Bigger, Heavier Vehicles Will Keep You Safer

If you want to keep your passengers and cargo safe, make sure you purchase the biggest, heaviest and most expensive vehicle you can afford. Some of the best vehicles for doing that are half-ton and three-quarter-ton pickup trucks.

According to a recent University of Buffalo study that measured the highest and lowest frequency of personal injury, pickups like the Ram 2500 Mega Cab, GMC Sierra 2500 Heavy Duty and Ford F-150 were some of the safest vehicles. The study surveyed 360 vehicle models from 2010 to 2012 based on insurance loss data from the Highway Loss Data Institute (a nonprofit organization funded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).

Other top performers were high-dollar full-size 4×4 SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne and Land Rover Range Rover, showing a strong correlation between price, weight and safety. The doctor/professor who presented the results at the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine conference in San Diego noted that for every additional $10,000 spent on a vehicle, in the event of a crash injuries are likely to go down almost 12 percent, and for every 1,000-pound increase in overall vehicle weight, a vehicle would statistically result in 19 percent fewer injuries during a crash.

Not surprisingly, the study found that subcompact and compact cars had the highest frequency of personal-injury claims. The study's two lists (for the safest and most unsafe vehicles) use a completely different method of evaluation than is done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which bases its ratings on specific, repeatable crash results against an immovable object. This study is based on actual crash results and personal-injury claims in the 17 states with no-fault insurance in order to provide real-world data results.

Cars.com photo by Evan Sears (above); manufacturer image (below)