IIHS releases latest driver death rates

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its latest study on vehicle death rates, with the Nissan 350Z and small cars like the Chevrolet Aveo coming in as the biggest losers. The IIHS study also concluded that SUVs, once considered among the most dangerous vehicles on the road due to their propensity for rollover accidents, now rank towards the top in terms of total death rates.

The study, which calculated the driver death rate of vehicles from the 2005-08 model years during 2006-09 based on registered vehicle years, found that the Nissan 350Z had the highest driver death rate of any vehicle, tallying 143 deaths per million registered years. The Nissan Titan crew cab ranked second with 126 deaths per million registered years, followed by the Chevrolet Aveo with 119 and the Chevrolet Cobalt with 117.

On the whole, mini cars have the highest death rates of any vehicle segment, with an average rating of 82. Midsize sports cars are close behind with 80, followed by small cars with 72.

On the other side of the coin, the study found minivans to be the safest vehicles in terms of death rates, with an average rating of 25. The Toyota Sienna led the pack with a rating of 0, while the Dodge Grand Caravan ranked last with a rating of 63.

SUVs showed a marked improvement in the latest study, moving to second place behind minivans with 28 driver deaths per million registered years. The IIHS attributes the segment’s improvement to the widespread adoption of electronic stability control programs.

“The rollover risk in SUVs used to outweigh their size/weight advantage, but that’s no longer the case, thanks to ESC,” said Anne McCartt, the Institute’s senior vice president for research.

The Ford Edge, Nissan Armada, Land Rover LR3 and Range Rover Sport ranked as the safest SUVs, all managing a 0 rating.

Despite some weak segments, the study concluded that today’s vehicles are far safer than those from just a few years ago, as reflected by the study’s average death rate of 48. In comparison, that figure was 79 for 2001-04 models during 2002-05 and 110 for 1989-1993 models.

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At Your Own Risk: These Vehicles Have The Highest Death Rates

It's might be hard to believe looking at safety equipment lists, or even crash-test results, but you're statistically a few hundred times more likely to die if you're behind the wheel of a Nissan 350Z or Chevrolet Aveo than if you're in a Toyota Sienna or Audi A6.

Looking at driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released its latest annual figures on a model-by-model basis and found a vast difference between models. For instance, the Nissan 350Z has the highest fatality rate, at 143 versus, a number of vehicles—including the Toyota Sienna, plus all-wheel-drive versions of the Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class plus 4WD versions of a number of mid-size SUVs—essentially rounded down to zero.

But looking at the fatality-rate numbers at face value would be unfair. Of course, these rates don't have all that much to do with the relative safety of vehicles and are more indicative of typical use and location—as well as the demographics and driving styles of their drivers.

For the Nissan Z, for example, its high rate was mostly due to an especially high instance of single-vehicle crashes—a reckless-driving situation in which the vehicle leaves the roadway to hit a tree or barrier, for example. And the Chevy Malibu Classic has an especially high rate of deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes—likely related to how that model was used mostly in rental-car fleets, with travelers who are fatigued or in unfamiliar locales.

The latest results do point out a couple of very significant trends, however: First, that size counts; all but 3 of the 26 models with the lowest death rates are mid-size or larger, the IIHS points out. Second, even with the same weight class, SUVs are arguably now safer and have lower death rates. As we pointed out in separate posts, electronic stability control is working and has erased the rollover disadvantage once held.

The rates and rankings are calculated based on driver deaths only, not those of passengers, for model-year 2005-2008 vehicles during calendar years 2006 through 2009. 

Filtering out multiple versions or body styles of like models, here are the vehicles with the highest rates of driver death:

Nissan 350Z – 143 (deaths per million registered vehicle miles)
Nissan Titan (crew cab) – 126
Chevrolet Aveo – 119
Chevrolet Cobalt (4-door) – 117
Kia Spectra – 102
Chevrolet Malibu Classic – 99
Hyundai Tiburon – 96
Nissan Versa – 96
Chevrolet Colorado (extended cab) – 93
Kia Rio – 89

[IIHS]

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