If you look at only the raw data reported by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, many sporty cars and compacts would seem to be unsafe - with four-door sedans and station wagons producing significantly lower death rates in accidents.
The figures, released by the Michigan Association of Professional Insurance Agents, quotes its president, James Alexander, as saying that you have a better chance of survival in a larger vehicle.To be sure, there are laws of physics agreeing, in part, with that assessment. But there is much more involved if you want to make a fuller assessment.
Many highway mishaps, for example, involve only one vehicle. That alters the APIA assessment. Then there is the list of the 10 "best" and 10 "worst" cars on the basis of deaths per 10,000 vehicles registered. Among the "best" on that list are many of the smaller cars indicated as less safe by APIA. And among the "worst" were some of those getting the higher marks on crash tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Jack Gillis, author of "The Car Book," says there are several cars that get good marks in the crash test that usually require a surcharge from insurance companies while others that did not score as well are candidates for discounts.
The reason, Gillis says, is because of the people who traditionally buy these cars.
Sporty cars are often purchased by young drivers. The same is often true of compact cars, due to their lower prices. Mature drivers tend to want higher-priced and larger four-door sedans and station wagons, the type of car that dominates the "safe" list.
Because mature drivers have a lower accident rate, it simply follows that the types of cars they buy would appear safer.
By their very nature, sports car are generally safe. Their generally excellent handling qualities allow the driver, in fact, many options not available on family sedans. However, no matter how safe the car, the driver primarily determines whether a car is safe.