The Chevy Astro Van: Where 27% of Drivers in Fatal Crashes Were Loaded

You might expect high impairment rates from Mustangs and Corvettes. You probably don’t expect them from a vehicle primarily used to haul soccer equipment and drywall. Yet the Chevrolet Astro Van posts a 27.0% impairment rate — higher than the Mustang (21.9%), the Camaro (23.0%), and every single pickup truck in the database.

The Astro isn’t alone. The Ford Windstar — the official minivan of “my kid has a travel baseball tournament” — hits 23.1%. Even the Dodge Grand Caravan, possibly the most aggressively boring vehicle ever manufactured, clocks 15.3%.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the impairment charts, you’ll find the Subaru Ascent at 8.2% and the Toyota Land Cruiser at 8.9%. The vehicles with the soberest drivers are the ones marketed to outdoorsy types and international diplomats. The ones with the drunkest drivers are the ones you can buy for $3,000 on Facebook Marketplace at 2 AM.

This tracks with a grim demographic reality: impairment in fatal crashes correlates more with vehicle age and price point than vehicle type. Cheap, old vehicles — regardless of whether they’re sports cars or minivans — attract drivers who are statistically more likely to drive impaired. The Astro Van isn’t a party car. It’s just cheap.