How Your Car Endangers Others
Safety ratings tell you how well a car protects you. They don't tell you how dangerous it is to everyone else on the road.
In 2023, 7,314 pedestrians and 1,155 cyclists were killed by motor vehicles in the United States. Pedestrian deaths have surged 78% since 2009 — and the vehicles we drive are a major reason why.
💀 The Stat Nobody Talks About: Other-Driver Death Rates
IIHS tracks not just how often your driver dies — but how often drivers of other vehicles die in crashes involving your car. The differences are staggering.
Ram 3500 Crew Cab (4WD)
Buick Encore (4WD)
⚠️ That's a 31× difference. The vehicle you choose doesn't just affect your safety — it affects the survival odds of every other driver, pedestrian, and cyclist you share the road with.
The overall other-driver death rate across all 2020 models: 53 per million registered vehicle years.
Source: IIHS Driver Death Rates by Make and Model (2020 models, 2018–2021 fatalities)
📊 Other-Driver Death Rates by Vehicle Class
Size matters — but it's not the whole story. Driving behavior associated with certain vehicle types also plays a role.
Data from Farmer (2023), standardized for driver age and gender. Average across all vehicles: 53 per million.
| Vehicle Class | Other-Driver Death Rate per million reg. years |
Aggressivity Factor × average |
Kill-to-Die Ratio others ÷ self |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Large Pickups | 121 | 2.28× | 3.9 : 1 |
| Large Cars (Challenger, Charger, Camaro) | 88 | 1.66× | 0.9 : 1 |
| Large Sports Cars | 77 | 1.45× | 0.8 : 1 |
| Luxury SUV Very Large | 67 | 1.26× | 3.7 : 1 |
| Large Pickups | 61 | 1.15× | 2.0 : 1 |
| Midsize Cars | 57 | 1.08× | 0.9 : 1 |
| Car Mini | 55 | 1.04× | 0.4 : 1 |
| Midsize Sports Cars | 55 | 1.04× | 0.7 : 1 |
| Nonluxury SUV Large | 54 | 1.02× | 2.7 : 1 |
| Nonluxury SUV Very Large | 52 | 0.98× | 2.2 : 1 |
| Small Cars | 50 | 0.94× | 0.9 : 1 |
| Nonluxury SUV Midsize | 49 | 0.92× | 1.8 : 1 |
| Minivans | 49 | 0.92× | 1.8 : 1 |
| Small Pickups | 46 | 0.87× | 1.5 : 1 |
| Nonluxury SUV Small | 43 | 0.81× | 1.0 : 1 |
| Luxury SUV Large | 35 | 0.66× | 2.1 : 1 |
| Luxury Midsize | 34 | 0.64× | 1.5 : 1 |
| Luxury Large | 34 | 0.64× | 1.6 : 1 |
| Luxury SUV Small | 32 | 0.60× | 0.7 : 1 |
| Wagon Small | 31 | 0.58× | 1.1 : 1 |
| Luxury SUV Midsize | 30 | 0.57× | 2.7 : 1 |
| Wagon Mini | 28 | 0.53× | 0.6 : 1 |
| Luxury Very Large | 25 | 0.47× | 6.3 : 1 |
| Wagon Midsize | 23 | 0.43× | 4.6 : 1 |
| Small Sports Cars | 11 | 0.21× | 0.4 : 1 |
🔑 Understanding the Kill-to-Die Ratio
The kill-to-die ratio shows, for each class, how many opposing drivers die per case-vehicle driver death. A ratio above 1.0 means the vehicle kills more other drivers than its own.
Very large pickups have the most extreme asymmetry: for every driver who dies in a very large pickup, 3.9 opposing drivers die in crashes with one. Meanwhile, minicars show the opposite pattern (0.4:1) — their drivers absorb most of the risk themselves.
Source: Farmer, C.M. (2023). Demographic adjustments to driver death rates. Traffic Injury Prevention. Tables 1 & 2. Rates standardized for driver age and gender (2017–2020 model years, 2018–2021 fatalities).
🔴 Worst & 🟢 Best: Other-Driver Death Rates by Model
Individual models vary enormously — even within the same vehicle class.
🔴 Highest Other-Driver Death Rates
| Model | Rate |
|---|---|
| Ram 3500 Crew Cab LB 4WD | 189 |
| Dodge Challenger 2WD | High |
| Dodge Charger 2WD | High |
| Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD | High |
| Kia Forte | High |
| Kia Optima | High |
| Kia Rio Sedan | High |
| Nissan Altima | High |
🟢 Lowest Other-Driver Death Rates
| Model | Rate |
|---|---|
| Buick Encore 4WD | 6 |
| Small luxury SUVs (class avg) | Low |
| Small sports cars (class avg) | 11 |
💡 Lighter, lower vehicles are dramatically less dangerous to other road users — not just because of physics but because they're less likely to strike a pedestrian's head or chest.
Source: IIHS — Latest driver death rates highlight dangers of muscle cars, July 2023
📐 The Hood Height Problem
When a car hits a pedestrian, the height and shape of the front end determines whether they go over the hood or under the wheels.
Tall, Blunt Front End
Hood > 40 inches. Strikes the pedestrian in the chest or head. 2× more likely to knock them down and run them over. Causes severe head, torso, and pelvis injuries.
