Fatal car accidents happen every day, and they can certainly happen in any type of vehicle. Traditionally, it is thought that those with less protection – such as motorcyclists – carry the highest risks of passing away in a crash.
However, when you look at the statistics, you’ll find that pickup trucks are involved in the most fatal accidents in the United States every year, and it’s not even close. For instance, one source showed that the vehicle involved in the most fatal crashes is the Chevrolet Silverado, with 8,777 fatal accidents in a four-year period ending in 2020. Right behind that, with about 1,200 fewer fatal crashes, was the Ford F-150. In the fifth position was the Dodge Ram.
What does this tell us?
All the vehicles listed above are extremely large and clearly offer a lot of protection to the people in the vehicles. So why are they still involved in so many fatal accidents?
The reason is that people in other vehicles may be the ones who passed away in those accidents. Larger vehicles often fare much better, and those in smaller vehicles suffer more severe injuries. So the reason that oversized pickup trucks are so frequently involved in fatal crashes is that, regardless of which driver caused the accident, it is the driver in the smaller vehicle that is at the greatest risk of being killed.
If you’ve lost a loved one in a car accident caused by another driver, or if you’ve suffered serious injuries, be sure you know how to seek financial compensation for your losses. Experienced legal guidance can help.