These days, smaller cars are becoming a bit more popular than the bigger cars of the past. However, car size and weight both play an important role in its crash safety. Therefore, it’s important to know how small ones fare in an accident…
Smaller Cars: Crash Safety
Front end collisions
Smaller cars tend to not do as well as larger ones in front end collisions. In these kinds of crashes, the frontal end of the car is going to take most of the impact. The bigger a car’s front end is, the more time there is for the car to absorb the impact before the passengers hit the air bags.
Therefore, cars with larger front ends, such as SUVs, trucks, or even standard sized cars tend to do better in these types of accidents. As that energy is absorbed by the front end, less of it is transferred onto the passengers, reducing their chances of injury. Small cars have smaller front ends, lessening the amount of energy they can absorb.
Weight and safety
Smaller cars also weight less than other options, which can be another risk. Heavier ones have much higher momentum than smaller ones. This means they also need more energy to slow down. Therefore, when they get into crashes, a lot of the energy is directed onto the car itself rather than the passengers.
This becomes especially apparent in crashes which involve both smaller and larger cars. If a heavier car crashes into a lighter one, the heavier one will stop sooner with less risk to the driver. Meanwhile, the lighter one might travel further, with an increased chance of injury to the driver.
Pros and cons
Smaller cars, like with any other car, come with their pros and cons. For instance, they tend to be quite affordable and easy to drive. They also tend to have very good levels of fuel efficiency. The trade off is that, in order to get those benefits, they lose a bit when it comes to overall safety effectiveness.
Still, if you’re concerned with fuel efficiency in particular, the good news is that larger cars are catching up. Many standard models now have fuel efficiency levels which are similar or even better than smaller ones. This can be good, especially if you prioritize safety.