> >Sure, it's safe for the people riding in it, but
>
> People keep saying that, but stats don't bear it out.

Do a search for "SUV fatality rate," or something similar. There's huge amounts of data available. The rest of this post is a clip from an article, for which a link is provided below.

"According to accident data compiled by the federal government's Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), Explorers are not only safer overall than other comparable SUVs -- but safer than most cars.

/ / "FARS data for 1991-1999 (the decade during which SUV sales boomed) show there were 1.1 deaths per million vehicle miles traveled in accidents involving the Ford Explorer. The figure for other compact SUVs was 1.3 deaths; and for passenger cars, 1.5 deaths.

/ / "Moreover, similarly sized SUVs were involved in almost 20 percent more rollover accidents than the Ford Explorer.

/ / "The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that four-door Explorer has the lowest rollover fatality rate of any large SUV, while the two-door is rated second-best in the midsize category.

/ / "The real-world evidence shows that the interior of an Explorer is one of the safest places to be in if you happen to have an accident -- as is true of SUVs in general. The size and mass (as well as the higher ground clearance) provide excellent occupant protection far superior to that of a mid-sized auto, let alone a compact.

/ / "This fact was acknowledged by State Farm Insurance's recent decision to give insurance premium discounts to drivers of several popular SUV and truck models, including the Explorer. The discounts, which reflect the generally lower medical and personal injury costs sustained by SUV occupants involved in accidents, affect the medical portion of the premium only, reducing that part of the total cost by approximately 30 percent. (SUVs do typically incur greater liability -- i.e., body damage, etc. -- costs than do most passenger cars.)"

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gabby