Small Cars Riskier, Insurers Say

Drivers behind the wheel of a Geo Tracker sport-utility vehicle or a Chevrolet Corvette are more likely to die in a crash than those driving a larger car such as a Volvo or Saab, an insurance group said.

“There’s a clear problem with small passenger vehicles as a group,” said Brian O’Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Data for 178 passenger vehicles for the years 1989-93 also show that air bags make a difference, he said.

Among the 10 vehicles with the highest driver death rates, nine were small cars and one was mid-size, according to the report. All 10 with the lowest driver death rates are either large or mid-size vehicles.

It said the Tracker’s driver death rate is 3.2 per 10,000 registered vehicles, compared to the average for all 1989-93 passenger vehicles of 1.1 deaths.

The safest car, the Volvo 240, had a rate of 0.1 deaths per 10,000 vehicles, according to the institute, a nonprofit research group financed by property casualty insurers.

Only the two sports cars on the 10-worst list, the Corvette and Mustang, had air bags, the institute added.

The 10 vehicles with the lowest death rates:

The Volvo 240, Saab 9000, Mercedes 190 D/E, Volkswagen Passat, Lexus ES 300, Lexus LS 400, Honda Accord station wagon, Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicle, Dodge Caravan minivan and Plymouth Voyager minivan.

The 10 with the highest death rates:

Geo Tracker, Chevrolet Corvette, Isuzu Amigo sport-utility vehicle, Hyundai Scoup, Ford Mustang, Ford Festiva, Pontiac Lemans, Geo Metro, Ford Escort and Chevrolet S10 pickup.