Trucks are generally safer
Automotive safety comes down to a number of factors, including active and passive safety systems, driver skill and more. But if you had to be in a car crash, which vehicle would you rather be in? A compact or a full-size truck? Having had the unfortunate luck of experiencing vehicular mishaps in both sorts of vehicles, we’ll go with the truck.
Yes, it’s big, and yes, it’s heavy, but assuming the driver isn’t the type of idiot who would roll the thing, a truck can typically survive a stronger hit than a passenger car. After all, trucks are designed to crash into mountains, so a scrape with something like a VW Bug is a minor inconvenience. Like passenger cars, modern trucks come with stability-control systems, smart-braking technologies and a plethora of airbags.
But passenger cars are designed to deform in order to protect their occupants; trucks, on the other hand, just plow through whatever is in the way. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but when our last minor accident saw the Camry that rear-ended us totaled, our press truck drove away with just a couple of scratches on the bumper. Maybe we were just lucky, but since that day, we were sold on the solidity of trucks. Your mileage, of course, may vary.