If safety is your number one priority in a car, these 10 models might best be ignored.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released a new study detailing the vehicles with the highest (and lowest) rate of driver deaths.
Despite vehicles improving in safety across the board and a record nine vehicles with driver death rates of zero, there is still a fair share of vehicles that have more than 46 driver deaths per million registered vehicles from the 2009-2012 according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In fact, three models recorded over 100 deaths per million registered vehicles with the majority of the top 10 cars found in the compact car segment.
The Ford Focus sedan had 70 overall deaths per million registered vehicles years with 55 multiple-vehicle crashes, 13 single-vehicle crashes and 5 single-vehicle rollovers. Safety on the Ford Focus sedan has improved with the 2014 model year being a Top Safety Pick from IIHS, scoring Good in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint & seats categories while it got an Acceptable rating in the small overlap front crash test.
The Nissan Versa four-door hatch recorded 71 deaths with 37 multiple-vehicle crashes, 33 single-vehicle crashes and 20 single-vehicle rollovers. The 2012 model year Nissan Versa hatchback scored Good in the moderate overlap front and head restraints & seats categories while it earned an Acceptable rating in the side and roof strength tests. Safety features on the 2012 Nissan Versa hatchback include front and rear head curtain airbags and front seat-mounted torso airbags as well as standard electronic stability control and antilock brakes.
Somewhat surprisingly the popular Honda Civic is on the list with 76 deaths, 46 multiple-vehicle crashes, 29 single-vehicle crashes and 10 single-vehicle crashes. The 2015 Honda Civic coupe scored Good on all of the IIHS’s crash tests and is a 2015 Top Safety Pick.
The only pickup truck to find its way on the top 10 list is the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 HD Crew Cab with 79 deaths, 40 multiple-vehicle crashes, 36 single-vehicle crashes and 17 single-vehicle rollovers. According to IIHS, the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado had poor crash test results only earning a rating of Good in the moderate overlap front crash test. The pickup scored Marginal in Roof Strength and Acceptable in the side test and head restraints & seats categories.
One of the more popular sports cars available in today’s market is the Chevrolet Camaro but it also recorded 80 deaths across 19 multiple-vehicle crashes, 60 single-vehicle crashes and 25 single-vehicle rollovers. IIHS doesn’t have any crash test ratings on the Camaro in its online database but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did give it a five-star overall safety rating.
The Hyundai Accent two-door model had 86 overall driver deaths with 43 multiple-vehicle crashes, 48 single-vehicle crashes and 20 single-vehicle rollovers registered. According to IIHS, the 2011 Accent scored Poor in the side crash test while earning Acceptable ratings in the moderate overlap front, roof strength and head restraints & seats categories. The model was updated for the 2012 model year.
The Chevrolet Aveo is another model from the American automaker to make it onto the list with 99 deaths from 65 multiple-vehicle crashes, 31 single-vehicle crashes and 10 single-vehicle rollovers. IIHS tested the 2011 model year Aveo and it earned Marginal ratings in the side, roof strength and head restraints & seats categories as well as an Acceptable in the moderate overlap front crash test.
Similar to the two-door hatchback model, the Hyundai Accent sedan is not only more popular when it comes to sales, but has registered more deaths than its two-door counterpart. The first of three vehicles with over 100 deaths per million registered vehicle years, the Hyundai Accent sedan recorded 120 fatalities with 65 multiple-vehicle crashes, 53 single-vehicle crashes and 16 single-vehicle rollovers. Despite getting updated for the 2012 model year, the Accent still performs average on IIHS’s crash tests, scoring Poor in the small overlap front test while earning an Acceptable rating in the side crash test and Good ratings in the moderate overlap front, roof strength and head restraints & seats categories.
We saw the Nissan Versa hatchback in the ninth spot and the Nissan Versa sedan takes second place on the list with 130 deaths from 44 multiple-vehicle crashes, 87 single-vehicle crashes and 51 single-vehicle rollovers. Prior to its update for the 2012 model year, the 2011 Versa sedan scored Good on the moderate overlap front and head restraints & seats categories, while earning Acceptable in the side and roof strength crash tests. After its update, the Versa sedan is rated Good in all the categories except for the small overlap front, where it scored a Poor rating.
Lastly, the Kia Rio sedan has 149 overall driver deaths per million registered vehicle years with 96 multiple-vehicle crashes, 54 single-vehicle crashes and 15 single-vehicle rollovers. Also updated for the 2012 model year, the Kia Rio sedan performed poorly on crash tests before the major update earning a Poor rating in the side crash test and Acceptable in the moderate overlap front, roof strength and head restraints & seats categories. Since then, its safety has been improved with Good ratings on the moderate overlap front, roof strength and head restraints & seats categories, an Acceptable rating in the side crash test and a Marginal score on the small overlap front.