According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety side-impact accidents killed 9,000 people in 2006 alone - and that’s why they’re not so happy today after giving out the results to their first-ever side crash testing of five small pickup trucks.

The Toyota Tacoma was the only small pickup that brought in a rating of “Good” for side impact while others like the Chevrolet Colorado were rated “Poor.” The Dodge Dakota, Nissan Frontier and Ford Ranger were rated “Marginal” for their side crash testing.

IIHS’s president Adrian Lund said that the small pickup category is not a “good choices for people looking for safe transportation…until they improve.”

The IIHS said that electronic stability control needs to be standard on all small pickups since they have the highest rate of driver deaths of any vehicle on the road - including minicars. The 2009 Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and the 2009 Toyota Tacoma will all have ESC as a standard option. The feature is optional on the Nissan Frontier.

Source: InsideLine