10 findings from IIHS driver death rates, from the Kia Rio to the Ram 3500

A shopper on a dealer lot weighs sticker price, cabin space, and horsepower, and gives little thought to the worst afternoon that car might see. Yet the choice carries consequences long after the paperwork clears. Drivers of some models die in crashes at many times the rate of drivers in others, and the gap between the safest and riskiest vehicles runs wide. The decision also reaches beyond the person holding the keys. A heavy truck or a fast sedan changes the odds for every motorist who shares the road with it. Picking a car amounts to picking a level of risk, both for yourself and for strangers.

Death rates reflect more than steel, airbags, and lab test scores. Who buys a vehicle, and how that buyer uses it, shapes the numbers too. Cheaper models may attract a larger share of new or inexperienced drivers, even after an adjustment for age. People working double shifts or juggling several jobs may log more miles each day than wealthier drivers. Size and weight add another layer. A vehicle that shields its own occupant can still endanger anyone it strikes. Crash-test ratings measure one slice of this danger. Real-world fatality figures track another, and a buyer comparing options gains from consulting both.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has calculated driver death rates about every three years since 1989, and this year it computed the other-driver death rate for only the second time. The newer measure counts drivers of other vehicles who die in crashes with a given model. The federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System supplies the death counts, and Mobility Global provides registration data. The figures cover 2023 models plus earlier versions sharing the same design back to 2020, with deaths from 2021 to 2024. Folding in those older equivalents enlarges the sample and firms up the results. Each rate represents deaths per million registered vehicle years. The institute adjusts for driver age and gender but not for speed or daily mileage. A model needed at least 100,000 registered vehicle years of exposure or at least 20 deaths to qualify, which left some vehicles resembling the worst performers outside the analysis. Two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive versions count as separate models. Across all vehicles, the driver death rate stands at 37 and the other-driver rate at 53. The institute publishes four 20-model lists covering the highest and lowest rates for drivers and for other drivers, along with a table of rates by size and class. This article pulls 10 findings from those lists and that table.

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The Kia Rio, a minicar, posts a driver death rate of 170, the highest for any model in the data and more than four times the all-model rate of 37. Its closest challenger also comes from the small end of the size spectrum.

The Nissan Versa, a small car, trails by six at 164. A gap of 32 separates the Versa from the next model on the driver list, leaving the Rio and Versa in a tier of their own.

Four more small cars join them among the 20 highest driver death rates. The Kia Forte reaches 120, the Nissan Kicks 86, the Subaru Impreza 83, and the Nissan Sentra 81. Counting the Rio and Versa, minicars and small cars fill six of those 20 spots, with Nissan supplying three and Kia two. The Sentra, last in that group, more than doubles the overall benchmark.

The Rio's 170 lands close to the rate for minicars as a whole. The minicar class records a driver death rate of 158, 12 below the Rio. The small car class comes in at 79, half the minicar mark. The class numbers put the Rio about 8% above its peers, a modest margin for the worst result in the study.

Danger in these cars falls on the people inside them. Minicars carry an other-driver death rate of 55 and small cars 56, both near the all-vehicle mark of 53 for deaths among drivers of other vehicles. Cars this size pose near-typical risk to the motorists they hit, yet their own drivers face some of the steepest odds on the road. "Even the safest small cars don't fare well in crashes with large pickups and heavy SUVs," David Harkey, the institute's president, said.

The minicar class's driver death rate runs close to three times its other-driver rate, the most lopsided split toward a vehicle's own driver of any class in the table.

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Drivers of large cars die at a class rate of 104, close to triple the all-vehicle figure and behind minicars alone among size groups. Four large models appear on the 20-model list of highest driver death rates. The Chrysler 300 2WD posts 132, the Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD 127, the Dodge Challenger 2WD 125, and the Dodge Charger 2WD 90.

All four carry a Chrysler or Dodge nameplate and send power to two wheels. Their combined presence fills one-fifth of the 20 highest-rate slots, one short of the five that small cars and midsize cars each hold. The Chrysler 300 2WD stands third on that list, with a minicar and a small car the sole models above it.

A 37-point gap separates the two Charger versions, and the HEMI edition lands within five points of the Chrysler 300. Every model in the group except the non-HEMI Charger 2WD clears the class figure. The non-HEMI version falls 14 points short of that mark yet more than doubles the all-vehicle benchmark.

Large cars carry an other-driver death rate of 107, three points above their driver figure. Across all vehicles, the other-driver measure exceeds the driver measure by 16 points, so the near parity in this class stands out. No other car class, from minicars through very large luxury cars, comes close to that toll on other motorists.

