Ram 3500 has the highest other-driver death rate in the latest US data

204 is not the fatality risk in a single crash

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety analysed 2023-model-year vehicles together with earlier models sharing the same design and safety features. The rates are based on fatalities that occurred from 2021 through 2024.

A registered vehicle-year means one vehicle registered for one year. The Ram’s figure is therefore an exposure-based statistical rate, not a claim that 204 deaths occurred for every million examples sold or that any single collision carries a 204-in-a-million fatality risk.

To be included, a model must have accumulated at least 100,000 registered vehicle-years during the study period or been involved in at least 20 driver deaths. IIHS also includes equivalent models from up to three earlier model years when the vehicle has not been substantially redesigned, increasing the sample size.

The rates are adjusted for driver age and sex. They are not adjusted for every factor that can influence real-world outcomes, including the speeds at which vehicles are driven or the number of miles travelled. The figures therefore reflect a combination of vehicle design, driver behaviour and patterns of use.

The Ram 3500 was almost four times the average

Across all models in the study, the average other-driver death rate was 53 per million registered vehicle-years. The Ram 3500’s rate of 204 was about 3.85 times higher.

The five models with the highest rates were:

- Ram 3500 Crew Cab Long Bed 4WD — 204

- Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD — 161

- Dodge Charger 2WD — 136

- Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Crew Cab 4WD — 126

- Ram 1500 Classic Crew Cab Short Bed 4WD — 124

Seven of the top ten were large or very large pick-ups, as were ten of the top 20. That does not make every pick-up inherently dangerous. The concentration of heavy trucks is nevertheless consistent with the disadvantage faced by occupants of smaller vehicles in collisions involving a substantial mass mismatch.

The class averages make that mismatch particularly clear. Drivers of very large pick-ups had a death rate of 24 per million registered vehicle-years, while drivers of other vehicles involved in crashes with them had a rate of 110. Across all vehicle classes, the corresponding averages were 37 and 53.

IIHS notes that class-level rates are based on much larger samples and are therefore more reliable indicators than estimates for individual models.

A three-tonne-plus truck creates a substantial mass mismatch

The Ram 3500 highlighted by IIHS combines four-wheel drive, a four-door Crew Cab and an eight-foot, or 2.44-metre, load bed. Stellantis’ 2023 body-builder chart for the 4x4 Crew Cab ST with the eight-foot box lists base weights from 6,963 to 8,430 lb, or approximately 3,158 to 3,824 kg, depending on the engine, axle ratio, gross-vehicle-weight rating and rear-wheel configuration.

Some versions can therefore weigh roughly twice as much as many mainstream European family cars. In a two-vehicle collision, the lighter vehicle generally experiences the greater change in velocity. Differences in front-end height and structural compatibility can also affect how effectively the smaller vehicle’s energy-absorbing structures are engaged.

The class figures show that the Ram’s size can favour its own driver while leaving occupants of a lighter collision partner at a disadvantage. They do not, however, identify the cause of any individual crash.

The Dodge Charger shows that mass is not the whole story

The second- and third-highest other-driver death rates belonged to the Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD and the non-HEMI Charger 2WD. Neither is an enormous pick-up, yet both also appeared among the models with the highest death rates for their own drivers. The Charger HEMI recorded 127 driver deaths per million registered vehicle-years, while the other Charger recorded 90.

IIHS links the results for sports and muscle cars partly to the way they are used and the buyers they attract. A powerful engine does not in itself cause a fatal crash, but it can enable higher speeds and appeal to drivers more inclined to exploit that performance.

The ranking is therefore not a pure assessment of body strength, brakes or airbags. It captures the combined effect of the vehicle, its driver and the environment in which it is used.

Small cars remain vulnerable against heavier vehicles

The Kia Rio had the highest death rate for its own drivers, at 170 per million registered vehicle-years. The Nissan Versa followed at 164. Small and medium-sized cars, together with powerful rear-wheel-drive models, dominated the upper end of that table.

A small car generally has less mass and a shorter distance in which to absorb crash energy. Modern structures, airbags and driver-assistance systems can provide strong protection, but they cannot eliminate the physics of a collision with a vehicle weighing twice as much.

A larger body does not automatically guarantee good safety either. Structure, restraint systems, airbags and crash-avoidance technology all influence the outcome. The models with the lowest driver death rates included SUVs of very different sizes, from the Mercedes-Benz GLB to the BMW X7.

Six models recorded a driver death rate of zero. That does not mean a fatality is impossible in those vehicles. It means that no driver deaths were observed for those specific versions within the study sample and period. IIHS publishes 95% confidence bounds for its estimates, and model-level rates can carry considerable statistical uncertainty even when they meet the inclusion threshold.