Study shows that crash deaths lower for pickup trucks and SUVs
According to a traffic fatality study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, pickup trucks and SUVs had lower driver death rates in accidents on roadways in Tennessee and across the U.S. Various pickup truck makes and models were analyzed, and some fared much better than others.
The report found that for model years 2011 to 2014, the driver fatality rate for all passenger vehicles was 30 for every million registrations. In 2015, there were more than 35,000 crash-related fatalities, which represent a 7 percent increase from the previous year. The study showed that passenger vehicles had the highest fatality rate at 39 per million vehicles registered. Minivans and SUVs, classified as light trucks, had the lowest number, which was about 20 deaths for every million registrations. The fatality rate for pickup trucks is 26 fatalities per million vehicles.
The 2017 Toyota Tundra had the highest safety ranking out of all the other types of pickup trucks that were involved in the study. Other Toyota pickup trucks, such as two models of the Tacoma and Tundra, both were leaders in their segments. Of the 11 vehicles that did not register in the IIHS study, seven of them were light trucks, such as the Toyota Tacoma Double Cab long bed 4WD, Audi Q7 and the Jeep Cherokee 4WD.
The F-350 Crew Cab 4WD came in first in the very large pickup category, and the Ford F-150 scored near the top of the large pickup category. Nissan’s Frontier Crew Cab short bed 4WD was the small pickup with the worst score. Ford’s Escape, Expedition and Explorer light trucks and Nissan’s Titan Crew Cab short bed 4WD also received low marks.
Car wreck victims who suffer severe injuries might want to pursue damages for their losses. Experienced lawyers may be able to help these individuals obtain compensation for their damages.