Kevin Clinton, head of safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, says: “In the US, more than one third of fatal crashes with sports utility vehicles are rollovers. American safety organisations attribute this to their high centre of gravity and the likelihood of the roof being crushed during the rollover.” My car comes from America.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article452795.ece
Owners of 4x4s are likely to bear the brunt of changes in the way car insurance is calculated.
Drivers of Range Rovers, BMW X5s and Toyota Land Cruisers and other socalled Chelsea Tractors are likely to have to pay hundreds of pounds more for comprehensive insurance under a new risk assessment scheme to be announced.
The changes are also likely to hit drivers of sporty diesels and even some mid-range hatchbacks. In future, insurance will be based on the likelihood of a car being damaged in a crash – or damaging another car – and the likely cost of repair. This could add hundreds of pounds to the typical comprehensive quote, currently about £800.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=437707&in_page_id=1770
Four-wheel-drive cars should carry health warnings to highlight the increased dangers they pose to pedestrians, doctors have said. They say the gas-guzzlers are more deadly than normal cars and should come with warnings similar to those found on cigarette packets.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...6&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true
Imperial College London found 4x4 drivers were four times more likely to use mobile phones than other drivers, while a third more shunned seat belts. The team, who observed 41,000 motorists, said those in 4x4s took more risks as they felt safer in their cars, the British Medical Journal reported.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5107708.stm
UK insurance industry figures from Churchill show that urban 4x4s are involved in 25% more accidents than saloon cars and do far more damage.[2] Admiral Insurance also recently released figures showing that 4x4 drivers are 27% more likely to be at fault in the event of an accident.
2.
Safe bet for a bump, Mail on Sunday, 10 October 2004
3. Admiral Insurance, in Sunday Times, 10 July 2005