What Are the Deadliest Vehicle Makes and Models in the United States
In 2022, there were 60,501 vehicles involved in 39,221 fatal traffic accidents in the United States. The team at Convoy Car Shipping collected data surrounding the make and model of each of these vehicles to determine which are the most dangerous. These statistics separately consider which vehicle makes are involved in the most accidents as a whole as well as which are involved in the most fatal accidents in relation to the number of that make on the road at the time. Read on to discover the deadliest vehicles in America.
Click to view the full-size infographic
Use the following embed code to post this infographic on your website:
Top 10 Deadliest Vehicle Models
Out of the top four deadliest vehicle models, three of them are pickup trucks: the Ford F-Series, the Chevy Silverado and the Dodge RAM. The Ford F-Series is the deadliest vehicle overall, being involved in 2,418 fatal crashes during the 2022 calendar year. F-Series pickups are the best-selling vehicles in the United States, so their involvement in accidents is partially due to their prevalence. However, hundreds of thousands of them have been recalled due to issues with downshifting that were causing drivers to lose control.
The second-deadliest vehicle model is the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, being involved in 2,309 fatal crashes in 2022. Motorcyclists in general are at a higher risk of death or injury than other drivers – 22 times more likely as a matter of fact. They are smaller and less visible to the drivers of other vehicles, hard stops can throw riders off bikes, riders may have a lack of experience rounding unexpected corners, or poor road conditions can turn a joyride into a final lap.
Rounding out the list of the top five deadliest vehicle models on the road is the Freightliner medium and heavy-duty semi-trailers. Semi-truck drivers have a lot of blind spots. They also need more time and space to stop than drivers of other vehicles. In icy conditions, cars can even slide underneath trucks. While semi-trucks can be dangerous, it should be noted that accidents involving semi-trucks are often the fault of the smaller vehicle.
Including the vehicles we discussed above, the top 10 most dangerous vehicle models are as follows.
- Ford F-Series
- Harley-Davidson motorcycle
- Chevrolet Silverado
- RAM/Dodge Ram
- Freightliner medium or heavy-duty truck
- Toyota Camry
- Honda Accord
- Honda Civic
- Nissan Altima
- Toyota Corolla
Deadliest Cars
What is the deadliest car in America? While none of the top five deadliest vehicles on the road are passenger cars, the entire second-half of the top ten deadliest vehicles are. The most dangerous cars include the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima and the Toyota Corolla.
However, if we consider how many of each car is actually on the road and compare that to the number of fatal accidents per 100,000 vehicles, the five most dangerous cars are completely different. The deadliest cars to drive on the road in relation to the total number of each respective vehicle are the Dodge Charger, Nissan Maxima, Ford Taurus, Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro.
Dangerous Vehicle Models List Compared to Number of Vehicles on the Road
Continuing the analysis of fatal accidents in relation to how many of each respective vehicle is on the road, the overall most deadly vehicle is the Ford Ranger pickup truck. With nearly 1 Million Ford Rangers estimated to be on the road today, 402 were involved in deadly accidents during the year 2022. For every 100,000 Ford Rangers, 42.78 of them are involved in deadly crashes.
The vehicle involved with the second-most deaths in relation to their prevalence is the Jeep Cherokee. The Jeep brand has been involved with a lot of recalls over the years relating to rollovers, fuel leaks, fires and software issues. The 10 most dangerous vehicles ranked by the number of fatal accidents per 100,000 vehicles sold are as follows.
- Ford Ranger
- Jeep Cherokee
- Dodge Charger
- Nissan Maxima
- Ford Taurus
- Ford Mustang
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Chevrolet Blazer/Tahoe
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Ford Expedition
Top 10 Deadliest Vehicle Makes
Ford vehicles are involved with more deaths than any other vehicle brand. 7,552 Ford vehicles were involved with fatal accidents during the 2022 calendar year, followed closely by 7,473 Chevy vehicles that were involved with fatal accidents that year. The full list of the top 10 deadliest vehicle makes is as follows.