Midsize cars register 67 for their own drivers and 65 for others, a far milder profile. Moving up from midsize to large lifts the driver figure by more than half. Large luxury cars show 26 for drivers and 50 for other drivers. The mainstream large-car driver figure runs four times the luxury one, and the luxury class's other-driver number lands below half the mainstream mark. Two classes that share the large label diverge this far, so size alone cannot explain the toll on large-car drivers.

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The Audi Q7 4WD and five other models posted a driver death rate of zero, the cleanest record any vehicle in the data achieved. Not one of their drivers appeared among the fatalities counted. The other five are the BMW X7 4WD, Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD, Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class 4WD, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class 2WD, and Toyota $TM Tundra CrewMax 4WD. Every model behind them recorded a rate above zero, leaving these six alone at the floor of the scale.

Every member of the group is an SUV or a pickup, and four of the six wear luxury badges. The Q7 and X7 compete as large luxury SUVs, the GLE-Class counts as a midsize luxury SUV, and the GLB-Class falls in the small luxury SUV class. The Tahoe belongs to the large SUV segment. The Tundra CrewMax stands as the lone pickup, a large one. Mercedes-Benz claims two spots, more than any other automaker in the group.

All six undercut the benchmarks for their classes. Small luxury SUVs carry a class driver death rate of 28, yet the GLB-Class logged none. Midsize luxury SUVs come in at 17 against the GLE-Class's zero, and large pickups sit at 29 against the Tundra's clean slate. Large SUVs register 26 as a group, against the Tahoe's zero. The Dodge Durango 2WD, another large SUV, shows how far one category can stretch. Its driver death rate of 83 places it among the 20 highest in the report. A large SUV label tells a buyer little about how a specific model's drivers fared.

Five of the six zero-rate vehicles are four-wheel-drive versions, and the GLE-Class 2WD stands as the exception. The Porsche Macan 4WD came closest to joining them with a rate of four. The Toyota RAV4 Prime 4WD and Volkswagen Atlas 2WD sat among the models at five. The Atlas 2WD tells a split story. Its own drivers faced little danger, yet the same model appears among the 20 highest other-driver death rates at 94. Drivers of vehicles in crashes with the Atlas 2WD died at 18.8 times the rate of the people behind its own wheel.

Zero rates turned up everywhere from the small luxury SUV class to the large pickup segment, so a big footprint alone does not account for a clean record behind the wheel.

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SUVs claim 18 of the 20 spots on the list of models with the lowest driver death rates, a near sweep no other body style approaches. The group stretches across every SUV size in the data, with four small models, nine midsize, four large, and one very large. Only two pickups — both large — interrupt the run.

Mainstream nameplates hold their own in this company. Eight of the 18 SUVs carry no luxury designation, and several match the numbers posted by premium rivals. The Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4WD, the lone very large SUV in the group, and the Ford $F Escape hybrid 4WD each record a driver death rate of six. The Hyundai Tucson hybrid 4WD and Toyota $TM Highlander 4WD follow at seven apiece. A low driver death rate does not require a luxury badge.

Class figures hold three of the four SUV sizes below the all-model driver benchmark of 37. Midsize SUVs come in at 24, large SUVs at 26, and very large SUVs at 20. Each sits more than a quarter under the overall mark, which suggests the strong showing on the low list extends across the broader segment.

Small SUVs break from the trend with a class driver rate of 38, a single point above the all-model figure. Two small models also land among the 20 highest driver death rates of any vehicle. The Hyundai Venue 2WD posts 113 and the Hyundai Kona 2WD 95, numbers that fall within the span of the small cars on that list. The Dodge Durango 2WD, a large SUV, joins them on the high list at 83. Buying an SUV offers no guarantee of a low driver death rate.

The Volkswagen Atlas 2WD sits on the lowest driver list yet carries an other-driver death rate of 94, one of the 20 highest of any model. The Ford Expedition 2WD, a large SUV, also appears on that second list at 88. Large SUVs post a class other-driver rate of 67 and very large SUVs 70, both above the all-model 53, while small and midsize SUVs each come in at 46. Measured against each class's own driver rate, the gap widens with every step up in size: eight points for small SUVs, 22 for midsize, 41 for large, and 50 for very large. The bigger the SUV, the more lopsided its record becomes between the people driving it and the drivers it collides with.

