Researchers at the Insurance Institute for Freeway Protection, who looked at data from more than 200 vehicle-pedestrian crashes in the U.S., say American citizens’ desire for bigger, taller vehicles is leading to serious injuries to pedestrians associated with high-speed crashes. The risks are increasing. , author of IIHS study conclude that the likelihood of serious pedestrian accidents on the scale of many American cars is much higher than the anticipated dangers on the roads of Europe, where cars are generally smaller.
IIHS researchers analyzed 202 crashes involving a car and at least one pedestrian elderly 16 or older in 4 states between 2015 and 2022, “to generate an estimate for the link between injury outcomes and impact speed.” ,” to examine the moderating effect of car measurements on outcomes for pedestrians “in addition to the age of the automobile with details about front-end peaking.”
Speaking about the study’s findings, IIHS President David Harkey was quoted as saying, “Small increases in crash speeds can actually increase the danger to pedestrians. Our interest in tall SUVs and pickups in the U.S. That effect has been magnified.”
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While it was already understood that additional strain at the impact level would increase the risk for pedestrians struck by vehicles, the IIHS said that the unused study was done to grant, “pedestrians at various severity levels An updated estimate of the risk of passenger injury “according to the recently evolving design of automobiles on American roads.
The IIHS noted, “As expected, impact speed strongly predicted injury risk, and height of the hood’s leading edge predicted impact speed for pedestrian injury risk as well as serious injuries.” Capacity increased significantly.”
When finding significant changes in the risk to pedestrians based on the weight of the vehicles involved, the IIHS noted that, “In general, the risk of moderate and serious pedestrian injuries is higher at higher vehicle frontal The probability increases.”
For example, it notes that an average-height pickup, whose entry door is about 13 inches larger than a maximum automobile, hits a pedestrian at 27 mph, resulting in 83% of the expected impact. There is a 62% chance of probability and significant trauma. If the car involved in the accident is a car of average height, compare 60% and 30% respectively.
“Although SUV market share is growing in Europe, passenger vehicle fleets there have long been dominated by cars,” said Sam Monfort, senior statistician at IIHS. “In contrast, the majority of passenger vehicles on U.S. roads today are SUVs or There are pickups.” The study’s executive author was cited by the institute. “These choices have very real consequences for pedestrian safety.”
“Increases in speed have a more pronounced effect when taller vehicles are involved in a crash,” the group noted. “For example, when crash speed increases from 15 mph to 35 mph, the risk of serious injury increases from 9% to 52% when a mid-height car is involved. Average (height) pickup With, the risk increases from 11% to 91%.”
First Research published by IIHS in 2022 found that drivers of large vehicles were much more likely to impact the lives of pedestrians than automobile drivers and any other vehicle driver. IIHS study Last year it found that pickups, SUVs and cars with hoods larger than 40 inches over the front edge were about 45% more likely to kill pedestrians in crashes than cars and other vehicles with low, sloping hoods.
On the other hand, despite concerns over the impact of larger vehicles on US pedestrian crashes, data shows that 2023 will see the total increase for the first time Year-on-year decline in pedestrian deaths from car injuries in about 4 years, because Covid-19 pandemicThe number of pedestrians killed on US roads in 2023 decreased by 5.4% from the previous year – which saw a 40-year peak – but was still 14.1% higher than the number of deaths recorded in 2019. pandemic, according to Governor’s Freeway Protection Affiliation.
