One in every seven cars in Washington is an SUV

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published March 14, 2002

SEATTLE -- At least one out of every seven passenger cars in Washington state is a sport-utility vehicle, according to a newspaper report published Wednesday.

Some 800,000 SUVs were privately or commercially registered in Washington last December, more than there are people living in Seattle and Tacoma combined, a Seattle newspaper reported in an analysis of Department of Licensing data.

That's one SUV for every eight residents of the state.

In 1997, there was one SUV per 15 people in the state, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

Experts concerned

The proliferation has some traffic safety experts concerned. SUVs block the views from smaller cars, are prone to rollovers and tend to give their owners a false sense of security, they say.

"A lot of people think that SUVs are safer because they are bigger and heavier, but the differences are not that great," said Susan Fergusen, senior vice president of research for the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.

Crash data

Statistics examined at the University of Michigan show that for every SUV occupant who dies after a head-on collision with a car, five car occupants die.

In crashes in which an SUV strikes the side of a car, there are 30 car deaths for every SUV death.

State data from 1993 to 2000 show that the likelihood of a passenger car being involved in a fatal accident decreases in bad weather, while the likelihood of trucks and SUVs being involved in fatal accidents increases.

Out of all fatal crashes in Washington in 2000, 49.5 percent primarily involved cars, and 37 percent involved SUVs, light trucks and vans. However, of the fatal crashes in snowy or icy conditions, 58 percent primarily involved SUVs, light trucks or vans.

"Four-wheel drive doesn't mean four-wheel stop," said Kathryn Kruger, executive director of the Kirkland-based Safety Restraint Coalition.

The most popular SUV in the state is the Ford Explorer, the newspaper found, with about 106,000 registered.

It's followed by the Jeep Cherokee, about 96,000; the Chevrolet Blazer, 91,000; and the General Motors Suburban, 63,000.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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