America’s large vehicle offerings, of course, have largely been swallowed by the SUV and big-truck sectors. These vehicles have lower safety (and environmental) thresholds than cars, because back in the mid-1970s the auto companies talked Congress into going easy on what were mostly work trucks at the time. The industry then slyly designated SUVs as "light trucks" but gradually made them bigger and spiffier – without equipping them with much of the costly safety gear of cars.

Your chances in an accident are calculated by the insurance industry and the Feds, each of whom conduct crash tests on new models. Of the large pickup trucks the Insurance Institute tested in the past year, only one – Toyota’s sturdy Tundra – got their best rating in rear collision tests. Two of the other three got the institute’s poorest rating. Meanwhile, three small cars with standard side airbags – the terrific Subaru Impreza, Nissan’s surprisingly roomy Versa, and the superbly built Honda Civic – got top ratings in all tests.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that, after head-ons, rollover wrecks kill us best, while badly injuring upwards of 1,000 Americans a week. This is because they usually inflict head injuries. Your odds of everyone in your SUV surviving if it turns turtle are one in five. Rollovers in SUVs have triple the rollover risk of cars because of their higher center of gravity (watch a NASCAR race on ESPN and see how many of the cars in it are taller than their drivers). Larger vehicles like SUVs also tend to have larger blind spots, particularly below the rear window and hood. Big pickups’ rearward blind zones are three times larger than those on a small car. One of these vehicles in reverse can be deadly to unseen children or petite adults standing behind it.

Your prime weapon in accident avoidance, of course, is your brakes. Along with air bags, the biggest automotive advances since SUVs and big trucks became so popular have been vastly better stopping technologies. These make small cars just as safe and, sometimes, safer than bigger fish. The heavier an object, the longer it takes to stop it; now that’s just basic physics. An Lincoln MKX or Ford Escape – nowhere near the biggest SUVs out there – both need well over 140 feet to go from 60 m.p.h. to a standstill. An Acura TLType-S can do it in under 120, an enormous advantage in an emergency. If you’re considering downsizing your daily ride like so many of us, just spend an extra buck on the side airbags – and get the top brake option offered.