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Six SUVs appear on both lowest-rate lists, and five of them carry luxury nameplates, including the BMW X7 4WD, which pairs a driver death rate of zero with an other-driver rate of 11. The Porsche Cayenne 4WD follows at seven and 15, and the Volkswagen Atlas 4WD posts seven and 13. Volvo contributes two entries, the XC90 4WD at seven and 24 and the XC60 4WD at seven and 25. The BMW X5 4WD completes the group at five and 27. Every driver figure in the group falls under one-fifth of the all-model rate of 37, and no other-driver figure climbs past 27, against 53 across all vehicles. Fourteen of the 20 models with the lowest driver death rates miss the matching other-driver list, which makes these six rare cases of low numbers on both sides of a crash.

The Atlas 4WD, the lone mainstream model in the group, beats its class by a wide margin. Midsize SUVs as a class come in at 24 for drivers and 46 for other drivers, and the four-wheel-drive Atlas trims each figure to less than a third of the class rate. The two-wheel-drive Atlas lands among the 20 highest other-driver death rates at 94, more than seven times the 13 its four-wheel-drive sibling records. The same nameplate, split by drivetrain, sits near opposite ends of the other-driver tables.

Luxury SUV classes post low group figures of their own, and the dual-list models undercut even those. Large luxury SUVs come in at 10 for drivers and 26 for other drivers. The X7 and Cayenne, both large luxury SUVs, better the class on each measure. Midsize luxury SUVs sit at 17 and 37, a bar the X5 4WD, XC60 4WD, and XC90 4WD all clear.

Very large luxury SUVs reach an other-driver rate of 55, edging past the all-model 53. The Cadillac XT5 2WD, a midsize luxury SUV, appears among the 20 highest other-driver rates at 100. The BMW X5 2WD keeps its own drivers at six yet misses the lowest other-driver list that its four-wheel-drive counterpart makes.

Three more luxury SUVs hold other drivers to single digits without joining the lowest driver list. The BMW X3 2WD posts seven, the Volvo XC40 4WD eight, and the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class 4WD nine. Every luxury SUV class keeps its driver rate below the all-model 37, but the very large class and the XT5 2WD show that a luxury badge guarantees nothing for the motorist in the other car.

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The Ram 3500 crew cab long bed 4WD, a very large pickup, posted the highest other-driver death rate of any model IIHS evaluated, at 204 deaths per million registered vehicle years.

The heavy-duty Ram's figure lands close to four times the all-model benchmark for other drivers. The nearest very large pickup trails by a wide margin. The Chevrolet Silverado 3500 crew cab 4WD, another 3500-series truck in the same class, registered 126. The Ram outpaces it by 78 deaths per million registered vehicle years, a gap wider than the all-model rate itself.

Ram's own lineup shows the same split. The Ram 2500 crew cab long bed 4WD, a very large pickup with an identical cab and bed description, came in at 102, half the 3500's rate. The Ram 2500 crew cab short bed 4WD logged 113. Both 2500 trucks appear among the 20 highest other-driver death rates, yet neither approaches the 3500.

Ram nameplates occupy six of the 20 slots on the highest other-driver list. Beyond the 3500 and the two 2500s, the Ram 1500 Classic crew cab short bed 4WD recorded 124, the Ram 1500 Quad 2WD 113, and the Ram 1500 crew cab short bed 2WD 100. No other brand claims more than four spots. The six span both the large and very large pickup classes.

Size and power mark the worst models on the other-driver roster, according to IIHS, and the largest vehicles pose the greatest danger to other motorists. Several heavy-duty pickups on that roster carry more powerful engines, the institute reports.

The Ram 3500 appears on neither 20-model driver death rate list. Its place in the IIHS tables comes from the toll on people in other vehicles. Among the 3500-series and 2500-series pickups on the other-driver roster, the two 3500 models hold the two highest marks. Among heavy-duty trucks, the steepest threat to other drivers clusters in the 3500 tier.

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Large and very large pickups hold 10 of the 20 highest other-driver death rates, and the biggest class tilts the danger toward whoever sits in the other vehicle. Very large pickups post a class other-driver rate of 110, the steepest figure in the size and class table. Their own drivers die at a rate of 24. Drivers in the opposing vehicle face a figure more than four times higher than the one for the pickup's driver.

Large pickups repeat the pattern on a smaller scale, at 29 for their own drivers and 67 for others, a ratio of about 2.3 to 1. Large SUVs match that 67, and very large SUVs climb to 70. At 110, the very large pickup class exceeds even the biggest sport utility vehicles by 40.

