Cars with the Lowest Death Rates

It’s widely been noted that highway deaths are at historic lows, having fallen by more than a third over the last three years. This is generally accredited to advances in auto safety, along with a fortunate combination of stricter seatbelt, drunk driver and graduated licensing laws. How safe are today’s cars? A recent analysis conducted by the insurance industry-funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows that nine vehicles from the 2011 model year (and equivalent versions ranging from 2009-2012) have thus far been responsible for zero driver fatalities, with 19 models responsible for five or fewer motorists’ deaths per million units registered. At least statistically, this makes them among the safest vehicles on the road. By comparison, no models had zero deaths attributed to them eight years ago. As one might imagine, these tend to be conservative and family oriented vehicles - including the Subaru Legacy sedan, Kia Sorento crossover SUV and the Honda Odyssey minivan - that tend to be driven more sensibly than flashier and racier rides. “This is a huge improvement in just three years, even considering the economy’s influence,” says David Zuby, IIHS executive vice president and chief research officer. “We know from our vehicle ratings program that crash test performance has been getting steadily better. These latest death rates provide new confirmation that real-world outcomes are improving, too.” And while the list of vehicles from 2011 having the highest driver death rates includes one hot-blooded sports car (the Chevrolet Camaro), smaller cars and crossover SUVs dominate the group, including the Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent and Chevrolet Aveo subcompacts. We’re featuring both lists in the accompanying box. Though the industry has made great strides in recent years in terms of greater crashworthiness and added safety features, engineers have yet to alter the laws of physics. Auto safety remains an areas in which size matters, with larger and heavier vehicles being inherently better able to protect their occupants in a crash than smaller and lighter ones. Among vehicle types, subcompact (or smaller) sedans were found responsible for the highest driver death rates at 115 fatalities per million units registered, followed by compact coupes (71) and large sports cars (67). Low-fatality categories include some of the most conservative vehicle choices, including midsize station wagons (7), large four-wheel-drive SUVs (8) and midsize four-wheel-drive luxury SUVs (10). The rates include only driver deaths because the presence of passengers is unknown. Check out the full lists of the safest and deadliest models at the IIHS’ website, www.iihs.org. “The complete elimination of traffic deaths is still many decades away, and, along with vehicle improvements, getting there will require changes in road design and public policy that can help protect all road users,” Zuby says. “Still, the rise in the number of vehicles with zero driver deaths shows what’s possible.”