A car is a high-risk vehicle. Although manufacturers are constantly introducing new options, they do not provide insurance against getting into an accident. Some cars are considered sturdier, more reliable, while others are less so. But there are also those in which the possibility of surviving a serious accident is reduced to zero.
From history
In the early days of the automotive industry, vehicle safety was almost neglected. This tendency continued up to the middle of the 20th century. There were no airbags, safety belts, head-rests and ABS. The chance of surviving even the simplest accident for the driver and passengers was minimal.
This began to puzzle the automakers, the authorities of the countries and the ordinary citizens. In fact, the statistics of those years showed that in peacetime, as many people died in accidents as during military operations. And that’s when they started conducting crash-tests. Their purpose was to understand how to ensure the survival of drivers and passengers in accidents.
Today, according to statistics, every 3% of accidents are fatal. The main indicator of a car’s danger is exceeding that figure for a particular make or model.
State and independent companies regularly make car ratings according to different criteria.
So, what is the most dangerous car to drive?
Daewoo
Being involved in a serious accident with a Daewoo, it is very difficult to stay alive. In accidents with Daewoo Nexia and Daewoo Matiz is fatal in about 4-5% of cases. Compared to other brands, the accident rate with Daewoo cars is 5.9%. These cars are budget ones, that’s why they are often bought. But there are no safety devices in the delivery set.
Chevrolet
Chevrolets are also recognized as one of the most unsafe cars in terms of risk of death. The compact Chevrolet Aveo, though it is a family car, is quite questionable with regard to safety. In frontal or lateral collisions the supports of the car are folded in half, and the hood completely crumples. And it means the chance for driver and passengers to survive is minimal. At best they go to hospital, but with serious injuries.
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup received only 11 points out of possible 100. This is not the first year this truck has confirmed the title “one of the worst”. The budget Chevrolet Corvette is not far behind. It got 17 points out of 100.
The 2022 Chevrolet Malibu has neither high build quality, nor other features of a good sedan. The car lacks standard driver assistance features, and so its safety suffers.
Mitsubishi
If you get into a serious accident in a Mitsubishi, there is a high probability of serious injuries. Mitsubishi Lancer demonstrates the average level of safety – 3-4 %.
Mitsubishi owners like to drive on the highway. It causes the number of accidents with participation of these cars makes 5,1 %. Certainly, it is possible to gain high speed with Mitsubishi, but it’s rather difficult to control it. There is one accident with participation of Mitsubishi per 469 cars.
Hyundai
The Hyundai Accent has an accident fatality rate of 4-5%. The Hyundai Solaris has 3-4%. Both of these cars have not passed Latin NCAP crash-tests, not even one point!
There is no stabilization system in these cars, and there is only one airbag. In frontal collision at 64 km/h and side collision at 50 km/h the main victims are front seat passengers, because of malfunctioning safety belt and children sitting behind – due to absence of safety restraint system.
Although the Hyundai Solaris costs less than the Hyundai Accent, it has more safety features. The Accent only has ABS. A second airbag and ESP are offered as options for separate money. The Hyundai does not stand up to heavy loads.
Toyota
The Toyota Mark II and Toyota Carina show four to five accident fatalities out of a hundred. The Toyota Corolla and Toyota Camry show an average safety rating of 3-4%.
Small size Toyota is the most frequently reported. These cars are fast, but in safety tests they score 3 out of 5 for the driver and 0 for pedestrians. The accident rate is 5.2%.
Ford
Out of a hundred crashes in the Ford Fusion, about four to five end in driver fatalities. The Ford Focus shows an average safety score of 3-4%.
Audi
In accidents the Audi 80 fatalities are about 4-5%. This is not the worst indicator, but the recognition of this car as safe is still very far.
Opel
The Opel Vectra has an accident fatality rate of about 4-5%. The Opel Astra has 3-4%.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Polo and Volkswagen Passat have an average degree of safety – 3-4%.
Nissan
Nissan Almera has an average safety level – 3-4%.
Kia Rio, Kia Ceed, Kia Sportage, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota RAV-4, Renault Sandero, Renault Duster, Nissan X-Trail, Nissan Qashgai, Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander are relatively safe.
It turns out, that all-terrain vehicles equipped with all possible systems of safety, in practice turn out to be much more dangerous, than compact small-cubicles. The cost of the car also does not speak about its safety; in fact, budget Kia Rio has got into the category of relatively safe cars.
Thus, power and reliability of the power unit, type of transmission, accessories, equipping of the saloon are certainly not unimportant criteria.