driver dummies from moving around, and neither dummy reported any potential injuries”.
Unfortunately, while there is proven evidence that pickup trucks are reasonably durable in the event of a crash, the additional protection believed to be provided by pickup trucks as a result of their size is not exactly valid.
In its 2019 testing, the IIHS also found that passengers in modern pickup trucks are more likely to be injured or killed than motorists in vehicle crashes, stating that, on the passenger side, many pickup trucks do not provide cutting-edge occupant protection.
According to the IIHS, in the same 2019 report, pickup trucks took much longer to start performing well in driver-side crash tests compared to other types of vehicles, having to use many more models for testing, so it is not entirely unexpected that they are falling behind in the more recent passenger side crash assessments.
Which Vehicle is Safer to Drive: a Pickup Truck, a Car, or an SUV?
If you, the reader, are to take any piece of information away from this article, let it be this: overall, the size of a vehicle does not greatly affect its durability during an accident.
In a unique risk analysis study, a researcher from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab collaborated with a researcher from the University of Michigan to prove that, contrary to popular belief, vehicle quality is a far more essential safety factor than weight for drivers of vehicles involved in a crash.
The report states: ‘Most cars are safer than the average sports utility vehicle [SUV], while pickup trucks are much less safe than all other types. Minivans and import luxury cars have the safest records’.
‘SUVs are no safer for their drivers than the average midsize or large car and not much safer than many of the most popular compact and subcompact car models. Drivers of pickup trucks are at even greater risk than drivers of SUVs. When the combined risk is considered, SUVs and pickup trucks are revealed to be significantly more dangerous than just about any car’.
Further supporting this research, according to another study that was conducted by researchers at the University of Buffalo, the risk of fatality in head-on collisions involving SUVs was much lower than in head-on collisions involving cars.
All automobiles, SUVs, and trucks are all built to be safe and secure while driven: they would not pass the tests to be available for vast consumption if this was not the case. However, despite the fact that SUVs and trucks are less likely to be damaged in an accident, it is generally considered that travelling in a car may be the safest option for drivers. This contradicts the commonly held belief that larger cars tend to be much safer to drive than smaller cars.
If you drive a vehicle, SUV, or truck, you may reduce your risk of becoming seriously harmed during an accident and/or a collision by taking a safe attitude to everyday driving, and taking all the safety procedures necessary.
There are so many things that you can do, as either a driver or a passenger, to ensure your safety to the maximum extent possible while travelling inside a moving vehicle.
Here is a list of top tips for vehicle safety:
- Always wear your seatbelt whenever you are travelling, no matter how far or little the distance. You never know when an accident may occur, no matter how safely you are driving.
- If you are the driver of the vehicle, make sure that you are fully confident and aware of the rules of the road before you set off on your travels.
- Adjust your mirrors and seat to ensure that you can see everything while you are driving, eliminating nearly all possibilities of blind spots.
- Be prepared that other drivers on the road may not be driving as safely as you are, and keep an eye out for any potential dangers you may encounter on your travels. Remember that it does not matter how safely you are driving, as there will always be someone else driving recklessly on the roads. It is your responsibility to remain fully focused while driving, prepared to use quick reactions if needed.
- Never drive if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, no matter what: these may impact your ability to drive, making you more prone to accidents than if you were completely sober.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Bigger Cars Safer in Car Accidents?
To answer the question of which vehicle is safer to be inside during a collision, it is a question of physics. Larger and heavier objects are generally safer than smaller and lighter objects.
Large vehicles are heavier, have longer tops, and have larger impact zones, gaining an advantage in impact collisions.
Are SUVs and Trucks More Prone to Accidents than Cars?
There are always safety risks while driving, no matter what form of vehicle you are riding inside. Despite the fact that SUVs and trucks are less likely to be damaged in a collision due to their size and resistance, automobiles still remain a reasonably safe alternative for all drivers.
If you drive a car, SUV, or truck, you may reduce the likelihood of an accident by taking a safe attitude to regular driving.
What is the Safest Car to Survive a Car Accident?
The iconic Swedish car, the Volvo, is the make of car that, according to statistics, is the least likely to be involved in an accident, making it more likely for the passengers to survive if one occurs.
The Volvo, which literally translates to ‘I roll’ in Latin, is widely regarded as the safest car in the world.
What is the Most Dangerous Car Color?
According to a study published in Money Super Market, black automobiles are 47% more likely than vehicles of any other colour to be involved in serious accidents.
The fact that black cars are difficult to spot is the fundamental reason why they are more likely to be involved in accidents: because black automobiles blend in with their surroundings, they may be less visible to other drivers.
Final Thoughts
Automobiles and trucks would be fairly comparable in terms of safety if every collision featured two vehicles of the same type and size. In these scenarios, your regular car would most likely even be regarded as the safer alternative out of the group of vehicles.
This, however, is just not factual, as accidents and collisions commonly occur between vehicles of different sizes, makes, and durability.
Each vehicle type has advantages and disadvantages, however in most, but not all, collisions, drivers are probably safer in a bigger vehicle such as a truck. Passengers, on the other hand, are more likely to be put at risk if travelling in a pickup truck.
Overall, it is important to remember that every vehicle has the potential to either survive or become completely ruined during an accident: it all depends on the overall variables of the entire scenario.
All drivers and passengers should take every safety precaution possible while travelling, no matter which vehicle they are inside, to ensure their safety as much as they possibly can.
