Car vs van for safety

linguistmama · Dec 12, 2012

Our van is going out and I've been using dh's little commuter car, 2002 hyundai accent. I love driving a smaller vehicle and the better gas mileage. My concern is safety. We have 3 kids and have managed 3 across, but I worry about a side impact accident with 2 of them being so close to the door and no side airbags. We are looking to buy something else. I would prefer a car, but not if a minivan will be safer. How does a car with side airbags compare to a minivan with or without side airbags? We currently have a rf boulevard in the middle, ff boulevard on driver side and harmony dreamtime booster on the passenger side.

jjordan · Dec 13, 2012

Crash tests are done on individual cars. So the crashing basically simulates what would happen if a car hit another car of the same size. If a minivan and a small sedan get identical crash test ratings, that means that you should expect about the same performance in either IF you are encountering a car the same size as what you're driving.

In real life, the larger car in a collision has an advantage right off the bat. So if a minivan and a small sedan with identical crash test ratings are in a collision together, then the larger mass of the minivan will usually mean that the occupants have a better chance than the occupants of the sedan (all else being equal between the two vehicles). AFAIK it is difficult to find how to measure this difference in safety in the real world, though.

That being said - consumers care very much about safety ratings of their vehicles, which means that vehicles are continually being made safer. I expect that almost any late-model vehicle (whether a sedan or a minivan) would have more safety features than the 2002 accent that you're currently driving.

SafeDad · Dec 13, 2012

For side impacts, the mass of your own vehicle is not a major factor, as it is with a head-on crash with another vehicle.

On the other hand, height is an important factor, because a small car being struck on the side by a taller SUV would put the occupant's head closer to the intrusion. That is one reason the IIHS side impact testing varies somewhat from the NHTSA testing, as it uses a shorter dummy and taller barrier. I do think that a vehicle that offers a little higher seating and also captain's chairs that may add an extra inch or so from the door can be an advantage in a side impact. If side impacts are a concern, then make sure whatever you buy has top side impact ratings from both the IIHS and NHTSA!