Recent crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety revealed poor crashworthiness among small 2008 pickup trucks.
The Institute reports that crashes of small trucks result in the highest driver death rates of any vehicles on the road, even minicars, in part because small trucks are involved in more single vehicle crashes and rollovers than other vehicles.
The Need for Electronic Stability Control
The Institute encouraged truck manufacturers to make Electronic Stability Control a standard feature.A small pickup's light weight and typical stiff suspension makes it more likely to bounce than a car or SUV. If you hit the brakes hard, the weight of the truck is transferred towards the front wheels, making the rear even lighter. And when you swerve to avoid an object, the lighter rear end can make the truck turn sideways, causing a loss of traction at the rear wheels.
Electronic stability control steps in to automatically adjust a truck's brake pressure and steering response during an emergency, helping keep it upright and on the road. Unfortunately, stability control is standard on only 12-percent of 2008 trucks, and available on only about a third of current models.
ESC is standard on three small 2009 trucks: Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado and GMC Sierra. It's available on the 2009 Nissan Frontier.
Best and Worst Performers - Small Truck Crash Tests
- Toyota Tacoma earned the only good rating in side crashes and frontal crashes; its seat/head restraints earned a marginal rating for protection from whiplash in rear-end crashes.
- The Dodge Dakota earned a marginal rating in side crash tests and a good rating for frontal crashes.
- The Nissan Frontier earned a marginal rating in side crash tests; no word on frontal tests.
- The Ford Ranger earned a marginal rating in side crash tests and a good rating for frontal crashes. The Institute declared the Ranger's back jump seats unsafe for children. One study shows that kids riding in jump seats are 4 times more likely to be injured in a crash than children riding in the back seats of other vehicles.
- Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon were the only trucks to earn the lowest rating, poor, in the Institute's side impact crash tests. The dummy driver's head was hit by the moving barrier and the side of the truck allowed more intrusion into the cab than other trucks. The Colorado and Canyon are rated acceptable for protection in frontal crashes.
Standard Side Airbags
Toyota asked the Institute to test the 2008 Tacoma with its optional side airbags because they'll be a standard feature in 2009. Airbags are optional on the Dakota, Frontier, Colorado and Canyon, and not available at all on the Ranger.Federal side impact standards will make side airbags a necessity by the 2015 model year.
