Virtually all of the recent comments on the horrific accident that killed four Santa Fe teenagers have concentrated on the cause of the accident, an allegedly drunken driver. Perhaps we should also consider the reason these teens died.

A photo in The New Mexican of the Subaru driven by the teens, lying in an impound yard next to the Jeep Cherokee driven by Scott Owens, tells why these teens did not survive the crash.

The Subaru had essentially disintegrated, while the Jeep remained largely intact.

Assuming that both vehicles were traveling the posted speed limit on Old Las Vegas Highway, the convergent speed of the collision must have been close to 100 mph, and apparently it was not a direct head-on collision.

The Jeep hit the side of the Subaru, the weakest part of the structure of any automobile. Added to these factors was the fact that the Jeep, having a higher ground clearance and body-on-frame construction, collided in a way that the full force of its impact went directly into the passenger compartment, and probably very little was absorbed by the frameless monocoque structure of the Subaru.

If these teens had been driving in a Ford Expedition or a Chevy Tahoe, would the outcome have been different?

Automobile manufactures are forced to deal with conflicting demands to produce light, fuel-efficient vehicles while striving to create the structural integrity necessary for the occupants to survive serious collisions and rollovers.

Designs that include crumple zones, multiple airbags, and the use of high-strength steels have certainly increased the safety of lighter, smaller vehicles. However, at some point, the rules of physics will prevail over even the best engineering. In a head-on collision such as this, having a vehicle with greater mass, riding on a rigid steel frame, would afford much greater survivability to the occupants.

This is especially true with newer, full-size SUVs and pickup trucks that retain body-on-frame construction and incorporate crumple zones, multiple airbags, and high-strength steel.

The dilemma for parents of teenage drivers — and in fact all drivers — is that in this era of expensive gas and global warming, large body-on-frame vehicles have been castigated as the evil embodiment of American overconsumption and lack of concern for the environment. That may be true, but driving a full-size SUV is the appropriate vehicle for New Mexico.

Most driving in New Mexico is on long secondary roads, with 50 mph speed limits; vehicles pass within 4 to 5 feet of each other at combined speeds of 100 mph or more.

A blown tire can send a vehicle into oncoming traffic with the same results as the drifting vehicle of a drunk. A recent article in The New Mexican quotes a state police sergeant who indicated that vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road are frequent occurrences in this state.

Regardless of the environmental and economic harm resulting from low gas mileage, if parents are going to provide their teen with a vehicle, a used full-size SUV is probably the best means of protecting the child and his or her friends.

Jeffrey Kosberg is a resident of Santa Fe and a retired attorney.