According to a study
tall trucks and SUVs are 45 percent more deadly to American pedestrians than shorter vehicles with sloping hoods
– writes Reuters referring to new research by the Road Safety Insurance Institute.
Models with tall, angular hoods are the best-selling and highest-grossing vehicles sold in the United States, such as the Ford Super Duty pickup or the Cadillac Escalade.
About 18,000 collisions in which a car with a bonnet higher than 1 meter was involved were reviewed in relation to SUVs.
Incidentally, the number of victims of fatal pedestrian accidents has risen sharply across the US since the restrictions caused by the pandemic were lifted.
- In 2021, the number of deaths jumped by 13 percent to 7,342, which is the highest value since 1981.
- while the number of cyclist fatalities rose by 5 percent to 985, the highest recorded figure since 1975
– announced the National Road Traffic Safety Office.
“Automakers can make vehicles more pedestrian-friendly by designing the front of the vehicle to be lower and more sloping. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can examine aspects in the New Car Assessment Program or regulations that take into account the growing hood height and blunt nose parts of the vehicle fleet,” the IIHS highlighted in its study.
