10 CARS WITH THE SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN SUCKIEST DRIVERS

Nobody likes to be involved in a car wreck. At the very least, an accident will totally ruin your day's plans and, at the very worst, you'll be doing a Guns N' Roses and Knockin' on Heaven's Door. When it comes to the cars most involved in road accidents, some are more crash-prone than others. Of course, a car needs a driver to be involved in a crash as they don't do it by themselves. Oh, wait. That's no longer true.

Regardless, all this got CarBuzz thinking. Which cars on today's roads are the ones most involved in accidents? We've all seen what happens when a Mustang is unleashed after a Cars & Coffee, but what about other accident-prone models? To answer this question, we've compiled a list of the 10 most accident-happy cars on the roads today. You'll see a composite score underneath each model. The way this score was calculated is explained in the note below. (It's also worth noting that this is just one study out of many on the same topic, all with different answers, so please take it with a grain of salt.)

Chevrolet Cruze

Composite Score: 38.7

Number Of Accidents	12,321
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	13.90 %
Total Loss Claims	1,713

First on our list is the Cruze, a now-discontinued compact from Chevrolet. The Cruze sat low on Chevy's offering list, as it was designed to do price battle with the likes of the similarly-discontinued Ford Focus and Dodge Dart. Unfortunately, the Cruze has seen its fair share of accidents over the course of its life. The Cruze also doesn't hold its value well, so totaling is a real concern for owners who may just suffer a minor fender bender in a higher-mileage Cruze. Regardless of why, the Cruze is here, and boy does it like a good crash.

Lexus ES

Composite Score: 45.5

Number Of Accidents	3,125
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	13.90%
Total Loss Claims	434

Next, we have the Lexus ES, one of the more surprising entries on our list. Like us, you're probably thinking only old-timers and people who drive conservatively would own something as hum-drum as a midsize Lexus sedan, but we're all wrong, it seems. The truth of the matter is, the Lexus ES is the ninth-worst accident offender in the United States, with well over 3,000 accidents to the ES' name so far. Maybe Lexus needs to include a complimentary eye test with each purchase.

Kia Stinger

Composite Score: 45.7

Number Of Accidents	7,125
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	13.90%
Total Loss Claims	990

The Kia Stinger was never a hot seller for the Korean automaker, though it lasted just six years, from 2017 to 2023. Kia may be working on a new model, but that's not important right now. The top-spec Kia Stinger is powered by a 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6, but it wasn't laugh out loud fast. The handling was also fun, but not intimidating in any way. There's no reason why this car should be totaled so often. Perhaps it has something to do with depreciation. Since it wasn't that popular, these things aren't worth much after they leave the dealer floor.

Or it could be a case of a customer upgrading from one Kia to the next. Kia never used to be known for performance cars, so if you hopped straight out of a 185 hp Optima into a 370 hp Stinger, you might be a bit overwhelmed.

Ford Taurus

Composite Score: 47.5

Up next is the now-defunct Ford Taurus. It served as Ford's full-size sedan after the cancelation of the Ford Five Hundred and the Ford Crown Victoria, and was finally axed in 2019. It earns a spot on our list most likely for the same reasons the Lexus ES is here. Not to mention, the Taurus was used extensively in the police department fleet market, which sways its crash data quite a bit, as well. Find an SHO-grade Taurus in good condition these days, and you've got yourself quite the sleeper.

Number Of Accidents	9,874
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.00%
Total Loss Claims	1,382

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Subaru WRX

Composite Score: 48.0

Number Of Accidents	5,731
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.10%
Total Loss Claims	808

Finally, a car on our list that makes perfect sense as to why it's here: the Subaru WRX. There aren't many other cars which attract the sort of speed demon, rally racing-obsessed driver the WRX does. The WRX has been one of the kings of exuberant driving for decades now, and it seems that reputation will stick around for a while. You'd think the WRX's all-wheel drive would help keep it out of the ditches, but, sadly, that's not the case. In fact, that might be the reason behind the crashes.

If you've ever driven a WRX or WRX STI, you'll know they stick to the road like honey sticks to a fluffy carpet. As a result, you keep on pushing harder, thinking it will never not grab onto the road. It works beautifully, until it doesn't. It's kind of like driving on slick tires. They grip until they don't, and then you're merely a passenger on your way to the scene of the accident.

Ford Fusion

Composite Score: 51.1

Number Of Accidents	15,874
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.10%
Total Loss Claims	2,238

Next, we have another defunct Ford sedan. The Ford Fusion faithfully served as Ford's mid-size sedan from 2006 to 2020 and saw three different generations. It is generally regarded as a good car, especially in the UK where it's still sold under the Mondeo model name and enjoys a good amount of popularity. Sadly, in the US, the Fusion wasn't known as a particularly big-seller, and was given the ax following Ford America's decision to get rid of all of their sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks, apart from the Ford Mustang.

As they depreciate so rapidly, we expect even the tiniest bump can see a Fusion completely totaled.

Dodge Challenger

Composite Score: 53.9

Number Of Accidents	4,125
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	14
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.20%
Total Loss Claims	586

Another less-than-surprising model on our list is the Dodge Challenger, Dodge's now-dead muscle car. When it comes to modern muscle cars, the Dodge Challenger was the most powerful from the factory, so long as the correct option packages were selected. Putting over 1,000 horsepower into the hands of most average people who've never driven anything more powerful than a banged-up Nissan Altima is a sure-fire way to get yourself into the newspaper after running through a 7-11's front window.

Chevrolet Silverado

Composite Score: 58.9

The only truck to end up on our list is the Chevrolet Silverado, otherwise known as King of the Ditches, judging by its accident data. Those who drive the Chevrolet Silverado seem to be quite enamored by the appearance of a random mudhole off the beaten path. The only problem is, the Silverado driver is seemingly ill-equipped for this off-road maneuver, and becomes stuck in said mudhole. If they are able to unstick themselves from the mudhole, their trucks seem to be so covered in earth, and it's nearly impossible to see out of it on the drive home. This causes many crashes, and earns it the third spot on our list. At least, that's what we imagine happened.

Ford Focus

Composite Score: 63.7

Number Of Accidents	5,314
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	15
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.50%
Total Loss Claims	771

Number Of Accidents	13,289
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	15
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.50%
Total Loss Claims	1,927

Our second-to-last car, and second-most accident-prone, is the Ford Focus. Yet another defunct Ford model in the US, the Focus stood as the Detroit automaker's compact car for 20 years, from 1998 to 2018. It sold relatively well at first, with sales taking a sharp nosedive in the latter half of the 2010s. With the sheer multitude of young drivers the Focus had to contend with, it's no wonder how it managed to secure the second spot on our list. Look out school parking lot light poles. Here comes the Focus!

But seriously, once again, it's a case of the average Focus not being worth a lot of money, so if you scrape as much as a wheel, the insurance will write it off. Oh, and the Focus RS' drift mode probably didn't help either...

Ford Mustang

Composite Score: 64.8

As if you couldn't have guessed, the Ford Mustang is our number-one most accident-prone car. It doesn't come as a surprise, either, as we've all seen the litany of iPhone camera videos depicting a wayward Mustang plowing through a crowd of people at a car meet. It seems the Mustang attracts the sort of person with much more money than sense, or driving skill, for that matter. It's a shame, too, because if the Mustang had a conscience, we're sure it'd much rather be out there beating foreign cars in races between the lights, rather than injuring passers-by.

Number Of Accidents	4,521
Total Loss Claims Per 100 Models	15
Percent Of Accidents Involving Totaling	14.60%
Total Loss Claims	660