(June 9, 2011) Drivers of sport-utility vehicles, who used to be the most likely to die in crashes because of rollovers, are now among those with the highest probability of survival, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said in a report released today.

SUVs in the 2006-09 model years had a driver fatality rate half that of cars, the IIHS reported. This is due in great part to electronic stability control.

"The rollover risk in SUVs used to outweigh their size/weight advantage, but that's no longer the case," thanks to electronic stability control, said Anne McCartt, the institute's senior vice president for research. "Pound for pound, SUVs have lower death rates."

Of the 26 top-rated cars and trucks, all but one had electronic stability control. In 2008, the technology was standard on 65 percent of cars, 96 percent of SUVs and 11 percent of pickups, according to the insurance institute, which last conducted a driver death-rate study in 2007.

Audi A6 among vehicles
with lowest death rate

None of the 26 lowest-rated vehicles had standard electronic stability control, while almost all of the top-rated ones did, the study found. Models equipped with the technology, which can automatically apply brakes or reduce throttle speed when drivers over- or under-steer, had lower death rates than those without it.

It will be required on all new vehicles beginning with the 2012 model year.

Vehicles with the lowest death rates include the Audi A6 and the Mercedes Benz E-Class, both luxury cars; the Toyota Sienna minivan; the Ford Edge SUV; the Nissan’s Armada SUV; and Jaguar Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport and Rover LR3 SUVs.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, The Detroit News, Bloomberg News