Light Trucks’ Design Increases Crash Deaths, U.S. Says

In the government’s first major study of whether trucks are a menace to cars, federal auto-safety regulators Thursday said the weight and structural design of light trucks contribute to a disproportionate number of fatalities in crashes with passenger cars.

The study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that trucks’ heavier weights, higher bumpers and stiffer frames are making car occupants more vulnerable to death and serious injury. But the agency said more research is needed to find solutions to the problem.

NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez has made so-called “vehicle incompatibility” a priority as light trucks--pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans--approach 50% of new vehicle sales annually.

Light trucks now make up 34% of the nation’s total vehicle fleet, but collisions between light trucks and cars account for 50% of all auto-accident deaths, according to the study, which was delivered at the annual convention of the Society of Automotive Engineers here. And 60% of deaths in side-impact crashes occur when light trucks hit cars.

Even more notable is that car occupants account for a “disproportionate number of fatalities” when light trucks and passenger cars collide. In 1996, for instance, 81% of the 5,259 fatalities in collisions between light trucks and cars were car occupants.

The study generally supported the findings of other reports recently released by safety experts at the University of Michigan and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Industry officials note that vehicle compatibility is not a new issue. But they acknowledge that design changes may be needed. “It’s a complex issue,” said Ernie Grush, manager of safety-data analysis for Ford Motor Co. “There are no simple solutions or magic bullets.”

Ford and other auto companies are looking at a variety of technologies that could redress the safety imbalances. They include adding side air bags, strengthening doors, reducing frame rigidity and repositioning bumpers and structural elements to reduce damage caused by crash intrusion.

The study found that in both side and frontal crashes between cars and light trucks, car drivers are more vulnerable. For instance, when the striking vehicle is a sport utility, the car driver is six times more likely to die than the other driver.

The comparison is even worse for side impacts. In such accidents, the car driver is 30 times more likely to die than the sport utility driver.

The average light truck weighs 900 pounds more than the average passenger car, according to the study. Physics dictates that when a larger object hits a smaller one, the lighter one suffers more damage.

The stiffness of frames also plays a role. Light trucks often are designed with the body built around two steel rails that run the length of the vehicle. Cars are built using lighter parts with more give.

Lastly, the average sport-utility vehicle, designed for off-road capability, is eight inches higher than a mid-size sedan. As a result, in side impacts a truck’s front end can override the car’s door sill and inflict a serious blow.