Is Your Car One of the Most Dangerous Vehicles on the Road?

Modern vehicles are, for the most part, a treasure trove of technology designed to keep your sorry butt out of the emergency room, but not every driver enjoys such luxuries.

The average vehicle on the road is 11 or 12 years old, hailing from a time when backup cameras needed to be hand held, side airbags were a new and rare option, and five-star safety ratings weren’t easy to come by — especially in the types of vehicles you see in a Walmart parking lot.

Well, we now have a list of the most dangerous average-age vehicles on the road. Expect to lose some sleep if you’re unlucky enough to have one of these rides sitting in your driveway.

Compiled by 24/7 Wall St., the list taps Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash data for vehicle generations that were in production in 2005. The top 12 vehicles for crash unworthiness skew heavily towards the compact field, with a grim reminder of the former oxymoron of “South Korean quality.”

According to the publication:

To compile America’s most dangerous cars, the model must have received a poor or “marginal” rating in either the frontal crash impact or side crash impact safety tests — frontal and side impact collisions are the most fatal. Additionally, a car must have also received a “poor” rating on either the roof strength test, which simulates a vehicle rollover, or the head restraint and seat test, which simulates a rear-end collision.

So, what sorry model takes the No. 1 spot? Hand that bandage-wrapped prize to the second-generation Dodge Neon (2000-2005).

This model, which was sold as the Chrysler Neon and Dodge SX 2.0 in Canada, has terrible side impact protection and poor headrests and seats as its Achilles Heel(s). Between 2002 and 2005, the model logged 160 deaths, more than any other vehicle on the road at the time. You can do better than this at any of today’s buy-here-pay-here lots.

In second place is a much larger, much more utilitarian model, the 1996-2005 GMC Safari/Chevrolet Astro. This boxy, rear-drive van sold like gangbusters (and rusted like a tin can by the seashore), but its visual solidity did nothing for the protection of people inside.

The model scores low marks for poor moderate overlap crash protection, seats and headrests. Despite its frontal crash vulnerability, which could lead to leg injury, the Safari/Astro recorded the lowest death rate of any model between 2002 and 2005.

In third place is a vehicle that’s come a long way since George W. Bush’s first term. The 2001-2006 GMC Sierra suffered from poor seat and headrest safety, with only marginal front crash protection, despite the size of the vehicle. While the Sierra and its Chevrolet Silverado twin now score top marks for crash protection, that doesn’t help owners of 10 to 15-year-old models.

Placing just off the podium of shame is the dismal 2006-2011 Hyundai Accent, the economy car that looked the part more than any other. This rolling egg scored the worst marks for side impact safety, seats and headrests. Its appearance on this list shouldn’t comes as a surprise — in fact, you were already probably thinking about the Accent when you started reading this.

Coming in at No. 5 is the 2001-2005 Kia Optima (sold as the Magentis in Canada). If you enjoy having a pelvis and torso, stay clear of Kia’s first attempt at building a midsize car. The model fares poorly in side impact crash tests, while its headrests and seats are nothing to write home about.

You’ve seen the best (of the worst), now here’s the rest. The 2006-2009 Kia Rio suffers the same ills as the Optima, the 2000-2006 Mazda MPV also suffers from soft sides, and the driver of a 2000-2006 Nissan Sentra will likely see his or her head rebound off the front of any vehicle hitting their vehicle amidships.

A low-buck used car favorite — the 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am, of which this writer has owned two — stands at No. 9 on the list. Folds like Superman on laundry day in head-on collisions, it seems. The forgettable 2002-2005 Saturn L-Series is weak in the middle section. And drivers and passengers looking to avoid traumatic brain injuries in side impacts should stay away from the 2005-2008 Suzuki Forenza and 2003-2005 Grand Vitara, in which our managing editor spent his formative years. That probably explains a lot.

[Image: DriveAllDayPics/ Flickr ( CC BY-NC 2.0)]