Vehicle safety experience is also a function of the customer base. It’s possible that the average Volvo driver is better at achieving safety than the average Toyota driver.
The average Volvo driver is a “frightened squirrel” (term of art) who causes more accidents than she’s involved with.
At least, that’s my hypothesis.
More seriously, men don’t drive Volvos. Also men have more accidents than women (because they get the duty when everyone is tired, tipsy, or the weather stinks).
- Yes, but judging from what I know concerning the conditions over here in Scandinavia, I find it rather unlikely that Volvo drivers would outdo Toyota drivers in the area of safety.
Swedish Volvo drivers represent a mean of Swedish car owners.
Most are, hardly surprising, ordinary people who use their cars for driving to and from work, leaving their kids at a kindergarten/school in the morning, picking them up in the afternoon and then going shopping at IKEA:).
Many Volvo owners in my country are “squares”. Most Swedish Toyota drivers are too.
However, at least in Sweden there is somewhat of a difference between these two groups. Swedish Toyota drivers seldom are salesmen and other such (stressed up) people who usually drive along Swedish freeways at high speeds trying to make a living.
Most Swedish Toyotas are driven below speeds of 60 mph or so. Therefor, they get involved in few severe accidents.
Although I believe Toyotas to be fairly safe cars, I am very, very convinced SAABs, Audis, Mercedes’s, BMW's and Volvos to be safer vehicles.