Deadliest Cars
Size matters -- but so does your driving.
By Eric PetersIf you get into an accident, it might be just as much your fault as it is your vehicle's.

A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluated a variety of different types of vehicles -- SUVs, pick-ups, compacts, sporty cars -- and found that while physical size can confer a built-in safety advantage in terms of occupant protection, certain vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents, irrespective of their built-in advantages -- because of the way they tend to be driven.

For example, the Pontiac Firebird was ranked number three among vehicles with the highest rates of driver deaths per million vehicles on the road, with a score of 205. This despite the fact that the Firebird is a large, heavy car -- and has a low center of gravity and "sport" suspension that make it much less susceptible to going out of control -- or rolling over -- than, say, a large SUV.

But the Firebird is also a powerful, "macho" car that is often driven aggressively -- pushed beyond its higher built-in design limits, or the skill limits of its driver. As a result, it tends to be involved in more accidents than the Ford Explorer (rank 187), a mid-size SUV with a much higher center of gravity that, all else being equal, is easier to roll, and easier to lose control of.

"Sporty" vehicles in general tend to be involved in more accidents than family sedans, minivans, luxury cars and pick-ups -- which is why they cost more to insure.

On the safer side of the ledger are large sedans like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class --which topped the IIHS list at just 10 deaths per million vehicles on the road. The big Benz has an inherent safety advantage because of its body-on-frame, heavy-steel construction -- and the presence of numerous active and passive safety features, such as electronic stability control, "brake assist" (which helps stop the car faster during panic and emergency maneuvers) and side-impact air bags.

However, these features are only part of the reason the Benz has such a good record, according to IIHS.

In contrast to the Firebird, which is similar in size and weight, the E-Class Mercedes tends to be driven by an older, more experienced person -- one less apt to speed excessively or "push" the car beyond its (or its driver's) limits. The Benz is a very safe car by design. But the person behind the wheel of an E-Class (or similar large luxury sedan) is also more likely to be a safer driver.

This is equally true of other large sedans such as the Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac deVille, Jaguar XJ and BMW 7-Series, all of which score highly in terms of occupant protection -- but also tend to be less likely to be involved in an accident in the first place.

In addition to high-performance/sporty cars, SUVs tend to be higher up in the accident and fatality rankings than family sedans and minivans.

Part of this is due to built-in design features of the typical truck-based SUV that make it less stable at higher speeds and more likely to roll over in certain circumstances -- such as a violent lane change or entering a turn too fast.

Many owners of SUVs do not realize that in order to be off-road capable, an SUV's on-road abilities tend to suffer, especially if the vehicle is driven excessively fast.

The automakers have responded to this problem by making design changes to the latest generation of SUVs, such as widening the vehicle's track, extending its wheelbase and lowering its center of gravity to make it less susceptible to loss of control and rolling over. Land Rover, for example, recently replaced its top-heavy Discovery model with the much more stable LR3. And electronic stability aids that automatically correct for driver error are becoming standard equipment on more and more SUVs. The Toyota 4Runner has a very low fatality ranking (just 12 deaths per million vehicles on the road) in part, says IIHS, because it is fitted with electronic stability control.

IIHS also found that advances in design have made some small cars -- which are inherently less safe, all else being equal, than a larger car -- safer than others. IIHS noted that the latest new compacts and subcompacts -- which tend to offer or even include as standard equipment such features as side-impact air bags -- are more crashworthy than otherwise similar in size vehicles that are just a few years older and lack these advances. The safest small cars tend to be import models -- which are "newer" in terms of their basic design and the presence of the latest active and passive safety features, such as side-impact air bags and traction/stability control.

Overall, the fatality rate has dropped significantly during the past several decades -- across vehicle type and category -- from more than 100 deaths per million vehicles on the road in the 1980s to approximately 87 deaths per million vehicles on the road today. IIHS attributes the improvement to the widespread adoption of driver and passenger air bags, anti-lock brakes -- and generally better design.

For the latest IIHS new car safety ratings, see
http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ratings.htm.

And keep in mind the following "Big Three" rules of safety when it comes to shopping for a new vehicle:

Bigger is better. All else being equal, a larger, heavier car is safer in terms of occupant protection than a smaller, lighter car.

Design matters. Even among cars of equal size and weight, some are safer than others because of their underlying design, including the presence or absence of such features as impact-absorbing frame structures, especially in certain types of accidents, such as side-impact/offset crashes. Check out http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ratings.htm to see how your vehicle scores.

Technology buffer. Smaller, lighter cars can be as safe (or even safer) than larger cars if they are equipped with modern active and passive accident avoidance and occupant protection features such as electronic stability control, head and side curtain air bags, automatic seat belt pretensioners and so on. It is especially important to weigh the presence or absence of these features on compact and subcompact cars, which start out at a disadvantage relative to bigger, heavier cars and trucks, etc.

And never forget: the "driver factor" is a variable over which the automakers only have so much control. If you drive dangerously, you're more likely to get into an accident and more likely to get hurt -- no matter what you happen to be driving.

Lowest Rates of Driver Deaths:
· Mercedes E-class
· Toyota 4 Runner <---- OK IF THEY SAY SO
· VW Passat
· Lexus RX 300
· Toyota RAV4
· Honda Odyssey
· Mercedes S Class
· Nissan Pathfinder
· Cadillac DeVille

 

worse car to get in an accident with. ANYTHING american.

Shoot I saw a pontiac sunfire folded up like a piece of toilet paper with a not so living girl in it.

But if I had to say worse worse. I'd have to think an old school vw van or any of the exploding fords of the past.

 

damn anyone check the forester in the side impact test? um... i dont think id want my family in that car

tia
edgar,

 

crazy.

I checked the wrx.

Best pick frontal.

rear. Marginal on the seats. good on the head restraint. Marginal for low speed...bumpers.

so aparently in an accident in my wrx I want to either rear end someone or go head on? go figure. Pretty safe overall though. No side test.

 

You've got to be effing kidding me. Where do people come up with this crap? How can a vehicle be at fault? Wow, just wow. People are taking irresponsibility to new levels these days..

And.. Since when is a Benz E-Class "body on frame" anyway?

FWIW, I bought my car to drive it - not to crash it. I am sure crashing is bad in any car, even one that has a well paid for stamp of crash test approval. The thing is, there is no amount of staged BS tests or simulated crashes that can equal what happens in a real world crash. Such crap.

Jacob

 

oldsmobile cutlass used to be the best car to crash in. It was also 7 of the top 10 cars used in crimes.

 

My mom had one of those when I was growing up. It was a 1980 model. My dad called it the Gutless Cutlass and my best friend thought it was a limo.

 

^^ i think he has an opinion about this

 

i've had a 1980 and also own a 1985. Why gutless? I loved the car because it's big and very light for it's size. It also has 160 hp... which isn't bad... all things considered. I got pulled over at 115 in my 1980 and hit 120 in my 1985....

 

Mine was an '83 with the 'sport' pack with all the gauges and the 3.0. It never had a problem lighting up both tires. Would cruise 90-100 pretty comfortably. I dunno.

 

My mom's car couldn't hit 115 if it tried. It had a V6. Maybe there was a model with more power.

 

Neon

 

Exactly! I was like, whaaaaa??

 

Hey onemanarmy, that sunfire you talked about? was the location in livermore. I was witness to a sunfire getting t-boned and get completely crushed and a not so lucky girl inside.