The chances of a driver dying in a crash in a late-model car or light truck fell by more than a third over three years, according to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Nine car models (including an Audi, Honda minivan, Kia Sorento, and Toyota Sequoia) also had zero deaths per one million registered vehicles.
Improved vehicle designs and safety technology have a lot to do with the reduced risk, but a weak economy that led to reductions in driving may also have played a role, the institute said.
The study, which examined fatalities involving 2011 model year vehicles, looked at how many driver deaths occurred in a particular model over the course of one year in use, expressed as a rate per million registered vehicle years.
It found an average of 28 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years through the 2012 calendar year—down from 48 deaths for 2008 models through 2009.
When the Institute looked at the issue eight years ago, there were no car models with driver death rates of zero.
“[The results are] a huge improvement,” David Zuby, the Institute’s chief research officer, said, even considering the effect of a weak national economy. “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.”
Among the improvements credited for declining death rates is the widespread adoption of electronic stability control in most vehicles, which has dramatically lessened the risk of rollover crashes. SUVs had some of the highest rates a decade ago because of their propensity to roll over.
Overall, the rollover death rate of five per million registered vehicle years for 2011 models is less than a quarter of what it was for 2004 models. Six of the nine vehicles with zero deaths were SUVs.
Side air bags and structural changes to many vehicles are also helping. Automakers are engineering vehicles with stronger occupant compartments that hold up better in front, side and rollover crashes, allowing the seatbelts and air bags to do their jobs well, said Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader.
“Improved technologies were responsible for saving 7,700 driver lives in 2012 when compared to how cars were made in 1985,” Rader said.
Still, the gap between the safest and riskiest models remains wide. Three 2011 models had rates exceeding 100 deaths per million registered vehicle years. The riskiest models, according to the study, were mostly lower-priced small cars, while the models declared safest were all mid-sized or large vehicles.
The nine vehicles with zero death reports were mainly luxury models, except the moderately-priced Suburu Legacy and the Kia Sorrento.
The vehicles with the highest death rates were the Kia Rio, a 4-door mini car (with 149 deaths per million registered vehicles; the small Nissan Versa sedan (130 deaths); and the Hyundai Accent, a mini car (120 deaths).
The declining death rates come as car safety advocates worldwide have set their sights on a goal of eliminating motor vehicle deaths.
(With reports from Associated Press)
