Crash tests with Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV)
The earlier analysis of SUV real-world collisions in Germany had shown that SUV drivers are not more accident-prone than the average car driver.
However, when collisions occur, the crash opponents often fare worse as a result of the higher mass and ride-height of the SUV. The incompatibility between SUV’s and regular passenger cars was therefore demonstrated in three crash tests. A lateral collision where a car is hit into the driver-side door by another vehicle was chosen as one typical scenario. The first test featured a compact car with a Euro-SID dummy on the driver seat which was impacted by a vehicle of the same type at 40 ph. The dummy received moderate loadings. In the second test, a small SUV, with the same mass like the “bullet” vehicle in the previous test, but higher front structure, crashed into the compact car.