Low, Sloped Front End
Hood < 30 inches. Strikes the pedestrian in the legs, throwing them onto the hood — still dangerous, but dramatically more survivable.
| Hood Height / Shape | Pedestrian Fatality Risk | Compared to Low + Sloped |
|---|---|---|
| > 40 inches (tall front) | Highest | +45% more fatalities |
| 30–40 inches, blunt front | Elevated | +26% more fatalities |
| < 30 inches, sloped (sedans, sports cars) | Baseline | — |
Source: Hu et al., 2024 — IIHS study on hood height and pedestrian fatality risk
Speed × Height = Exponential Danger
Taller front ends don't just add risk — they multiply it at higher speeds:
Source: Monfort & Mueller, 2025 — IIHS pedestrian injury severity by vehicle type and speed
📈 Pedestrian Deaths Are Surging
After decades of progress, pedestrian fatalities reversed course in 2009 — right as the SUV and truck boom accelerated.
pedestrians killed in 2023
cyclists killed in 2023
increase in pedestrian deaths since 2009
of all crash fatalities are pedestrians
Why are pedestrian deaths rising?
| Factor | What Changed | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle size | Average vehicle became wider, longer, taller, and heavier over 30 years | More lethal impacts |
| Hood height | Hoods got 3–6 inches taller on average | Strikes chest/head instead of legs |
| SUV/truck market share | SUVs went from ~30% to ~55% of new sales | More tall-front vehicles on road |
| Distracted driving | Smartphone use while driving | Slower reaction to pedestrians |
| Fatal crashes at night | 75% of pedestrian fatalities occur after dark | Visibility challenges |
Fatal single-vehicle pedestrian crashes involving SUVs increased 81% between 2009 and 2016 — more than any other vehicle type. The correlation between fleet composition and pedestrian deaths is not a coincidence.
Source: Hu & Cicchino, 2018 — IIHS study on pedestrian crash trends
👁️ Blind Zones: The Invisible Threat
Larger vehicles create larger blind spots — and the data shows they kill more pedestrians specifically when turning.
Why larger vehicles have bigger blind spots
| Design Feature | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Wider A-pillars | Required for roof crush strength in rollovers — but blocks driver's view of crossing pedestrians |
| Higher ride height | Children and shorter adults disappear below the sight line |
| Longer front end | Creates a larger area ahead of the driver that's completely invisible |
| Larger dashboard | Reduces forward-down visibility angle |
Source: IIHS — Big blind zones linked to left-turn crashes, November 2025; Hu & Cicchino, 2022
🔧 What's Being Done About This
Regulators and safety organizations are finally catching up to the pedestrian crisis.
| Initiative | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| IIHS Pedestrian AEB Testing | Tests automatic emergency braking for pedestrian detection — day and night | Active (required for TSP+ since 2024) |
| NHTSA Pedestrian Crashworthiness | Proposed rule requiring hood designs that reduce pedestrian head injuries | Proposed (targeting large SUVs/pickups) |
| European NCAP | Already tests pedestrian protection — hood/bumper impact zones | Active since 2009 |
| Pop-Up Hoods | Hoods lift 2–3 inches on impact, creating space between head and engine | Deployed by Volvo, Mercedes, others |
| Pedestrian Hood Airbags | Airbag deploys over windshield base and A-pillars upon pedestrian impact | Available on select models |
| IIHS 30x30 Initiative | Goal to reduce traffic deaths 30% by 2030 — includes pedestrian measures | Active |
💡 The good news: Pedestrian automatic emergency braking (AEB) is increasingly standard. Since 2024, the IIHS requires both daytime and nighttime pedestrian AEB testing for Top Safety Pick+ — meaning the safest new cars are also getting better at protecting people outside the car.
✅ What You Can Do
Being a responsible road user means considering the safety of others — not just yourself.
The Responsible Driver's Checklist
| Action | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Choose a vehicle with a lower hood | Every inch of hood height below 40" reduces pedestrian fatality risk |
| Look for Pedestrian AEB (Superior rating) | Systems that detect and brake for pedestrians — especially at night |
| Slow down in pedestrian areas | At 30 mph, a pickup creates 76% serious injury risk vs 37% for a car. Speed kills disproportionately in larger vehicles |
| Extra caution when turning | If you drive a truck or SUV, you have larger blind zones — look twice before turning |
| Don't buy more vehicle than you need | If you don't tow, haul, or go off-road, a large truck puts others at unnecessary risk |
| Consider pop-up hood / pedestrian airbag options | Available on Volvo, Mercedes, Subaru — these technologies save lives |
📊 IIHS Confirms: Supersizing Doesn't Make You Safer
A February 2025 IIHS study found that for vehicles above the fleet average of ~4,000 lbs, every additional 500 lbs only reduces the driver's death risk by 1 per million — but increases the risk to other drivers by 7. For lighter vehicles, the same 500 lbs saves 17 lives per million while adding only 1 partner death.
The takeaway: Choosing a supersized truck doesn't make you safer, but it makes everyone else on the road less safe. Learn how to choose a car that's safe for you and others →
The Safest Vehicles Protect Everyone
The best vehicles score high on occupant protection and have low other-driver death rates. See our data-driven rankings.
Safest New Cars → Safest Used Cars →📚 Sources & References
- IIHS — Driver Death Rates by Make and Model (includes other-driver rates)
- IIHS — Latest driver death rates highlight dangers of muscle cars (July 2023)
- IIHS — Pedestrians and Bicyclists Topic Page
- Hu et al., 2024 — Pedestrian fatality risk by hood height and front-end shape (IIHS)
- Monfort & Mueller, 2025 — Pedestrian injury severity by vehicle type and speed (IIHS)
- IIHS — Big blind zones linked to left-turn crashes (November 2025)
- Hu & Cicchino, 2018 — Fatal single-vehicle pedestrian crashes by vehicle type (IIHS)
- Hu & Cicchino, 2022 — SUVs/pickups turning and pedestrian crashes (IIHS)
- Monfort et al., 2024 — Head, torso, and pelvis injury patterns by vehicle height (IIHS)
- IIHS — Pedestrian Fatality Statistics