Six of the 10 pickups on the high other-driver list belong to the very large class, and four belong to the large class. Ram badges appear on six of them. The Ram 1500 Classic crew cab short bed 4WD posts 124, and the Ram 1500 Quad 2WD and the Ram 2500 crew cab short bed 4WD follow at 113 each. The Chevrolet Silverado 2500 crew cab 4WD sits at 111, and the Ram 2500 crew cab long bed 4WD at 102. The Ram 1500 crew cab short bed 2WD hits 100, and the GMC Sierra 2500 crew cab 4WD lands at 98.

The Ford $F F-150 SuperCrew 2WD displays the split in its starkest form. Its driver death rate of seven earns it a spot among the 20 lowest, yet its other-driver rate of 99 puts it among the 20 highest. Other drivers die in crashes with this F-150 version at about 14 times the rate of its own driver.

Small pickups record a class other-driver rate of 55, half the very large pickup figure, against 31 for their own drivers. Two small models, the Ford Maverick hybrid SuperCrew 2WD and the Toyota $TM Tacoma XtraCab 4WD, each post an other-driver rate of 27, enough for a slot on the lowest list. Results diverge even within one nameplate. The Ram 1500 Classic Quad 4WD holds a 26 on that same low list, nearly 100 points below the crew cab short bed version on the high list. Across the segment, the toll on other motorists climbs with each step up in pickup size, from 55 to 67 to 110, while the pickup driver's own rate slips from 31 to 29 to 24.

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The Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD carries a driver death rate of 127 and an other-driver death rate of 161, the highest pair of figures among the four models the report includes on both of its highest-rate lists. It outpaces the other three on each measure. Its toll on drivers in other vehicles runs more than three times the all-model figure of 53, and a single vehicle in the entire other-driver table records a higher number.

The standard Dodge Charger 2WD repeats the pattern at a lower pitch. Its own drivers die at a rate of 90, while drivers of vehicles that crash with it die at a rate of 136. Both Chargers register steeper death rates for drivers in the other vehicle than for the people behind their own wheels. The gap measures 34 for the HEMI version and 46 for the standard model, so the non-HEMI Charger shows the wider spread.

Two Chevrolet models complete the group the report identifies, and each loses more of its own drivers than of other motorists. The Chevrolet Malibu, a midsize car, posts 116 for its own drivers and 91 for others. The Chevrolet Camaro, a large sports car, sits near parity at 88 and 87. Midsize cars as a class come in at 67 for drivers and 65 for other drivers, which puts the Malibu 49 above its peers on driver deaths and 26 above on other-driver deaths.

The Kia K5 shows up in both highest-rate tables, though the report's text omits it from the named group. The K5, another midsize car, logs 94 for drivers and 83 for other drivers, a split that mirrors the Malibu's tilt toward its own drivers. Its margin of 11 lands closer to balance than the Malibu's 25.

All five vehicles are cars, and Dodge and Chevrolet account for four of them. Each driver rate in the group exceeds double the all-model driver rate of 37. Elevated danger to other motorists arrives alongside elevated danger to the person at the wheel in every one of these cars.

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Very large luxury cars have a driver death rate of seven, the lowest of any size or class group, and their other-driver rate of 21 sets the floor of that column as well. The class's driver figure amounts to less than one-fifth of the all-model benchmark of 37.

The step from large luxury cars to the biggest size cuts the driver death rate from 26 to seven, a 73% drop. Midsize luxury cars come in at 29, three points above the large class. The sharp break arrives at the top of the size scale. Other-driver figures follow the same pattern. The other-driver measure slides from 50 for large luxury cars and 47 for midsize luxury cars to 21 for the very large models, less than half of either.

Other drivers fare worse than the occupants of very large luxury cars, dying at triple the rate of the class's own drivers. The institute traces the wider gap between the two measures across all vehicles to a likely cause. Many of the vehicles that crashed into the rated models were older and gave their occupants less protection.

Wagons join luxury cars near the bottom of the class list. Small wagons sit at a driver rate of 25 and midsize wagons at 27. Midsize wagons match that 27 for other drivers, and small wagons reach 35. No other class has identical figures on both counts. Midsize cars post 67 and 65, more than double the midsize wagon numbers. IIHS names driver behavior as the probable reason wagons outperform ordinary cars.

Very large luxury SUVs limit their driver death rate to 13 yet produce an other-driver rate of 55, two points above the all-model 53. Ordinary very large SUVs split the same way, at 20 for drivers and 70 for other drivers. Within the very large luxury segment, the cars keep deaths down on both sides of a collision, while the SUVs' crash partners die at above-average rates. Very large luxury cars stand alone in the size table with both figures under 25.