Safety is a desirable feature when buying a new car, but it’s not just your own well-being on the road that you should be concerned about.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released data in 2023 about which models are the most dangerous for other drivers should they be involved in a collision. Molesrcool (@molesrcool), a public transport and EV advocate who shares videos on TikTok, broke down the information.
@molesrcool new data tells us exactly which cars are the most dangerous to others, and surprise, it’s the giant pickups #pavementprincess #trucks #liftedtrucks #urbanism ♬ Yacht Club – MusicBox
One thing stood out almost immediately, as Molesrcool points out that it was “mostly pickup trucks” that populated the top 10.
The Ram 3500 Crew Cab long-bed 4WD topped the list of vehicles that caused the highest rate of other driver deaths, landing on 189 per million registered vehicle years — 25 more than the next nearest challenger, the Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD.
But six of the vehicles in the top 10 for most deaths of other drivers were categorized as either a “large pickup” or a “very large pickup.”
“Why they are more dangerous is blatantly obvious,” Molesrcool says. “They have a front end like a brick wall, they have terrible visibility, they weigh an absurd amount … and they are incredibly powerful.”
Indeed, on the point of visibility, an NBC News analysis of federal crash data found that between 2016 and 2020, 744 children were killed by forward-moving vehicles that were off public roads, such as in driveways or parking lots. In most cases, a large truck or an SUV was responsible.
“These giant trucks and SUVs that are built like fortresses give people a false sense of security, so they drive like maniacs, and that makes people think they need to buy a bigger SUV to feel safe,” Molesrcool says.
Large vehicles like these are often unnecessary for drivers, who don’t always require the space and power these vehicles provide. Not only can that be a waste of money, but it also creates a disproportionate polluting impact.
According to data from The Real Urban Emissions Initiative, as shared by the International Council on Clean Transportation, diesel pickup trucks emit nearly five times more than the U.S. EPA emissions limit on average.
“There are an estimated 850,000-1,340,000 of these vehicles on U.S. roads today, contributing up to 28,800 metric tons of excess NOx emissions annually,” executive director of the ICCT Drew Kodjak said, per FIA Foundation. “NOx is a key contributor to outdoor air pollution in the forms of ground-level ozone and secondary fine particulate matter (PM2.5).”
Kodjak also pointed out that “long-term exposure” to these pollutants can increase the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. That’s not even to mention the high levels of heat-trapping tailpipe fumes emitted that cause global temperatures to rise.
These issues strengthen the case for using a bike or public transport for short journeys. In fact, a study from the University of Oxford and Imperial‘s Centre for Environmental Policy found that not only can bike journeys significantly reduce vehicle emissions, but they can also improve physical and mental health.
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