Tesla would be the deadliest brand on US roads, according to a study by iSeecars. The portal iSeecars analyzed data from the United States Fatality Analysis Reporting System (the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System), whose data is publicly accessible.
In their study, they linked vehicles from the 2018-2022 model year (that is, from the second half of 2017 to the first half of 2022) with accidents that occurred between 2017 and 2022 that resulted in the death of at least one of the occupants. . From this relationship they interpreted that Teslas have a Fatal accident rate of 5.6 per billion miles driven (1,610 million km)the highest rate of all the brands present in the US market.
A car with more fatal accidents is not necessarily a dangerous car
While Tesla is first in this sad ranking, Kia came in second with a rate of 5.5, followed by Buick with 4.8, Dodge with 4.4 and Hyundai with 3.9. As a reference, iSeeCars remembers that the general average was 2.8, which means that the average accident of a Tesla is twice as deadly as average.
The ranking of the deadliest brands is the result of a breakdown by model. And again, Tesla is not in a good position. The Tesla Model Y had a fatal accident rate of 10.6. That’s almost five times the average SUVand was the sixth highest score.
Ahead were, in order from most deadly to least, the Hyundai Venue (a small SUV that is not sold in Europe), the Chevrolet Corvette, the Mitsubishi Mirage, the Porsche 911 and the Honda CR-V. The Tesla Model S also stands out negatively, its score was 5.8, twice the average, just behind the Toyota Prius (5.9).
Does this mean that Tesla, Hyundai, Kia or Porsche are more dangerous than other cars? Of course not. In fact, Tesla models are among the safest on the market, like Hyundai, Kia or Porsche, obtaining excellent marks on both sides of the Atlantic in crash tests from the NHTSA and the EuroNCAP.
The problem with this study is that it doesn’t really add much. It is a mere compilation of statistical data, which everyone will interpret and take home. According to Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, it has much more to do with the way people drive these cars.
“Most of these cars received excellent safety ratings, with good results in crash tests from the IIHS and NHTSA, so this is not a vehicle design issue. The models on this list likely reflect a combination of driver behavior and driving conditions, which has led to an increase in crashes and fatalities.”
Thus, the cars with the most fatal accident rates are paradoxically some of the safest on the market. “But what contributes most to the safety of the occupants is avoid an accidentand the main factor to avoid it is the behavior of the driver,” recalls Karl Brauer. “A focused and alert driver, traveling at a legal or safe speed, without being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is the one most likely to arrive safely, regardless of the vehicle he or she is driving.”
It thus suggests that an excess of confidence in driving aid systems, such as the Autopilot FSD de Tesla (investigated by the NHTSA for promoting misuse of the system with a series of accidents resulting in deaths), an overconfidence in the car’s capabilities and in one’s own driving skills would also explain the presence of the Corvette and the Porsche 911 above in this sad ranking.
Moral of the story, it doesn’t matter what car you drive, to avoid a potentially fatal accident, you must be responsible behind the wheel. No, your Tesla doesn’t drive itself, and you don’t “control” as much as you think you do behind the wheel of a sports car. If only because you don’t know if the rest of the users are really capable of driving or “in control.”
Source: www.motorpasion.com