- Ford
- Chevrolet
- Toyota
- Honda
- Dodge
- Nissan
- Harley-Davidson
- GMC
- Jeep
- Hyundai
At Convoy Car Shipping, our licensed and insured carriers treat your vehicle with the utmost professionalism regardless of its make and model. Whether you need a classic car delivered to your door or full fleet management services for your dealership, we have you covered. For safe and efficient vehicle transport, we ship cars across the country and even internationally.
The 50 Deadliest Vehicle Models Overall
Rank | Vehicle Model | Vehicle type | Total vehicles involved in fatal accidents in 2022 |
1 | Ford F-Series | Pickup truck | 2,418 |
2 | Harley-Davidson motorcycle (≥ 750cc) | Motorcycle | 2,309 |
3 | Chevrolet Silverado | Pickup truck | 2,271 |
4 | RAM/Dodge Ram | Pickup truck | 1,450 |
5 | Freightliner medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 1,396 |
6 | Toyota Camry | Car | 1,201 |
7 | Honda Accord | Car | 1,174 |
8 | Honda Civic | Car | 1,086 |
9 | Nissan Altima | Car | 904 |
10 | Toyota Corolla | Car | 879 |
11 | GMC Sierra | Pickup truck | 823 |
12 | Kenworth medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 689 |
13 | Peterbilt medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 639 |
14 | Chevrolet Malibu | Car | 585 |
15 | Chevrolet Blazer/Tahoe | SUV | 569 |
16 | Navistar/International Harvester medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 557 |
17 | Ford Escape | SUV | 555 |
18 | Jeep Cherokee | SUV | 554 |
19 | Toyota Tacoma | Pickup truck | 547 |
20 | Honda CR-V | SUV | 538 |
21 | Chevrolet Impala | Car | 511 |
22 | Ford Fusion | Car | 493 |
23 | Nissan Sentra | Car | 487 |
24 | Toyota RAV4 | SUV | 485 |
25 | Jeep Wrangler | SUV | 480 |
26 | Hyundai Elantra | Car | 480 |
27 | Chevrolet Equinox | SUV | 474 |
28 | Ford Explorer | SUV | 461 |
29 | Volvo medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 429 |
30 | Ford Focus | Car | 419 |
31 | Hyundai Sonata | Car | 419 |
32 | Dodge Charger | Car | 408 |
33 | Ford Mustang | Car | 407 |
34 | Honda motorcycle (≥ 750cc) | Motorcycle | 404 |
35 | Ford Ranger | Pickup truck | 402 |
36 | Suzuki motorcycle (≥ 750cc) | Motorcycle | 387 |
37 | Toyota 4Runner | SUV | 364 |
38 | Toyota Tundra | Pickup truck | 352 |
39 | Yamaha motorcycle (≥ 750cc) | Motorcycle | 348 |
40 | Honda motorcycle (450-749cc) | Motorcycle | 343 |
41 | Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan | Minivan | 330 |
42 | Nissan Rogue | SUV | 325 |
43 | Kawasaki motorcycle (450-749cc) | Motorcycle | 313 |
44 | Ford medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 305 |
45 | Mack medium or heavy-duty truck | Semi-trailer truck | 301 |
46 | Chevrolet Cruze | Car | 300 |
47 | Yamaha motorcycle (450-749cc) | Motorcycle | 296 |
48 | Toyota Highlander | SUV | 280 |
49 | Kawasaki motorcycle (≥ 750cc) | Motorcycle | 276 |
50 | Kia Optima | Car | 275 |
Note: Unidentified vehicle makes or makes classified as “other” were removed from this analysis.
The Top 50 Deadliest Passenger Cars, Trucks, and SUVs Ranked by Number of Fatal Accidents per 100,000 Vehicles Sold
To better estimate the number of vehicles still on the road, this is based on total estimated vehicle sales in the United States since 2005.
