Small cars, sports cars and powerful muscle cars continue to appear disproportionately among vehicles with the highest driver death rates in the US.

New figures from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that more than half of the 20 worst-performing 2023 models fall into these categories.

Small Cars Remain Vulnerable

Across all vehicle classes, the average driver death rate was 37 deaths per million registered vehicle years. Minicars, however, recorded an average of 158 deaths, while small cars averaged 79.

The Kia Rio had the highest individual driver death rate at 170 deaths per million registered vehicle years, followed by the Nissan Versa at 164. The Chrysler 300 two-wheel-drive ranked third at 132.

Vehicle size plays an important role because smaller cars offer less protection when they collide with much heavier pickups and SUVs. IIHS President David Harkey noted that even small cars with strong safety credentials remain at a disadvantage in crashes involving substantially larger vehicles.

Powerful Cars Tell Another Story

Size alone does not explain the results. Several high-powered cars also appeared near the top of the list.

The Dodge Charger HEMI two-wheel-drive recorded 127 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, while the Dodge Challenger two-wheel-drive reached 125. The Chevrolet Camaro recorded 88.

According to IIHS, the elevated rates among sports and muscle cars are likely influenced heavily by how these vehicles are driven. Powerful engines and marketing that appeals to drivers seeking performance may encourage faster or more aggressive driving behaviour.

That distinction is important because driver death rates reflect real-world experience, not simply how well a vehicle performs in controlled crash testing.

Large Pickups Threaten Others

The pattern changes when researchers examine deaths among drivers in other vehicles involved in crashes.

The Ram 3500 crew cab long bed with four-wheel drive had the highest other-driver death rate at 204 deaths per million registered vehicle years. Very large pickups as a category averaged 110, more than double the overall average of 53.

Ten of the 20 models with the highest other-driver death rates were large or very large pickups. Their combination of mass, height and, in some cases, powerful engines can make crashes particularly severe for occupants of smaller vehicles.

Some models appeared on both high-risk lists. These included the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Malibu and two-wheel-drive versions of the Dodge Charger and Charger HEMI.

SUVs Dominated The Safest List

At the opposite end of the rankings, 18 of the 20 vehicles with the lowest driver death rates were SUVs.

Six models recorded a driver death rate of zero during the study period, including the Audi Q7 four-wheel-drive, BMW X7 four-wheel-drive, Chevrolet Tahoe four-wheel-drive and Toyota Tundra CrewMax four-wheel-drive.

However, a zero rate does not mean a vehicle makes fatal crashes impossible. It means no driver deaths occurred within the exposure included in this particular analysis.

Luxury SUVs also featured prominently among models with low rates for both their own drivers and drivers of other vehicles.

How The Rates Were Calculated

The figures are based on fatalities from 2021 to 2024 involving 2023 model-year vehicles and earlier models with essentially the same design and safety equipment.

IIHS used federal fatality records and vehicle registration data. Models needed at least 100,000 registered vehicle years of exposure or at least 20 deaths to receive an individual estimate.

The calculations adjust for driver age, but they do not account for every factor that influences crash risk, including mileage travelled or typical driving speed.

That is why these rates should not be treated as a simple ranking of vehicle engineering. They reflect a combination of vehicle size, crash protection, safety technology and driver behaviour.

The broader lesson is that safety depends on more than passing a crash test. A vehicle’s mass and design matter, but so do the roads it travels on and, crucially, the decisions made by the person behind the wheel.