Subaru came in third in driving incidents and led the way as the brand with the most incidents overall in four states: California, Minnesota, Missouri, and Montana.

Nationwide, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Mazda drivers also placed in the top five when counting driving incidents per 1,000 drivers, despite appearing in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's list of best vehicles for safety in 2024. However, when one zooms into the category of driving under the influence, BMW significantly outpaces other brands. BMW drivers received DUIs at a rate of 3.13 per 1,000, while Ram drivers, who came in second in the DUI category, had a rate of almost half that at 1.72, according to LendingTree.

Though the vast majority of all car accidents do not lead to fatalities, in the first nine months of 2024, about 29,000 people died in car accidents in the U.S. That's down 4.4% from the same period in 2023, according to the Department of Transportation.

Several factors impact a driver's chances of being in a crash, including gender, age, driving experience, and, of course, the vehicle—and insurance companies are paying attention to that data.

In a company blog post, LendingTree noted that insurance companies look at a particular model's crash rate to help determine how risky it would be to insure. However, DUIs, tickets, and accidents on a driver's record typically may hold more weight—and they could all lead to higher car insurance rates.

So whether you are eyeing a trusty Mercury or Pontiac, ranked among the least-risky brands surveyed, or the new 2025 Ram truck, safe driving habits can make all the difference.

Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Elisa Huang. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.