According to data maintained by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 37,133 motor vehicle accident fatalities in 2017. Drivers in North Carolina should be aware of which vehicles are involved in the most crashes. This information can be helpful when purchasing a car or simply driving down the road. The vehicles that were most likely to be involved in fatal accidents are all sport coupes or small cars. Smaller and lighter cars do not protect occupants as well as larger, heavier vehicles.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has a system for gathering and analyzing fatal crash data that’s called the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. According to FARS, the vehicle most likely to be involved in a fatal crash from the model years 2013 to 2017 is the Mitsubishi Mirage. The Chevy Corvette was second while the Honda Fit landed at No. 3. According to the CEO of iSeeCars, subcompacts have a fatal crash rate of 4.5 cars for every billion miles traveled. This is more than double the overall rate for all cars.
Larger vehicles like trucks and SUVs have a lower fatal crash rate than small cars. Within the SUV subcategory, larger SUVs have lower fatal crash rates than smaller models. This is also true within the pickup truck category. Generally speaking, the cars that had the highest death rates were also the ones that earned poor crash test scores, especially on IIHS tests. A lack of safety features can increase the severity of crash injuries.
Someone who has been hurt in a motor vehicle accident may be able to recover for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses or other damages. A personal injury lawyer could help by identifying parties who are liable. Legal counsel may also handle all the negotiations with the insurance companies.
