Jul 24, 2008 5:18 pm US/Eastern
Are Small Pick-Up Trucks Safe?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
How safe are you on the road? If you are driving a small pickup truck, maybe not as safe as you could be.
A new study by the Institute for Highway Safety puts small trucks to the test in side impact crashes, the second most common type of fatal crash.
Why? Small pickups have the highest driver death rates of any vehicles on the road.
Of the five small trucks tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, three trucks received only 'marginal' ratings. They are the Dodge Dakota, the Ford Ranger, and the Nissan Frontier. One truck, the Chevy Colorado, received the Institute's lowest rating of 'poor.'
The Institute's president, Adrian Lund, said the reason is because these trucks come with only optional or no side airbags at all.
"When you're hit from the side, there's nothing between your head and whatever's coming in, other than that side airbag," said Lund. "Side airbags should be standard equipment."
Only one small truck, the Toyota Tacoma, earned the Institute's highest rating of 'good'.
Side airbags will be standard in all its 2009 models.
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