SUV Drivers And Car Owners Want Auto Makers To Design Safer Sport-Utilities, IIAA Poll Finds
"The IIAA poll findings will shine a brighter spotlight on the issue of sport-utility - car crash compatibility and hopefully spur the 'Big Three' auto makers to action," says Paul A. Equale, IIAA executive vice president of public affairs.
Citing recent studies showing that, due to the size and weight of sport-utilities and light trucks, people in cars are more likely to die as a result of a crash between the two types of vehicles, IIAA and other groups have been pushing auto makers to make SUV safety design changes. In response, some auto makers have argued the safety problem is largely an issue of driver behavior rather than vehicle design and that both sport-utility and car drivers should accept responsibility to make roads safer for all drivers.
Under pressure from consumer advocates, federal safety regulators, and insurance industry groups, including IIAA, the Big Three have recently agreed to step up efforts to address the issue of improved safety designs for the popular SUVs, but some still greet requests to consider SUV safety design changes with skepticism, claiming consumers don't want them.
The new poll shows it's not just insurance industry and consumer groups pushing for changes, it's now the public itself-including sport-utility owners. Almost 35 percent of those polled said they owned a sport-utility or light truck, confirming the vehicles' recent popularity surge. This finding refutes auto maker claims that safety design changes would hurt the vehicles' popularity among owners and potential buyers.
The poll found nearly 60 percent of both sport-utility/light truck owners and non-sport-utility/light truck owners want auto makers to bear most of the responsibility for increasing the safety of car occupants in light of the increasing numbers of sport-utilities and light trucks on the roads. A larger majority-nearly 80 percent-say they feel "very strongly" or "somewhat strongly" that automobile manufacturers should make safety changes to sport-utilities and light trucks that would reduce risk to car occupants.
"The recent frenetic round of give-and-take and blame trading among auto and insurance industry executives, government officials and safety advocates on sport-utility/car crash compatibility has largely ignored the most important constituency of all-the American public," says Equale. "This poll finds that the American public has a clear and resonant message: We are aware of and understand the problem, and we want auto makers to lead the way in making roadways safer for all drivers."
Conducted February 25 to March 1 by Media, PA-based ICR Survey Research Group for IIAA, the poll questioned 1011 car and sport-utility/light truck owners.
Founded in 1896, IIAA is the nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents and agency employees nationwide.