Study Says Smaller Trucks Less Safe Than Big Trucks
A basic grasp of physics is all that’s required to understand why larger vehicles tend to be safer than small vehicles.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System suggests the same principle applies to pickup trucks. According to a study released by iSeeCars.com, midsize trucks are burdened with a higher fatal accident rate than their full-size siblings.
“Most midsize trucks perform worse than the segment average, while most full-size trucks perform better,” said Karl Brauer, iSeeCars Executive Analyst. “This suggests that, even in the truck category, the ‘larger vehicle wins’ trend seems to hold true.” The average fatal accident rate for all pickup trucks from model years 2017 through 2022 in America sits at 2.3 per billion miles driven.
Trucks With the Most Frequent Occupant Fatalities (per billion vehicle miles): |
|---|
Nissan Frontier (5.0) |
Ford Ranger (4.0) |
Chevrolet Colorado (2.9) |
Toyota Tacoma (2.8) |
Jeep Gladiator (2.7) |
Pickup trucks have long been the best-selling new vehicles in America, led for as long as any of us can remember by the Ford F-Series. But midsize pickups have been gaining ground on the sales floor over the past decade or so, with the Toyota Tacoma holding the top spot with 234,768 sold in 2023.
The Nissan Frontier is the deadliest truck in America when judged by average fatality rate with a number that is more than twice the average pickup. The Frontier is the ninth-best-selling truck in America with 58,135 sold in the United States in 2023.
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Growing up in a family obsessed with performance and as the son of an automotive engineer, Jeremy Korzeniewski has spent his entire life as a car enthusiast. Also an avid motorcyclist, Jeremy has spent the last two decades writing about the transportation industry and providing insights to many of the largest automotive publications in the world.
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See, size matters in other places as well lol.
Yeah, up here in redneck alberta it seems like 70% of the vehicles on the road are huge monster 4 door 4x4's that still only get used for going to the mall. Pretty intimidating when all you have wrapped around you is a Miata which I'm sure would not fair well in a confrontation with a 6000 lb A&W cruiser.