Study shows kids are safer in SUVs, advocates say

By LISA ZAGAROLI

McClatchy Newspapers
09-JAN-06

WASHINGTON -- Advocates for sport utility vehicles say a government analysis of America's deadliest crashes refutes claims that kids aren't safer in SUVs than smaller passenger cars.

A study of crashes in which at least one person died indicates that children in some cases were half as likely to be killed if they were in an SUV rather than a car, depending on the type of crash.

The report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, published in July and posted on the agency Web site without publicity, looked at all fatal crashes between 1998 and 2002.

"Millions of Americans have the completely wrong impression of SUV safety as it relates to children," said Ron Defore, a spokesman for the Sport Utility Vehicle Owners of America.

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