Sport utility vehicles showed significant safety improvements during the past decade, according to the latest Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report.
The report shows that sport utility vehicle drivers are now among the least like to die in a crash. Researchers credited electronic stability control, which can help reduce to chance of a rollover, as one major reason.
Basically, ESC senses which direction the vehicle wants to go and which direction the driver wants it to go. If those directions conflict, ESC steps in to help the driver correct oversteer or understeer.
It's a feature that will be required on all new passenger vehicles, starting with 2012 models.
As for safest models in the IIHS report, it ranked the Audi A6 and Mercedes E-Class among the luxury car models with the lowest rates of driver deaths. SUVs with the lowest rates of driver deaths included the Ford Edge, Nissan Armada, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Land Rover LR3 and Honda CR-V.
Complete IIHS Report: Click here for a look at which models have the highest and lowest death rates.
