Models with the highest fatal-crash counts in NHTSA FARS

Background

This review examines US FARS fatal crashes by model-year, focusing on the model-year entries with the highest fatal-crash counts in the findings. The list is led by the Chevrolet Silverado 2015, with 342 fatal crashes and 457 deaths.

The rankings are dominated by pickups, especially Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 entries across multiple years. Passenger cars also appear prominently, including the Nissan Altima 2015, Toyota Camry 2014, Ford Fusion 2016, Honda Accord 2017, and Nissan Sentra 2019.

A central limitation is built into the dataset itself: it identifies models with high fatal-crash counts, not death rates by car model. The findings show counts of fatal crashes, deaths, and rollover share for listed model-years, but they do not provide exposure measures such as registrations, miles traveled, or fleet size.

Which model-years appear most often

Chevrolet is the leading make in the findings, and the Silverado is the leading model. The Silverado appears repeatedly across 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020, indicating that the nameplate is not represented by a single outlier year alone.

Ford also appears across several years with the Fusion 2016 in addition to multiple pickup entries. Ram 1500 appears in 2014, 2017, and 2019. Among sedans, Nissan appears with Altima 2015 and 2017 and Sentra 2019.

Make	Model	Year	Fatal crashes	Deaths	Rollover %
Chevrolet	Silverado	2015	342	457	14.23
Chevrolet	Silverado	2018	314	386	10.01
Nissan	Altima	2015	299	709	5.75
Ram	1500	2019	280	560	13.25
Toyota	Camry	2014	190	477	6.76
Honda	Accord	2017	183	455	6.48

This table captures several of the highest-profile entries and shows how both pickups and midsize sedans appear near the top of the list.

The highest fatal-crash counts

By fatal-crash count, the Chevrolet Silverado 2015 ranks first at 342. It is followed by Chevrolet Silverado 2018 at 314 and Nissan Altima 2015 at 299.

Several other entries cluster in the high end of the list. Chevrolet Silverado 2016 and Ram 1500 2019 each record 280 fatal crashes. Chevrolet Silverado 2014 records 274, and Chevrolet Silverado 2017 records 258.

This means the question of which listed vehicle has the highest fatal-crash count can be answered narrowly within these findings: Chevrolet Silverado 2015 has the highest fatal-crash count at 342. The findings do not support a broader statement about all vehicles on the road or all model-years outside the listed set.

Death counts linked to those fatal crashes

The model-year with the highest death count in the findings is the Nissan Altima 2015, with 709 deaths. That stands out even though its fatal-crash count, 299, is lower than the leading Chevrolet Silverado 2015 count of 342.

Other high death totals include Ram 1500 2019 with 560, Nissan Sentra 2019 with 518, Ford Fusion 2016 with 500, Toyota Camry 2014 with 477, Chevrolet Silverado 2015 with 457, and Honda Accord 2017 with 455.

Make	Model	Year	Fatal crashes	Deaths
Nissan	Altima	2015	299	709
Ram	1500	2019	280	560
Nissan	Sentra	2019	186	518
Ford	Fusion	2016	183	500
Toyota	Camry	2014	190	477
Chevrolet	Silverado	2015	342	457
Honda	Accord	2017	183	455

For readers asking about car deaths by model, this is the clearest answer the findings allow: among the listed model-years, Nissan Altima 2015 has the highest death total at 709.

Pickup trucks versus sedans in the rankings

The list is heavily populated by full-size pickups. Chevrolet Silverado entries occupy 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. Ram 1500 appears in 2014, 2017, and 2019.

Sedans still post very high death totals. Nissan Altima 2015 records 709 deaths, Nissan Altima 2017 records 424, Nissan Sentra 2019 records 518, Toyota Camry 2014 records 477, Ford Fusion 2016 records 500, and Honda Accord 2017 records 455.

That split matters for interpretation. The findings do not show that one body style is inherently more dangerous than another. They show that both pickups and sedans appear among model-years with high fatal-crash and death counts.

Rollover patterns in the listed model-years

Rollover shares vary widely across the listed vehicles. The highest rollover figure in the findings is Ram 1500 2014 at 22.39. Other elevated figures include Chevrolet Silverado 2015 at 14.23, Ram 1500 2017 at 13.97, and Ram 1500 2019 at 13.25.

Sedans generally show lower rollover percentages in this list. Nissan Altima 2015 is at 5.75, Honda Accord 2017 at 6.48, Toyota Camry 2014 at 6.76, Nissan Sentra 2019 at 7.54, and Nissan Altima 2017 at 7.67.

Make	Model	Year	Rollover %
Ram	1500	2014	22.39
Chevrolet	Silverado	2015	14.23
Ram	1500	2017	13.97
Ram	1500	2019	13.25
Nissan	Altima	2015	5.75
Honda	Accord	2017	6.48
Toyota	Camry	2014	6.76

For readers asking why some crashes are fatal, the findings only offer one partial clue: rollover involvement differs substantially by model-year. They do not provide speed, restraint use, roadway type, impairment, or occupant counts, so they cannot explain fatality causation in full.

Who made the models with the highest counts

The manufacturers represented in the findings are Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, Ram, Toyota, and Honda. Chevrolet appears most often, led by Silverado entries across multiple years. Ford appears with Fusion 2016, while Nissan stands out on deaths with Altima 2015 at 709, Altima 2017 at 424, and Sentra 2019 at 518.

Toyota appears with Camry 2014 at 190 fatal crashes and 477 deaths. Honda appears with Accord 2017 at 183 fatal crashes and 455 deaths. Ram appears with 1500 entries in 2014, 2017, and 2019.

For readers asking who made the models in these fatal crashes, the answer is straightforward from the findings: Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, Ram, Toyota, and Honda are the makes represented in the top listed model-years.

What the findings can and cannot say

These findings support a ranking of listed model-years by fatal crashes and deaths. They can answer which listed model-year has the highest fatal-crash count, which listed model-year has the highest death count, and which makes and models recur most often.

They cannot answer death rate by car model. No denominator is provided for registrations, vehicles in operation, or miles traveled. They also cannot answer why there are so many car crashes in a general sense, because the findings contain no behavioral, environmental, enforcement, or roadway variables.

The findings also do not provide a standalone 2024 count of fatal car crashes. The latest model-year shown is 2020, and the document is a model-year ranking rather than a calendar-year total for 2024.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Which model-year has the highest fatal-crash count in the findings? A: Chevrolet Silverado 2015 ranks first with 342 fatal crashes and 457 deaths.

Q: Which model-year has the highest death count? A: Nissan Altima 2015 has the highest death total in the findings, with 709 deaths and 299 fatal crashes.

Q: Which makes appear in these fatal-crash rankings? A: The listed makes are Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, Ram, Toyota, and Honda. Chevrolet is the leading make in the findings.

Q: Do pickups or sedans dominate the list? A: Pickups appear repeatedly, especially Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500. Sedans also post high totals, including Nissan Altima 2015 with 709 deaths and Ford Fusion 2016 with 500.

Q: Which listed model-year has the highest rollover percentage? A: Ram 1500 2014 has the highest rollover share at 22.39, with 190 fatal crashes and 316 deaths.

Q: Does this dataset show death rates by car model? A: No. The findings provide fatal crashes, deaths, and rollover percentages for listed model-years, but no exposure measure for calculating death rates.

Q: How many fatal car crashes were there in 2024? A: The findings do not provide a 2024 calendar-year total. The latest model-year shown is 2020.