Rank | Total fatal accidents rank | Vehicle make and model | Vehicle type | Total vehicles involved in fatal accidents in 2022 | Total estimated vehicles sold from 2005-2023 | Fatal accidents per 100,000 vehicles sold |
1 | 28 | Ford Ranger | Pickup truck | 402 | 939,768 | 42.78 |
2 | 13 | Jeep Cherokee | SUV | 554 | 1,518,667 | 36.48 |
3 | 26 | Dodge Charger | Car | 408 | 1,597,083 | 25.55 |
4 | 47 | Nissan Maxima | Car | 224 | 878,723 | 25.49 |
5 | 42 | Ford Taurus | Car | 246 | 980,217 | 25.10 |
6 | 27 | Ford Mustang | Car | 407 | 1,681,557 | 24.20 |
7 | 49 | Chevrolet Camaro | Car | 218 | 906,474 | 24.05 |
8 | 11 | Chevrolet Blazer/Tahoe | SUV | 569 | 2,379,094 | 23.92 |
9 | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | Pickup truck | 2,271 | 9,954,173 | 22.81 |
10 | 38 | Ford Expedition | SUV | 253 | 1,170,099 | 21.62 |
11 | 9 | GMC Sierra | Pickup truck | 823 | 3,858,297 | 21.33 |
12 | 29 | Toyota 4Runner | SUV | 364 | 1,743,882 | 20.87 |
13 | 50 | Chrysler 300 | Car | 217 | 1,052,352 | 20.62 |
14 | 5 | Honda Accord | Car | 1,174 | 5,728,802 | 20.49 |
15 | 16 | Chevrolet Impala | Car | 511 | 2,506,089 | 20.39 |
16 | 7 | Nissan Altima | Car | 904 | 4,509,336 | 20.05 |
17 | 46 | Nissan Frontier | Pickup truck | 232 | 1,171,866 | 19.80 |
18 | 39 | Kia Forte | Car | 252 | 1,286,197 | 19.59 |
19 | 6 | Honda Civic | Car | 1,086 | 5,602,017 | 19.39 |
20 | 35 | Kia Optima | Car | 275 | 1,420,209 | 19.36 |
21 | 3 | RAM/Dodge Ram | Pickup truck | 1,450 | 7,510,892 | 19.31 |
22 | 18 | Nissan Sentra | Car | 487 | 2,575,977 | 18.91 |
23 | 10 | Chevrolet Malibu | Car | 585 | 3,182,931 | 18.38 |
24 | 1 | Ford F-Series | Pickup truck | 2,418 | 13,873,948 | 17.43 |
25 | 4 | Toyota Camry | Car | 1,201 | 7,104,128 | 16.91 |
26 | 20 | Jeep Wranger | SUV | 480 | 2,859,517 | 16.79 |
27 | 33 | Chevrolet Cruze | Car | 300 | 1,805,393 | 16.62 |
28 | 43 | Nissan Versa | Car | 246 | 1,508,137 | 16.31 |
29 | 30 | Toyota Tundra | Pickup truck | 352 | 2,161,650 | 16.28 |
30 | 21 | Hyundai Elantra | Car | 480 | 2,994,445 | 16.03 |
31 | 24 | Ford Focus | Car | 419 | 2,618,391 | 16.00 |
32 | 14 | Toyota Tacoma | Pickup truck | 547 | 3,455,395 | 15.83 |
33 | 31 | Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan | Minivan | 330 | 2,106,508 | 15.67 |
34 | 44 | BMW 3-Series | Car | 243 | 1,569,274 | 15.48 |
35 | 17 | Ford Fusion | Car | 493 | 3,207,373 | 15.37 |
36 | 25 | Hyundai Sonata | Car | 419 | 2,738,771 | 15.30 |
37 | 8 | Toyota Corolla | Car | 879 | 5,793,001 | 15.17 |
38 | 12 | Ford Escape | SUV | 555 | 4,184,315 | 13.26 |
39 | 36 | Volkswagen Jetta | Car | 265 | 2,066,310 | 12.82 |
40 | 23 | Ford Explorer | SUV | 461 | 3,636,721 | 12.68 |
41 | 22 | Chevrolet Equinox | SUV | 474 | 3,849,353 | 12.31 |
42 | 45 | Toyota Sienna | Minivan | 242 | 1,974,724 | 12.25 |
43 | 48 | Hyundai Santa Fe | SUV | 222 | 1,886,260 | 11.77 |
44 | 41 | Honda Pilot | SUV | 249 | 2,322,089 | 10.72 |
45 | 40 | Toyota Prius | Car | 252 | 2,418,197 | 10.42 |
46 | 15 | Honda CRV | SUV | 538 | 5,410,152 | 9.94 |
47 | 19 | Toyota RAV4 | SUV | 485 | 5,232,574 | 9.27 |
48 | 34 | Toyota Highlander | SUV | 280 | 3,091,502 | 9.06 |
49 | 32 | Nissan Rogue | SUV | 325 | 3,604,072 | 9.02 |
50 | 37 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | SUV | 254 | 3,491,730 | 7.27 |
All 60,501 Vehicles Broken Down by Make
Rank | Make | Total vehicles involved in fatal accidents in 2022 | Most known for |
1 | Ford | 7,552 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
2 | Chevrolet | 7,473 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
3 | Toyota | 5,390 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
4 | Honda | 4,576 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
5 | Dodge | 3,630 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
