Is Your Minivan Safe in a Rollover Crash?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently released their list of 2011 Top Safety Picks for minivans.  To qualify for the "Top Safety Pick" designation, the vehicles must have the highest rating in each of the following categories: frontal, side, rollover, and rear crash protection.  They must also have electronic stability control (ESC).

Five 2012 minivans made the cut:

• Chrysler Town & Country
• Dodge Grand Caravan
• Volkswagen Routan
• Honda Odyssey
• Toyota Sienna

Rollover protection depends, in large part, on roof strength, which IIHS measure by pushing a metal plate against one corner of the van's roof at a constant speed.  To earn top marks, the roof must withstand a force equal to 4x the vehicle's weight before it caves five inches.

In 2009, more than 8,000 people were killed in rollover crashes.  As more vehicles are now equipped with electronic stability control, that number is falling.  In 2012, the feature is required on all passenger vehicles.  By government estimates, electronic stability control will only prevent two to three thousand of those auto accident deaths, so a strong roof is still vital to safety.