The chance of a pedestrian or bicycle owner being fatally injured is 44% increased if they’re hit by a sports activities utility car (SUV) or mild truck car (LTV) in contrast with smaller passenger automobiles, new analysis exhibits. For youngsters there may be a good bigger impact, with a toddler hit by an SUV or LTV being 82% extra more likely to be killed than a toddler hit by a passenger automobile.
As a part of a brand new evaluation of present research, researchers on the London Faculty of Hygiene & Tropical Drugs (LSHTM) and Imperial School London gathered real-world collision information from over 680,000 collisions from the final 35 years.
They in contrast the severity of accidents suffered by pedestrians or cyclists struck by SUVs or LTVs with the accidents of pedestrians or cyclists struck by passenger automobiles. LTVs are a class of car that covers SUVs, small vans and pick-up vans – the researchers discovered related will increase in threat once they checked out SUVs solely.
The analysis is revealed in Damage Prevention.
SUVs and LTVs are sometimes taller, wider and heavier than conventional passenger automobiles, corresponding to sedans or hatchbacks. Globally, SUVs are rising in recognition, with SUVs making up 48% of recent automobile gross sales globally in 2023, up from 15% in 2010.
A number of cities worldwide have not too long ago launched, or are presently contemplating, insurance policies that discourage using these massive autos.
Within the research, the authors discovered that within the case of a crash, pedestrians or cyclists struck by an SUV or LTV suffered extra extreme accidents than these hit by a passenger automobile. The chances of deadly damage elevated by 44% for individuals of all ages struck by an SUV, in contrast with these hit by a passenger automobile. Amongst kids, the percentages of deadly damage elevated by 82%, and amongst kids below the age of 10 it elevated by 130%.
When wanting on the chance of getting a deadly or a critical damage, as in comparison with a slight damage, the chance elevated by round 1 / 4 (odds 24% increased in adults and 28% increased in kids) for these hit by an SUV or LTV. These results had been all related for each pedestrians and cyclists.
Earlier analysis signifies {that a} key mechanism for this elevated threat is more likely to be the taller and blunter profile of the entrance finish of SUVs and LTVs. A taller entrance finish signifies that a pedestrian or bicycle owner is struck increased up on their physique (e.g. the pelvis not the knees for an grownup, or the pinnacle not the pelvis for a kid).
A taller and blunter entrance finish additionally signifies that the pedestrian or bicycle owner is extra more likely to be thrown ahead onto the highway, at which level the putting car could hit them a second time or roll over their physique.
Of the 24 research analyzed, all had been performed in high- or middle-income international locations, with the bulk (16/24 research) undertaken within the US. There have been additionally research from international locations together with the Netherlands, Germany and France, however none from the UK. Analyses that in contrast the research from the US to the research from the remainder of the world confirmed broadly related outcomes, suggesting that the findings are related to different settings.
As SUVs turn out to be extra frequent, there is a rise of their influence on the inhabitants stage. At current, the authors estimate that the proportion of automobile crashes involving an SUV is round 45% within the U.S. and round 20% in Europe.
If all SUVs had been changed with passenger automobiles, the variety of pedestrians and cyclists killed in automobile crashes would lower by an estimated 17% within the U.S. and by 8% in Europe. The variety of youngster pedestrians and cyclists killed in automobile crashes would lower by 27% within the U.S. and by 14% in Europe.
Elsa Robinson, who labored on the research as an MSc Public Well being scholar on the London Faculty of Hygiene & Tropical Drugs (LSHTM), mentioned,
“Analyzing over half one million crashes from international locations from the world over tells us that SUVs and different equally massive autos are more likely than conventional passenger automobiles to trigger critical hurt in the event that they strike a pedestrian or bicycle owner.
“Our findings additionally spotlight that these bigger autos are notably harmful for kids, particularly younger kids. This might be as a result of kids are shorter in peak, and are subsequently extra weak to the dangers of being hit by autos with a tall entrance finish.”
Anna Goodman, Assistant Professor on the London Faculty of Hygiene & Tropical Drugs (LSHTM) and senior creator of the research, mentioned,
“World wide, we have now seen an enormous enhance within the sale of ever-larger automobiles. Earlier analysis has discovered that this pattern is considerably undermining progress in direction of web zero targets. Equally, our findings point out that this proliferation of bigger autos threatens to undermine all of the highway security positive factors being made on different fronts.
“Cities and international locations all over the world are beginning to introduce measures to discourage using these massive autos, and our research strengthens the highway security rationale for this.”
A limitation of the analysis is that the person research analyzed relied on producers’ classification of what constitutes an SUV or LTV as there isn’t a agreed authorized definition. The authors say that additional analysis is required into the distinctive traits of those autos and what makes them extra harmful to pedestrians and cyclists.
Extra data:
Do sports activities utility autos (SUVs) and light-weight truck autos (LTVs) trigger extra extreme accidents to pedestrians and cyclists than passenger automobiles within the case of a crash? A scientific evaluate and meta-analysis, Damage Prevention (2025). DOI: 10.1136/ip-2024-045613
Quotation:
SUVs pose higher threat of demise or critical damage to pedestrians and cyclists, research exhibits (2025, April 29)
retrieved 29 April 2025
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