GM Cars More Deadly Than Skydiving?

The award for "the car most likely to get killed in if you're the driver and you have a dangerous accident" goes to the Chevrolet Blazer for model years 2002 to 2005. Maybe that has something to do with GM's decision to stop building them?

Driver death rates in a GM were higher than any other brand during 2002 thru 2005. But for some GM vehicles, they were also lower than any other brand. Just goes to show you, GM can build the best, and they can also build the worst.

So what's the difference between a Chevy Blazer and a Chevy Astro? Well, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's findings, it looks like your chance of getting killed in a Blazer are 33 times higher than if you were in the same accident but riding in an Astro. Makes you want to run out and trade in that old Blazer, huh?

Not to be outdone by domestic US manufacturers, the two-door Acura RSX had the second-highest "kill the driver" death rate followed by the Nissan 350Z.

Meanwhile, down the street in Detroit, Ford wisely is trying to come up with a better (safety) idea and looks to be succeeding with its Edge and MKX line, which are both being applauded by safety experts at the Insurance Institute.

Not surprisingly, big vehicles fared better in the deadly accident study, with SUV and truck (and large car) drivers having a better chance of surviving than most compact and smaller cars. The study also says that average accident death rates declined since the last study. "This is a big improvement over time. The rates have gone down about 30 percent since the mid-1990s,'' said Anne McCartt, the institute's senior vice president for research.

The study covered 202 passenger vehicle models and included rates of driver deaths in all crashes plus the rates in multiple-vehicle, single-vehicle, and single-vehicle rollover crashes. You can find out more about rollover ratings, and check your car's rollover crash rating, by clicking here.

Are GM cars more deadly than skydiving? Well, one writer in Fort Lauderdale says that "You'd have to go skydiving 17 times in 1 year in order for your odds of death to be equivalent to your chances of dying in a car accident every year." Of course, he's not saying if he drives a Chevy...

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