These 10 Vehicles Have Become A Danger To Society
While small cars and muscle cars carry the highest driver mortality rates, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) highlights a different story when measuring other-driver death rates—the frequency at which occupants in other vehicles are killed during multi-vehicle collisions.
The industry baseline for other-driver deaths sits at 53 fatalities per million registered vehicle years. However, heavy-duty pickup trucks and aggressive, high-displacement cars dominate the worst end of the spectrum due to a combination of sheer physical mass, bumper height incompatibility, and driver behavior.
By combining individual trim levels and drivetrain variants into core vehicle models, here is the countdown of the top 10 vehicles responsible for the highest rates of other-driver deaths according to the latest IIHS study:
10. Chevrolet Malibu
- Vehicle Type: Midsize Car
- Other-Driver Death Rate: 91
Rounding out the top ten, the Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan joins the Dodge Charger as one of the few passenger cars to feature prominently on both the high driver fatality and high other-driver fatality indices, registering 91 deaths per million in partner vehicles.
9. Volkswagen Atlas
- Vehicle Type: Midsize SUV
- Other-Driver Death Rate: 94
Interestingly, while the all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Atlas is listed among the safest vehicles for its own occupants (5 driver deaths per million), the front-wheel-drive Atlas variant posts a high 94 deaths per million for drivers in other vehicles.
8. GMC Sierra HD (2500)
- Vehicle Type: Very Large Pickup
- Other-Driver Death Rate: 98
Mechanically linked to the Silverado HD, the GMC Sierra 2500 crew cab 4WD features a heavy-duty chassis and high hood line, resulting in 98 other-driver fatalities per million registration years.
7. Ford F-150
- Vehicle Type: Large Pickup
- Other-Driver Death Rate: 99
As the best-selling truck in America, the Ford F-150 SuperCrew 2WD logs 99 other-driver deaths per million registered vehicle years. Because millions of F-150s share the road with smaller commuter vehicles, their structural rigidity creates a significant energy mismatch during crashes.
6. Cadillac XT5
- Vehicle Type: Midsize Luxury SUV
- Other-Driver Death Rate: 100
Standing as the highest-ranking luxury utility vehicle on the list, the front-wheel-drive Cadillac XT5 registers 100 deaths per million in partner crash vehicles, nearly double the industry average for all vehicle classes.
5. Ram 2500 Heavy Duty
- Vehicle Type: Very Large Pickup
- Other-Driver Death Rate: Up to 113
Bridging the gap between Ram’s half-ton and 1-ton trucks, the 3/4-ton Ram 2500 crew cab posts rates of 113 (short bed 4WD) and 102 (long bed 4WD) deaths per million registered vehicle years.
4. Ram 1500
- Vehicle Type: Large Pickup
- Other-Driver Death Rate: Up to 124
Half-ton Ram pickup variants land repeatedly in the top tier of fatalities. The Ram 1500 Classic crew cab 4WD leads the half-ton lineup at 124 deaths per million, followed by 2WD Quad cabs (113) and short bed crew cabs (100).
3. Chevrolet Silverado HD (2500 / 3500)
- Vehicle Type: Very Large Pickup
- Other-Driver Death Rate: Up to 126
Chevy’s heavy-duty truck platform claims multiple spots near the top of the chart. The 1-ton Silverado 3500 crew cab 4WD registers at 126 deaths per million, while the 3/4-ton Silverado 2500 crew cab 4WD follows closely at 111 deaths per million.
2. Dodge Charger
- Vehicle Type: Large Car
- Other-Driver Death Rate: Up to 161
Dodge’s full-size sedan is a double threat on IIHS safety tables, registering among the highest for both driver and other-driver fatalities. The 2WD HEMI V8 variant leads the Charger lineup at 161 deaths per million, while standard V6 models still post a staggering 136 deaths per million—driven largely by high-speed driving dynamics and aggressive road usage.
1. Ram 3500 Heavy Duty
- Vehicle Type: Very Large Pickup
- Other-Driver Death Rate: Up to 204
The 4WD crew cab long bed configuration of the Ram 3500 takes the absolute top spot across the entire IIHS study. Weighing nearly four tons with a high-riding steel frame, its sheer momentum and bumper height make it extraordinarily lethal to smaller passenger cars in a multi-vehicle impact.
More by AutoGuide.com Staff
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Can't SOMEBODY do something about this?!? - 3 of the top 10 worst are RAM - actually 3 of the top 5 are Ram (and if you factor in that RAM came from Dodge (originally (they were Dodge RAM pick-ups)) that makes Dodge/Ram guilty of 4 of the top 5 WORST!! By my count - that's 602 OTHER driver deaths of 1,210 (nearly 50% of the total (total dead count from top 10 worst)) CAUSED BY Dodge/RAMs (a MERE 441 from the 3 tucks). I've never cared for pick-up trucks in general (they have their place in the world (just not in MY world....but anyway) in my observation pick-ups tend to be driven overly aggressive, anyway. My favorite observation has been that "if you don't Dodge them, they RAM you" (and apparently not so jokingly anymore). IF I'm driving along and I do something wrong....that's on me, but when I do NOTHING wrong but I'm one of the OVER 600 dead (TEN TIMES THE BASELINE) killed by some other driver (that I have NO control over)...I don't get this worked up over much but something has to be done about this (I've moved to a smaller town, only miles from everything I'll use for the rest of my life and ONLY drive Volvo 245 (1989 or 1991 models), those things have a reputation for being tanks and I'll drive about 100 miles A YEAR for the next 20 or 30 years (at worst it shouldn't be more than 100 miles per vehicle (200 miles a year)) .
It might be the type of folks who buy these vehicles as opposed to the vehicles themselves (selection bias). Also, is the fatality rate of passengers only or are victims in other cars included?