Study Looks At Accidents And Car Brands: Which Did The Worst?
Ever see somebody driving in a particular model car, and think that they must speed or get into accidents? Ever look at a car brand and think “that’s the kind of car people crash all the time?”
Are you right? Is there actually any connection between the kind of car that someone drivers, and their propensity or likelihood to get into an accident? According to one study, there may be.
The Cars That Got Into the Most Accidents
The study, conducted by lendingtree.com, looked at not just accident rates, but the number of times particular brands of car got speeding tickets or DUIs. It also looked at insurance data. It did not include accidents that happened when people rented vehicles.
When the data was totaled up, Teslas were the big winner (or loser, depending on how you look at it). In the years 2022-2023, Teslas had the most accidents per 1,000 vehicles, with 24 accidents per 1,000 cars. That may make sense, given Teslas’ abilities to drive very quickly.
But the second place finisher was a bit more of a surprise. In second were Ram trucks, with 23 accidents over 1,000 vehicles, with Subarus coming third, with 21 out of 1,000 vehicles in accidents.
On the other end of the spectrum, with the least accidents, were three vehicles that aren’t even made anymore—Pontiac, Mercury, and Saturn.
Worst Cars Per State
In breaking down the data state by state, the study concluded that Ram drivers were actually the worst in the nation, as they were the most accident prone in 23 states, and they received the most citations of any other brand of vehicle, with Tesla being the worst in 11 states.
When the study was isolated for DUIs, the numbers were a bit different. BMW drivers had 3 incidents per 1,000 vehicles, leading all other brands. Ram was a distant second, and Teslas actually were nowhere near the top in this category, with about one incident per 1,000 cars.
On a state basis, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and California lead the nation with over 30 incidents per 1,000 cars, and California and North Carolina had the most DUIs.
Why? That Isn’t So Certain
Lost among this data, is the question of why certain cars (or rather, their drivers) fared the way they did in the study.
One factor that was common among the poorer performers, was speed and horsepower; Tesla’s electric motors allow them to accelerate at shockingly quick speeds, and larger Ram trucks are known to have larger engines with a lot of horsepower.
There are theories about the drivers themselves, or about the types of people who buy certain brands of cars, although that is mostly just conjecture.
Because insurance rates are often based on the kind of car you drive, this kind of data is not just for curiosity. It can go a long way to determining what you pay in insurance, based on what kind of car that you drive.
Whatever car you drive–let us help you after an accident. Contact our Rhode Island personal injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 today.
Sources:
cnbc.com/2023/12/19/tesla-drivers-had-highest-accident-rate-bmw-drivers-most-duis-study.html
lendingtree.com/insurance/brand-incidents-study/
