A Closer Look at Safe and Unsafe Cars

A recent post on Auto Blog highlighted some of the safest and most dangerous cars that are on the roads today. At Heavens Law, we understand that you take the safety of yourself and your family very seriously – especially when it comes to automobiles – so we thought we’d take this opportunity to relay what was found. Depending on what kind of vehicles you and your family own, you may find the results reassuring or disconcerting.

What Are The Most Dangerous Vehicles on the Road?

According to Auto Blog, The Insurance Institute conducted the study that we’re examining for Highway Safety (IIHS). It looked at the number of fatalities per million car registrations for every model. The car that had the highest death rate, as measured by the IIHS was the 2011 Kia Rio, which posted a figure of 149 deaths per one million registrations. This vehicle was followed close behind by the Nissan Versa and the Hyundai Accident, which posted 130 and 120 deaths per one million registrations respectively. That may not seem like much, but when compared to the average across all cars it is. On average, there were 28 deaths per million registrations across all cars that were examined in the study.

What Are The Safest Vehicles on the Road?

On the opposite side of the equation, there were several vehicles that performed exceptionally well in the IIHS’s study. In fact, there were nine different cars that reported no deaths per one million registrations, which was the first time this has happened since this survey was conducted. The vehicles that were rated the safest in this regard were:

Honda Odyssey
Volvo XC90
Lexus RX 350
Kia Sorrento
Mercedes-Benz GL Class
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Subaru Legacy
And Audio A4

There’s one thing that eight out of nine of these vehicles share in common, and that’s four-wheel drive.

Are There Any Overall Trends to Be Aware Of?

While some of the specific vehicles that we’ve called attention to may be surprising, there’s one thing that won’t be. Generally speaking, the smaller the car, the more dangerous it is, and the larger the car, the safer it is. It just stands to reason. Larger cars offer a greater level of protection for passengers and those behind the wheel, whereas smaller cars are more susceptible to accidents, especially ones involving larger vehicles. Also not surprisingly, the study found that cars equipped with four-wheel drive were significantly safer than those without four-wheel drive.

Overall the number of traffic-related deaths in the United States is on the decline. However, it’s still fairly high. The study found that in 2013, for example, there were 32,719 deaths related to automobile accidents, which was only a modest decline from the year before, when there were 32,561 traffic-related deaths.

One Final Note…

It’s important to remember that those who design and manufacture automobiles are required to ensure the safety of those who purchase their automobiles. There have been an alarming number of cases lately where auto manufacturers have entirely neglected the safety of those who will be driving the vehicles they produce. If you or someone you love has been injured due to an auto manufacturers’ negligence in this regard, then it’s important to know that you have recourses. Simply get in touch with Heavens Law, and our team of lawyers will review the facts of your case and identify if an auto maker can be held to task for injuries that you or a loved one suffered due to faulty automobile design or manufacturing.

Source:

https://www.autoblog.com/2015/01/29/safest-most-dangerous-cars-on-the-road-2011-study/