Transportation

The Off-Lease Used Cars Having The Highest—And Lowest—Death Rates


Despite advanced safety engineering designed to protect a vehicle’s occupants, and help drivers avoid collisions in the first place, the overall death rate of recent-model vehicles is rising according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS reported 36 driver deaths per million registered years among models from the 2017 model year, compared with 30 for 2014 cars and trucks and 28 for those sold for 2011. (For the record, a registered vehicle year is considered as one vehicle registered for one year; driver deaths are considered, as there are not always passengers aboard in a given crash.)

As always, size matters when it comes to auto safety. That’s because the law of physics dictates that, all else being equal, a larger and heavier vehicle will inherently protect its occupants better in a collision than a smaller and lighter one. While frontal crash-test results cannot be compared across size classes, the IIHS says vehicle death rates can indeed be weighed against other models regardless of size or weight.

The IIHS’ data showed that the smallest rides on the road account for 15 of the 20 vehicles from the 2017 model year shown to have the highest driver death rates. 

Minicars, like the Fiat 500 and Chevrolet Spark, suffer the highest rates at 82 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, while large SUVs tend to have the lowest death rates among all vehicles from 2017, with 15 fatalities per million registered vehicle years. 

“Smaller vehicles offer less protection for the driver in crashes, and their lighter mass means that they take the brunt of collisions with larger vehicles,” says Joe Nolan, IIHS senior vice president of vehicle research.

To be sure, 15 out of the 20 vehicles from 2017 having the lowest driver death rates were either luxury SUVs, midsize luxury cars, minivans, or large luxury SUVs. Seven vehicles from the 2017 model year recorded zero—that’s right—zero fatalities thus far. 

The study found that luxury vehicles of all stripes proved to have substantially lower death rates than comparable mainstream-brand models. That’d due at least in part because upscale models often come standard with high-tech driver-assist safety features like automatic emergency braking and blind spot warning. Such systems tend to be optional on less-costly vehicles and are often only offered on costlier trim levels, if they’re available at all.

At that, two small cars seem to be exceptions to the rule regarding size and weight, The compact Volkswagen Golf registered zero driver fatalities per million registered vehicle miles, while it was a mere 5 per million for the full-electric Nissan Leaf. The overall rate for small cars was 61 deaths per million vehicle years.

These statistics should be of special concern to used-car shoppers. That’s because three-year-old cars are among the most plentiful rides in the pre-owned market these days, with around a third of all 2017 models having been leased, rather than sold and financed outright. We’re featuring lists of the 20 most- and least-fatal 2017 models as reported by the IIHS below.

2017 Vehicles With The Highest Driver Death Rates

  1. Ford Fiesta (minicar): 141 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years
  2. Hyundai Accent (minicar): 116 deaths
  3. Chevrolet Sonic Sedan (small car): 98 deaths
  4. Nissan Versa Note (small car) 96 deaths
  5. Fiat 500 (minicar): 95 deaths
  6. Hyundai Elantra (small car): 89 deaths
  7. Kia Forte (small car): 89 deaths
  8. Nissan Versa (small car): 88 deaths
  9. Kia Rio (minicar): 87 deaths
  10. Ford Mustang GT Coupe (midsize car): 81 deaths
  11. Hyundai Accent (minicar): 81 deaths
  12. Nissan Sentra (small car): 81 deaths
  13. Chevrolet Sonic Wagon (small car): 74 deaths
  14. Chevrolet Trax (small SUV): 73 deaths
  15. Mitsubishi Mirage Hatchback (minicar): 72 deaths
  16. Kia Soul (small car): 70 deaths
  17. Buick Verano (midsize car): 68 deaths
  18. Ford Focus (small car): 68 deaths
  19. Nissan Maxima (midsize car): 68 deaths
  20. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (small SUV): 67 deaths

2017 Vehicles With the Lowest Driver Death Rates

  1. GMC Yukon XL (very large SUV): 0 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years
  2. Infiniti QX60 (midsize luxury SUV): 0 deaths
  3. Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (small luxury SUV): 0 deaths
  4. Lexus NX 200t (midsize luxury SUV): 0 deaths
  5. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedan (midsize luxury car): 0 deaths
  6. Porsche Cayenne (large luxury SUV): 0 deaths
  7. Volkswagen Golf (small car): 0 deaths
  8. Lexus GX 460 (large luxury SUV): 3 deaths
  9. Subaru Outback (midsize wagon): 3 deaths
  10. Acura RDX (midsize luxury SUV): 4 deaths
  11. BMW X5 (midsize luxury SUV): 4 deaths
  12. BMW X3 (midsize luxury SUV): 5 deaths
  13. Nissan Leaf (small car): 5 deaths
  14. Cadillac Escalade (large luxury SUV): 6 deaths
  15.  Lexus CT 200h (midsize luxury car): 6 deaths
  16. Mitsubishi Outlander (small SUV): 7 deaths
  17. Toyota Sienna (minivan): 7 deaths
  18. Toyota Tundra Crew Max (large pickup): 7 deaths
  19. Chevrolet Suburban (very large SUV): 8 deaths
  20. Honda Odyssey (minivan) 8 deaths

The fine print: The above rates are based on fatalities that occurred from 2015 to 2018 for vehicles from the 2017 model year, as well as earlier models with the same designs and features. The numbers represent the estimated risks for 2017 models, but the data include models from as far back as 2014 if the vehicles have not been substantially redesigned. To be included, a vehicle must have had at least 100,000 registered vehicle years of exposure from 2015 to 2018 or at least 20 driver deaths.

You can read the IIHS’ full report here.



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