Just a note on big vehicles and brakes, most truck-based vehicles (such as a Tahoe and the E-series vans we've had) have heavier duty brakes than cars. The only issue is that the brake bias is often your enemy when the vehicle is unloaded, it tends to be biased towards the rear more for better braking when loaded, which is why you find a lot of trucks with rear-only antilock. Our van stops quite well despite it's size and weight; you've gotta remember and take into account that you're driving a bigger, taller vehicle, that's all. As far as I can remember, we've never replaced a rotor or drum on any of the vans we've owned, by the way.

Getting back to side impact though, the fact remains that it's very hard to fully protect against. Lots of metal and crumple zones help with front impact, but you can't do that with side impact. That's partly why city driving can be more dangerous than highway driving, a side impact at 40mph is about as likely to cause a fatality as a front impact at 75. It all comes down to restraint and energy absorbance, and both are more of a problem with a side impact. There's not a whole lot you can do about it unless you wanted to build a NASCAR-inspired safety cell and seat system. Then again, you're taking a risk just getting out of bed in the morning.

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Once and future king:
'64 Ford Fairlane w/approx 238,000 - looks rough, but amazingly reliable if you know how to look after it; I will soon begin work to totally restore and modernize it.
Family vehicles that I lay some claim to:
'78 300D w/approx 350,000 original, '62 Ford F100 4x4, '90 Ford E150 w/171,000 original