As the automotive sector continues to be dominated by crossovers and SUVs, a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed that these vehicles are more likely to kill pedestrians than traditional passenger cars.
Conducted using data from 79 crashes in three urban areas of Michigan, it showed that SUVs caused more serious injuries at speeds over 19 mph (30 km/h).
From 20 to 39 mph (20-63km/h), 30 percent of accidents involving SUVs were fatal to pedestrians, compared to 23 percent in regular cars. At 40+ mph (64 km/h), however, 100 percent of the crashes involving SUVs were fatal to pedestrians, compared to 54 percent involving smaller vehicles, which is a staggering discrepancy.
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“The proportion of SUVs in the U.S. fleet has grown dramatically, so it’s discouraging that they still seem to be more deadly to pedestrians than cars are”, said Sam Monfort, IIHS Statistician and lead author of the study.
The study also revealed that the traditional design of SUVs, with big front ends, transfers more energy to the pedestrian’s body. The pelvis or chest is affected a few tenths of a second after the bumper hits the lower extremities, and “it is possible that a more sloping profile could do less damage”, claimed the IIHS.
It’s also worth noting that the modern way of building a vehicle, with bumpers and other force-absorbing structures, as well as the lowered front ends to better align with cars, don’t help improve pedestrian safety, while the overall shape of the front end is what really matters.
“Our findings provide more evidence that manufacturers need to make design changes to help combat the increase in pedestrian fatalities now that more of the vehicles on the road are SUVs”, commented Becky Mueller, IIHS Senior Research Engineer.
