Story at a glance
- Minicars and muscle cars are among the most dangerous to drive, according to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
- Larger vehicles, like SUVs and minivans, have the fewest deaths among drivers.
- Pickup trucks, especially large pickups, cause the most deaths of other drivers in accidents, the data found.
Muscle cars are among the most deadly to drive, according to newly released data on driver fatalities from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Smaller cars, most notably muscle cars, topped the list of vehicles with the most driver deaths. SUVs, minivans and luxury cars were the least deadly, the research found.
“We typically find that smaller vehicles have high driver death rates because they don’t provide as much protection, especially in crashes with larger, heavier SUVs and pickups,” IIHS President David Harkey said.
“The muscle cars on this list highlight that a vehicle’s image and how it is marketed can also contribute to crash risk,” Harkey added.
Data from 2018-2021 found that the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 and hatchback models are the two most deadly cars for drivers, with 205 driver deaths per million miles. That’s significantly higher than comparable minicars, which also make the top of the list.
The third most deadly vehicle, the Dodge Challenger muscle car, had a death rate of 154.
Here are the 10 most deadly cars on the road, according to IIHS data:
- Mitsubishi Mirage G4
- Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback
- Dodge Challenger 2WD
- Hyundai Accent
- Chevrolet Spark
- Kia Rio sedan
- Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD
- Chevrolet Camaro convertible
- Nissan Altima
- Kia Forte
Research found that when large vehicles are involved in a crash, the other vehicles’ driver is significantly more likely to die than in a crash with a smaller vehicle. The most dangerous vehicles to get into a crash with are large pickup trucks, which kill the other driver in crashes at a much higher rate than smaller vehicles, the data found.
Those larger vehicles are also significantly safer for the driver. Nearly all the safest vehicles in the IIHS data are SUVs or minivans.
Here are the 10 least deadly cars on the road, according to IIHS data:
- BMW X3 4WD
- Lexus ES 350
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan 4WD
- Nissan Pathfinder 2WD
- Audi Q5 4WD
- Toyota C-HR
- Nissan Murano 2WD
- Volvo XC90 4WD
- GMC Canyon Crew Cab 4WD
- Lexus RX 350 4WD
Roads are deadlier now than in previous years. The average death rate for vehicles was 38 between 2018 and 2021, but was 36 in 2017. That’s also a significant increase from the low in 2011 of 28 deaths per million miles.
Over 155,000 people died in car wrecks between 2018 and 2021.
“Overall, newer vehicles are much safer than those of the past,” IIHS researcher Chuck Farmer said. “But, unfortunately, there are still major differences in the levels of protection that various models provide. There was also a spike in speeding-related fatalities during the pandemic, which may help explain why we find so many muscle cars among the worst performers for this period.”
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