Cars & Coffee crashes aren’t enough to land the pony car on the list of the deadliest models in America.
The Ford Mustang gets a bad rap. After countless videos of Mustangs sliding out of control and striking parked cars and crowds, Ford’s pony car can be a bit of a punchline on social media. However, Mustang fans can put some of the latest data in their bragging rights bag. According to a recent study by iSeeCars, the Ford Mustang is nowhere to be found among the deadliest cars in the United States.
Fatal accident data says the Ford Mustang doesn’t kill as often as the Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911, or Chevrolet Camaro
Despite the Ford Mustang’s reputation for carnage, it doesn’t register anywhere among the deadliest models in America. In fact, there are at least three popular American performance car nameplates with a much higher fatal accident rate.
According to a recent study by iSeeCars, the popular Hyundai Venue SUV takes the top spot among the most dangerous vehicles in the country. However, just below the Venue, the Chevrolet Corvette occupies the No. 2 spot overall, with nearly five times the average fatal accident rate of vehicles per billion million miles driven.
The Corvette’s long-term Zuffenhausen counterpart, the Porsche 911, isn’t far behind with 4.6 times the national average. Unfortunately for the most devoted American performance car fans, the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Charger also rank well above the overall average. However, the Ford Mustang doesn’t land anywhere on the list of the top 23 deadliest vehicles.
Still, driving behaviors are much more likely to contribute to deadly accident rates than vehicle type. “The biggest contributor to occupant safety is avoiding a crash, and the biggest factor in crash avoidance is driver behavior,” says iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer. “A focused, alert driver, traveling at a legal or prudent speed, without being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is the most likely to arrive safely regardless of the vehicle they’re driving.”
Of course, burying your right foot in a 486-horsepower Ford Mustang GT while leaving a Cars & Coffee is never a great idea.
| Make and model | Fatal accident rate | Comparison to overall average |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Corvette | 13.6 | 4.9x |
| Porsche 911 | 13.2 | 4.6x |
| Chevrolet Camaro | 7.3 | 2.6x |
| Dodge Charger | 6.1 | 2.1x |
| Overall average | 2.8 |
