Just the other day we received a call from yet another client that is considering replacing the sedans they currently use for executive transportation with SUV’s. After  talking with their Security Manager for nearly an hour and discussing everything from daily operating costs to the life expectancy of tires and whether their drivers would require additional in order to safely operate these vehicles, it was clear that they were seriously considering this change and close to making a final decision. What was also clear from this call and some of the others we have received lately is that the SUV is no longer just seen as the follow vehicle of choice for security details that have the need and budget for a second vehicle. Today, these trucks – well that’s what we used to call them – are being looked at as a serious alternative to the four door sedans that have been the first choice in executive transportation for many years.
Like most others we have talked to about making this change, the first question the client had was whether or not this was a good idea. The honest answer to that question is yes, this may be a good idea and, yes, it may be a bad idea. Whether changing over to SUVs from sedans is a good idea or not depends on a couple of things, like exactly which vehicle the client is considering changing over to, the environment that the vehicle will normally be driven in and the drivers skill level and experience. The only thing that can be said for certain is that there are some situations where an SUV would be an appropriate choice and others where it would not.
If we look at why these trucks – there’s that word again – have long been a popular choice as a follow vehicle, we can also see why they might make a good choice as the principal’s vehicle. First, because they were originally designed for use as workhorses not passenger vehicles, SUVs tend to have a higher ride height which gives the driver a better view of what’s around them, particularly in traffic. Most of them also have more interior room and can carry a greater payload then the typical sedan. Additionally, most SUVs have more ground clearance than a standard passenger car. Ground clearance is the distance between the underside of the vehicle or drive train and the road surface or terrain below the vehicle. So, if you have a tall, lanky principal, who often travels with passengers and luggage to his or her house in the mountains, lives in a rural area and is driven into a heavily congested city on a daily basis or lives and works in an area where the weather is unpredictable, then an SUV might be the best option. Particularly if the roads they travel over are not well maintained or the distance to and from the house or workplace is more than 35 or 40 miles each way. Since SUVs are larger, heavier vehicles originally designed for hard work and heavier payloads, their suspensions and drive train components are often heavy duty and tend to hold up better under normal wear and tear as well as some of the tougher conditions described above.
However, if the principal has a physical condition such as a bad back, hip or knee problems then getting in and out of the taller SUV may be difficult or inconvenient; plus the heavier duty suspension and chassis components tend to make these vehicle ride rougher than the average sedan, though recent versions do ride noticeably better than some earlier models. The fact that they are larger, taller and heavier than a sedan also means that they are typically more costly to operate, particularly with the price of gas these days. So, if operating costs and the principal’s mobility and/or physical limitations are a concern, than the SUV may not be the right vehicle.
 But what about the safety issues we have been hearing so much about lately? Let’s face facts, history shows that, at least in the U.S., most corporate executives, high net worth individuals and even high profile celebrities are much more likely to be involved in an automobile accident then a vehicle ambush. That’s not to say that security threats should be taken lightly, just that those responsible for providing personal protection must also consider the day-to-day risks when making decisions regarding which vehicle best suits their needs. On one hand, you have so-called experts claiming that these vehicles are poorly designed and far more dangerous than an ordinary passenger car because they are prone to rollover crashes. On the other hand, you have those who insist these larger vehicles provide greater protection to the driver and passengers in the event of most common types of car accidents. Research and experience shows that there are valid points to both arguments. That doesn’t automatically mean that SUVs are bad or inherently dangerous, but it also doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the right vehicle for every situation. Keeping in mind that these vehicles have evolved from the basic work trucks they were intended to be into, in some cases, luxurious passenger vehicles that have more in common with a limousine than a farmer’s pick up truck, it simply means that they are being used for a different purpose than what they were originally designed for years ago. However, the very same characteristics that make them appealing to today’s buyer – more interior room, larger carrying capacity, and greater visibility – also contribute to how and when a driver might experience a loss of control and the potential for a rollover crash.
There is no getting around the laws of physics here. A vehicle that has a higher ride height and center of gravity, like an SUV, can not be driven around a corner as fast as a vehicle that is designed with a lower ride height and center of gravity. But that still doesn’t make the vehicle itself a “bad” vehicle. It does mean that the driver needs to understand that the handling limits of the vehicle may be a lot different than other vehicles he or she is used to driving. The driver also needs to be able to recognize how the vehicle behaves when it is nearing its handling limits and how to adjust accordingly to ensure they maintain control of the vehicle.
Building a vehicle with more room for people and all of the things they need to lug around typically means building a large, heavy vehicle with heavy duty components to support and move that additional weight. From a safety standpoint, this weight and those heavy duty components may provide greater protection to the driver and passengers in certain scenarios, though certainly not in situations where there is an increased risk of a vehicle rollover such as a sudden, sharp turn at highway speeds. In fact, in 2001 the National Academy of Sciences conducted a study that compared the annual number of occupant fatalities based on the type of vehicle they were driving or riding in at the time of the accident. The study found that for all types of SUVs, the occupant death rate was 140 per million registered vehicles in that category, while for all types of passenger cars the number was 138 deaths per million registered vehicles. Statistically, these numbers are virtually identical. When the data is broken down further, the annual occupant death rate for the larger SUVs (such as the Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, GMC Suburban and Toyota Land Cruiser) that most of the security providers we have spoken to have been considering is far lower than those for passenger cars – 92 deaths per million registered vehicles.
 So, is an SUV the right vehicle for your principal? The answer is the same as it always has been …maybe! It all depends on what the principal’s needs and requirements are, what the day-to-day driving environment is like and whether or not the driver has the knowledge, skill and ability to drive a vehicle that is far less forgiving then some others. When it really comes right down to it, at least here in the US, it’s usually not the vehicle that determines whether or not the principal is in danger. Whether confronted with a roadside ambush or a potential motor vehicle accident, it all comes down to the driver. If he or she doesn’t understand the vehicle’s handling limits and the warning signs that those limits are being approached, is unaware of his or her surroundings, hasn’t anticipated the potential hazards and dangers along the route or is driving too fast for the environment and road conditions, then both the driver and the passengers are in far more danger than they would have been otherwise; regardless of what sort of vehicle they happen to be in at the time.
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