Study Finds Chevrolet Corvette Has Highest Auto Death Rate

L.A. Times Archives

Feb. 6, 1990 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. —

The Chevrolet Corvette has the highest death rate in crashes, and a four-door Volvo has the lowest, a study released Monday says.

The study shows that 5.2 drivers and passengers die in car wrecks for every 10,000 1985-87 Corvettes registered in the United States. It also found the Volvo 740-760 four-door had the lowest rate, 0.6 deaths per 10,000 vehicles.

The figures from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety were released by the Michigan Assn. of Professional Insurance Agents.

Of the 10 vehicles with the lowest death rates, three were large, six were mid-size and only one was a small car--the Volkswagen Jetta, with 1.1 deaths per 10,000 vehicles.

Twelve of the 15 cars with the highest death rates are small, and the other three are mid-size. Several, including the Corvette at the top of the list, are high-performance cars.

Debra Barclay, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Auto Safety, agreed with the study’s findings that smaller cars were less safe but said that does not have to be the case.

“We have continued to say that you can make fuel-efficient cars that are safe. The technology is available. It’s not being used to the extent that it can be,” she said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declined to comment on the study.

LOWEST AND HIGHEST DEATH RATES FOR CARS

Here is a list of the 1985-87 models with the lowest and the highest death rates, as compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The figure in parentheses after each model refers to the number of driver and passenger deaths per 10,000 vehicles registered in the United States:

10 LOWEST DEATH RATES

Volvo 740-760 four-door (0.6)

Ford Taurus station wagon (0.7)

Lincoln Town Car (0.8)

Audi 5000 four-door (1.1)

Cadillac Fleetwood DeVille four-door (1.1)

Cadillac Fleetwood DeVille two-door (1.1)

Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon (1.1)

Olds Cutlass Ciera station wagon (1.1)

Toyota Cressida four-door (1.1)

Volkswagen Jetta four-door (1.1)

15 HIGHEST DEATH RATES