As you’re walking in Pennsylvania, it’s important to know that SUVs on the road in front of you might be more dangerous than you think. Here’s more information about SUVs and pedestrian accidents that has many people alarmed.
The dangers SUVs pose to pedestrians
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety researched the dangers of SUVs compared to cars in pedestrian accidents. Researchers found that SUVs caused more fatalities in pedestrian accidents than smaller cars.
At speeds above 40 miles per hour, all the accidents that researchers looked at involving SUVs and pedestrians caused fatalities. Under the same circumstances, only 7 out of 13 crashes involving cars and pedestrians caused fatalities. Comparing these figures, SUVs caused fatalities to pedestrians 100% of the time. On the other hand, cars only caused pedestrian fatalities in 54% of reported collisions.
In speeds ranging from 20-39 miles per hour, 30% of pedestrian collisions involving SUVs caused fatalities. Under the same conditions, pedestrian accidents involving cars resulted in fatalities 23% of the time.
What makes SUVs such dangerous vehicles?
It’s understandable to wonder what makes SUVs more dangerous than cars. One reason for this is that SUVs have higher front profiles than other types of automobiles. Because of that, SUVs are twice as likely to cause severe injuries to someone’s hips and thighs. This also makes SUVs more prone to flipping over than cars. Fortunately, in recent years, many SUV manufacturers have worked to make their automobiles safer by lowering bumpers and opting for designs more similar to cars.
To summarize, research shows that SUVs pose significantly more danger to pedestrians than cars in accidents. Some companies recently redesigned their SUVs to make them safer in crashes. However, it’s still imperative for pedestrians to watch out for SUVs and other vehicles to avoid an accident.