F-150 vs Honda or Toyota Minivan: T-Bone Survivability ?

[(PeteCresswell)]

Are there any EMT people out there that can comment on the relative survivability of a t-bone crash in a Ford F-150 vs a Honda or Toyota minivan?

The obvious industry spiel involves crumple zones and side air bags: the F-150 lacking side air bags, yet having a more robust frame (in the words of one person "My crumple zone begins at your bumper"....).

Has anybody had actual experience picking bodies out of these two vehicle types ?

My agenda is that my F-150 lacks side air bags and I want to move to something that has them: either a later model pickup or one of the two aforementioned minivans.

But I don't want to go from the frying pan into the fire vis-a-vis the basic laws of physics....

[Wade Garrett]

If you're that concerned about it, you'd be better served getting insurance industry, Consumer Reports, or gov't crash safety info rather than relying of the anecdotal impressions of a few guys on a newsgroup...

[DerbyDad03]

"Later model" might not be specific enough since ratings can vary by Year/Model/Trim Level. A story from an EMT about a 2015 F-150 might be different (better or worse) than a story from an EMT about a 2014 Odyssey or Sienna, but that might not be a valid comparison if you are considering a 2016 or 2013 vehicle.

You might want to compare the ratings for specific vehicles here:

[Dean Hoffman]

A couple places to check:

is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Wade Garrett:

My impression from reading quite a bit of that stuff is that much of it is self-serving to the interests of "Greener" vehicles and/or misleading.

They tend to emphasize things like the hazard of being belted into something that does not crumble when it hits a tree, but ignore really-obvious things like bumper height, side rail strength, and the basic laws of physics (as in a beeeeeg car hits a little car....).

Tangentially, they totally ignore driver/passenger height and the obvious negative implications of somebody having the top of their head already in contact with the roof liner and then hitting something and having the body thrown upwards and forward against the seat belts.

My thought when posting was that somebody in the EMT business might be able to cut through some of that and give impressions from Real Life.

[DerbyDad03]

While all of your assumptions about the "testing" vs. "real life" may be correct, do you really think that you will get enough data in *this* ng to make a solid choice?

1 - First, whittle the members of a.h.r down to the subset of EMTs. 2 - Whittle that subset down to the EMTs that have seen major accidents 3 - Whittle that subset down to the EMT's that have seen major accidents involving the 3 specific vehicles you've ask about. 4 - Whittle that subset down to the EMTs that have seen major accidents involving the 3 specific vehicles you've ask about over various years and models/trim levels since the results may change based on the specific vehicles involved. 5 - Whittle that subset down to the EMTs that have seen major accidents involving the 3 specific vehicles you've ask about over various years and models/trim levels *and* the accident was the specific type that you asked about: the T-bone.

Not only will I be extremely surprised if you get one single answer that fits your criteria, I can just about guarantee that you won't get enough answers to actually make a decision.

[Wade Garrett]

If you want hands-on opinions, try hanging out in a cop/fireman/EMT bar Be ready to buy a few rounds, and ask away;-)

[Tekkie®]

(PeteCresswell) posted for all of us...

I was in this business. Not now. We paid more attention to injures than vehicle damage per se. We followed stand procedures during extrications. Sometimes the manufacturer was not even recognizable and injuries were minimal. It's the crapshoot of life.

As other posters have stated the IIHS is probably your best bet. Every owner has there favorite. One FF may say Chevy, the next one would say Ford. I like Toyota. Of course there is the new Pacifica. I am sure it can be gotten with all the latest avoidance features. Not really knowing your requirements I would look at the Subaru line. Very durable, dependable and I know two people that owned Legacy's that had accidents and came out on the upside in spite of severity.

A large part is use of the safety features of the vehicle. Keep seat belts tight and properly placed. The object of the systems is to keep you in the confines of the seat. Crumple zones and floor buckling, door intrusion are a part of it. If you test drive the car take note of seat belt fit, especially passenger. If they are uncomfortable they are likely to be bypassed. Sightlines are important.

Make your decision and go with it. The best accident is one that never happens.