Small pickup trucks perform poorly in side impact tests

Small pickups aren’t providing as much protection in side crashes as many new cars and SUVs, reports the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).Of the five 2008 models tested, the Toyota Tacoma was the only one to earn a ‘good’ ranking for occupant protection in side crash tests, an IIHS release says.The Dodge Dakota, Nissan Frontier and Ford Ranger received ‘marginal’ ratings, and the Chevrolet Colorado is rated ‘poor’ in the side test. Side impacts are the second most common type of fatal crash, the IIHS notes. Small pickup trucks have the highest driver death rates of any vehicles on the road, including minicars, the IIHS reports. In 2006 small pickups experienced 116 driver deaths per million registered vehicles one to three years old. This compares with 106 for minicars, 99 for small cars and 42 for small SUVs.Part of the reason for this, explains the IIHS, is that small pickup trucks are more likely than other passenger vehicles to be involved in single-vehicle crashes, especially roll-overs.”We assume the other manufacturers don’t expect their vehicles to perform much better, even with the optional side airbags,” said IIHS president Adrian Lund. “In contrast, Toyota is ahead of its competitors in making the latest safety equipment standard on small pickups.”