In the market for a new car or wondering if it’s time to swap your current vehicle out for something else? One thing that you’re probably thinking about is safety. Maybe you’re reading reviews and crash test scores.
That’s a great place to start, and it can help point you in the direction of a safe vehicle. However, it may be beneficial to simply consider the fatality statistics. When people get into accidents, how often do those crashes turn deadly, and what cars see the highest rates of deadly accidents? Those may be the cars that you want to avoid.
The risk
To help, below are the most dangerous vehicles from one study, as reported in Forbes. The study looked at cars from 2013 to 2017, and it considered the number of cars involved in deadly accidents per billion vehicle miles traveled. This allowed them to rank all vehicles equally.
Please note that this does not mean that the cars listed had the most deadly accidents overall. More common vehicles — like major brand SUVs — may have had more fatalities simply because they are far more common. That doesn’t mean they’re more dangerous, though. It just means there are more of them. Ranking things based on miles driven shows you how frequently people pass away in all vehicle models at the same usage rate. That’s the best way to really compare different makes and models from a safety standpoint.
With that in mind, here are the most dangerous cars, reported as the number of cars per one billion vehicle miles:
- Mitsubishi Mirage: 10.2 cars
- Chevrolet Corvette: 9.8 cars
- Honda Fit: 7.7 cars
- Kia Forte: 7.4 cars
- Chevrolet Spark: 7.2 cars
- Subaru BRZ: 6.9 cars
- Nissan 370Z: 6.2 cars
- Nissan Versa: 6.1 cars
- Kia Rio: 5.9 cars
- Dodge Challenger: 5.8 cars
- Chevrolet Camaro: 5.5 cars
- Kia Soul: 5.3 cars
- Hyundai Veloster Turbo: 5.2 cars
- Nissan Versa Note: 5.2 cars
One thing that you’ll see quickly is that many of the models listed are popular low-end sports cars. Does that make them more dangerous? It can, as they’re smaller and lighter than trucks and SUVs, which can put drivers in more danger in an accident. But you do also have to consider the way people drive. Are those who own sports cars more likely to speed and drive recklessly, increasing the amount of deadly accidents in these vehicles?
After the crash
Regardless of the specific reasons, the fact remains: Deadly crashes happen most often in these models. If you lose a loved one, a family member, it is a shocking and difficult event. While compensation will never bring them back, you do want to know what rights you have in Pennsylvania to seek compensation for funeral costs, medical bills and lost wages when another driver caused that crash.
