How Much Safer Are You in a Large Car

Two sources of data, one describing exposure and another describing fatal accidents, were used to estimate the national distribution of fatalities classified by four age groups and two vehicle size groups. The results show that the probability of receiving a fatal injury is greater in small cars than it is in large cars, and that the difference increases with age. This is true despite the fact that older drivers tend to be involved in less severe crashes. The reasons for these findings are discussed with particular attention given to injury patterns within different age groups.