Death Rate, Driver Death Rates, SUVs, Vehicle Weight, weight class

IIHS - Death Rates

Driver Death Rates - The IIHS (United States) and ANCAP (Australia) review government data on deaths in motor vehicle accidents and compile a Driver Death Rate report. The relative death rates are good indicators of how insurers will set rates for different vehicles. Insurance companies price coverage by dividing a market into different types of risks based on claims experience and related costs of providing insurance coverage. Not surprisingly, 2-seat sports cars, turbocharged or V-8 musclecars, convertibles, mini-cars, light pick-ups and small sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have much higher death-related expenses, collision repairs, and medical bills. Owners of these cars pay higher insurance rates regardless of their own driving records. Large luxury cars, minivans, and large SUVs are less likely to be involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents and enjoy lower liability, personal injury protection (PIP), and collision rates. When a car was available in 2-door, 4-door, and station wagon models, the station wagon exhibited a much lower death rate than the 4-door vehicle, and the 2-door much higher.

Key To Driver Death Rates

	Much Lower Than Average
	Lower Than Average
	Average
	Higher Than Average
	Much Higher Than Average

For vehicles sold in the United States, the Death Rate column displays data compiled by the IIHS using the NHTSA's Fatal Accident Reporting System and vehicle registration information obtained from the R.L.Polk Company for model years 1989-1995. For vehicles sold in Australia, the Death Rate column displays data gathered by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, and Queensland Transport from 1987 to 1997.

Even though the results are based on the experience of models several years old, the results are generally good predictors of the experience of current versions of the same models. However, manufacturers substantially redesign their passenger vehicles periodically, and, in these cases, results for earlier models with the same name may not predict results for the newer designs.

The rating is not a matter of how likely it is for a particular car model to be involved in a crash. Rather, the rating is a measure of the likelihood of a driver being killed or seriously injured once a crash has occurred. It is not possible to provide an exact rating for each model. The ratings are more accurate for vehicles involved in a large number of crashes. These are generally the more popular models, which are on the road in larger numbers.

Occupant death rates in two-vehicle crashes, 1990-95 model passenger vehicles versus other vehicles ( deaths per million vehicles per year)
Weight Class (lbs)		Vehicle crash pairs 1990-1995
		Cars		Pick-ups		SUVs
		Cars	Other	Pick-ups	Other	SUVs	Other
	less than 2500	109	35			105	58
	less than 2500	109	35			105	58
	2500-2999	83	43	89	88	54	75
	3000-3499	60	48	56	116	53	75
	3500-3999	53	57	52	115	37	92
	4000-4499	49	58	44	144	29	91
	4500-4999			45	169	29	110
	5000 +			38	181	25	112

(Of note, occupants of the lightest cars have dramatically higher death rates. Also, most significantly from a safety point of view, heavy pickups and SUVs are associated with far higher death rates in the OTHER vehicle than in themselves, or than death rates caused by comparably heavy cars. )

(Source IIHS)

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