We have all seen those crash tests. Front impact, side impact, rear impact! Somewhere in the back of your mind is the nagging thought that a new vehicle, one you might love to own, is being totalled, wrecked, demolished. All those tests are courtesy of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS is funded entirely by auto insurance companies and its goal is to reduce the damage (deaths, injuries and property) caused by vehicle crashes.

This interview with Russ Rader, a spokesperson for IIHS, discusses the results of the recent roof test to determine if there is a relationship between roof strength and injuries. I should point out that personal injury lawyers (like me) have been arguing and contending and suing for years alleging that vehicle roofs were not strong enough. The recent roof tests by the IIHS suggests the lawyers have been right.

These tests focued on SUVs. More tests are coming on other models.

And how strong is the roof on your SUV? The government standard was established years ago and it requires the roof to be able to support 1 and 1/2 times the weight of the vehicle. That isn’t a lot when you think about it. The only time you have to be concerned with roof strength in a rollover.

The IIHS tested the roofs of 11 SUVs and then compared roof strength with statistical information concerning injuries that occurred in rollover accidents. The outcome is not surprising: those SUVs with stronger roofs had less injuries in rollover accidents. What is hard to understand is the car manufacturer position that the roofs in our vehicles are strong enough. Strong enough for what? Obviously not strong enough to prevent all injuries.

What always gets me is why one vehicle is a lot safer than another. Why is that? There can’t be that much difference in what it takes to make this car or that car, so why can’t all the car manufacturers make all the cars equally safe? Go figure!

You can read the report and find out about your SUV! But I will go ahead and tell you that the SUV with the stongest roof was the 2000-04 Nissan Xterra. One of the weakest roofs was on the 1999-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which happens to be what I drive.

The 2008 Top Safety picks:

Large cars: Audi A6, Cadillac CTS, Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control, Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control, Volvo S80

Midsize cars: Audi A3, Audi A4, Honda Accord 4-door models, Saab 9-3, Subaru Legacy with optional electronic stability control

Midsize convertibles: Saab 9-3, Volvo C70,

Small car: Subaru Impreza with optional electronic stability control

Minivans: Honda Odyssey, Hyundai Entourage, Kia Sedona

Midsize SUVs: Acura MDX, Acura RDX, BMW X3, BMW X5, Ford Edge, Ford Taurus X, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007, Infiniti EX35, Lincoln MKX,
Mercedes M class, Nissan Murano, Saturn VUE built after December 2007, Subaru Tribeca, Toyota Highlander, Volvo XC90

Small SUVs: Honda CR-V, Honda Element, Subaru Forester with optional electronic stability control

Large pickup: Toyota Tundra

Buy or trade and get a safe vehicle! It’s got to be good for the economy.