6 | Nissan | 3,373 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
7 | Harley-Davidson | 2,340 | Motorcycles |
8 | GMC | 1,890 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
9 | Jeep | 1,812 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
10 | Hyundai | 1,662 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
11 | Freightliner | 1,548 | Semi-trailer trucks |
12 | Kia | 1,390 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
13 | Yamaha | 843 | Motorcycles |
14 | Chrysler | 809 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
15 | Suzuki | 765 | Motorcycles and cars, trucks, and SUVs |
16 | Kawasaki | 754 | Motorcycles |
17 | BMW | 740 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
18 | Buick | 733 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
19 | Subaru | 724 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
20 | Kenworth | 700 | Semi-trailer trucks |
21 | Peterbilt | 677 | Semi-trailer trucks |
22 | Volkswagen | 661 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
23 | Mazda | 628 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
24 | Navistar/International Harvester | 616 | Semi-trailer trucks, medium-duty trucks, and buses |
25 | Lexus | 611 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
26 | Mercedes-Benz | 611 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
27 | Volvo | 576 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
28 | Cadillac | 504 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
29 | Acura | 441 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
30 | Infiniti | 420 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
31 | Pontiac | 366 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
32 | Lincoln | 353 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
33 | Mack | 349 | Semi-trailer trucks |
34 | Mitsubishi | 330 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
35 | Audi | 251 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
36 | Mercury | 247 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
37 | Saturn | 213 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
38 | Isuzu | 106 | Medium-duty trucks and cars, trucks, and SUVs |
39 | Land Rover | 77 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
40 | Oldsmobile | 69 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
41 | Jaguar | 67 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
42 | Scion | 56 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
43 | Ducati | 53 | Motorcycles |
44 | Porsche | 53 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
45 | Triumph | 51 | Motorcycles |
46 | Victory | 41 | Motorcycles |
47 | Gillig | 32 | Buses |
48 | Fiat | 31 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
49 | AM General | 29 | Military vehicles |
50 | Saab | 27 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
51 | Bluebird | 26 | Buses |
52 | Alfa Romeo | 17 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
53 | Autocar | 16 | Heavy-duty trucks |
54 | MCI | 15 | Buses |
55 | Smart | 11 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
56 | Plymouth | 7 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
57 | Thomas Built | 6 | Buses |
58 | MG | 3 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
59 | Moto Guzzi | 2 | Motorcycles |
60 | American Motors | 1 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
61 | Daihatsu | 1 | Cars, trucks, and SUVs |
* | Unknown or Other | 3,146 |
Sources:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813560
https://carfigures.com/us-market-brand/
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/sales-by-model/ (used for Chevrolet Blazer/Tahoe, Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee, and Jeep Grand Cherokee sales figures)
This page was last updated by Marc Gregory