safety in the third row of a minivan/suv

all of the reports seem to focus on front/side collision safety. having just been through a collision where i was rear ended, which i know is uncommon, i just can't help but worry about the safety of kids in a third seat.

i'm looking at honda odyssey/pilot, and in both cases, that third seat looks pretty darn close to the rear door. the odyssey isn't as bad as the pilot.

are there any tests that consider this issue in rear end collisions? it seems like i saw something saying you needed at least 12" of clearance, but i can't find it again or see what it was based on.

Having been in 3 crashes in my life, 2 of them when *I* was rearended and the other where I rearended someone else when the brakes failed on the loaded truck I was driving, I understand your concerns about rearend impacts! They are among the rarer crashes, though, statistically speaking, and just because you've had one already doesn't increase your chances of having another.

I was rearended in my 1995 Ford Escort wagon when I was sitting still, and the person rearending me was going 45 miles per hour. That was a heck of a crash. Even so, you'll be suprised and amazed to learn than the intrusion into the rear of my car was far less than 12 inches. It was probably less than 6 inches, although I don't have pics and I'm just going on memory.

That's just my anecdotal evidence...but based on what I saw and also what I know about crash stats, I'd feel safe with my kids in the 3rd row of either of the cars you cited.

The crash where *I* rearended someone, I was driving a large, tandem axle, flatbed farm truck. The truck itself weighed 12 tons (24,000 pounds) empty and I was hauling 12 tons of green beans. The gross weight on that truck was almost 50,000 pounds. The brakes failed and I pulled into the back of an old VW beetle which was sitting still waiting to turn left and my truck was traveling around 25 miles per hour. Believe it or not, that beetle still ran after that! It was pretty smashed up in the back but the lady was able to drive it home (only a few blocks) before all the vital fluids leaked out. Again, I don't have pics but in that case there was *maybe* 8 inches of intrusion but probably less than that.

So in my far-from-perfect, non-crash-engineer opinion (LOL!), I think that cargo space, even though small, is adequate enough for absorbing the forces of most rearend crashes without endangering the occupants of that seat.

one of my friends just pointed out that in the suv's, b/c they sit up so high, there is also less likelihood of the crash impact pushing too far into the vehicle.

Yes, but SUVs pose other risks, like worse role-over ratings, which are far more deadly than rear-end crashes