BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Children are no safer riding in sport utility vehicles than in passenger cars, largely because the doubled risk of rollovers in SUVs cancels out the safety advantages of their size and weight, according to a study released today.
Researchers said the findings dispelled the bigger-equals-safer myth that helped fuel the growing popularity of SUVs among families.
"We're not saying they're worse or that they're terrible vehicles. We're challenging the conventional wisdom that everyone assumed they were better," said Dr. Dennis Durbin, a pediatric emergency physician who took part in the study, published in the journal Pediatrics.
