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SUVs Pose Greater Threat to Pedestrians than Cars

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pedestrian crossing safety
Pedestrian safety
Photo: Free-Photos via Pixabay

Pedestrians should be very cautious around SUVs. According to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, SUVs are more like to cause pedestrian fatalities compared to their smaller automotive siblings.


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According to the IIHs, 2018 recorded 36,560 vehicle crashes in the U.S. In 1980, the number reached 50,000. Although vehicle crashes have decreased thanks to safety technologies, there has been an increase in pedestrian deaths in the past 10 years.

IIHS researchers analyzed 79 crashes that occurred in three metro areas in Michigan.

“At speeds of 20-39 mph, three out of 10 crashes with SUVs (30 percent) resulted in a pedestrian fatality, compared with five out of 22 for cars (23 percent),” reports the IIHS. “At 40 mph and higher, all three crashes with SUVs killed the pedestrian (100 percent), compared with seven out of 13 crashes involved cars (54 percent).”

Pedestrians sustained minor injuries from both cars and SUVs when the vehicles were traveling below 20 mph, according to the study.

The limited scope of research in the Michigan crashes may prove the IIHS’s findings untrue in a study that covers a larger geographic area and number of crashes. However, it did confirm a national study finding. Due to the higher stance of SUVs they “were more likely than cars to throw pedestrians forward and nearly twice as likely to cause severe hip and thigh injuries.”

This information has prompted a redesign of SUVs in recent years. New SUVs sport a lower bumper and a car-like front structure to help minimize the threat they pose to pedestrians, adds the IIHS.

“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,” says Becky Mueller, IIHS senior research engineer.


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Another way carmakers are making SUVs safer is with innovative driver-assist technologies. Chevrolet, for example, offers driver-assist technologies such as Forward Collision Alert, Automatic Emergency Braking, and Front Pedestrian Braking. Under proper conditions, these systems are designed to alert you to potential accidents and intervene if necessary.