Study: Taller Vehicles Multiply the Injury Risks for Pedestrians

It’s pretty obvious that the faster a vehicle is traveling, the more likely it is to cause an injury, but a recent study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that taller vehicles can compound that problem. The organization said its researchers looked at crash data from the U.S. and Europe to make its determination, and unfortunately, Americans may be suffering more from tall vehicles than their European counterparts.

IIHS President David Harkey said, “A small increase in crash speed can really ramp up the danger to a pedestrian. Our fondness for tall SUVs and pickups in the U.S. has intensified that effect.” While the same dangers are present in Europe, buyers there tend to opt for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles that are generally much shorter.

Taller vehicles make it harder to see and react to pedestrians, but they are also more dangerous because of how and where they impact people in an accident. Earlier IIHS research also showed that more upright front-end designs tended to be more dangerous.

The numbers behind the IIHS study show significant increases in injury risk with even small speed increases. Pedestrians hit by a vehicle traveling 20 mph had a 46 percent chance of “sustaining at least a moderate injury, such as a broken bone that protrudes from the skin.” Bumping the speed to 35 mph pushed that risk to 86 percent.

The IIHS said that those results are strong enough to warrant a conversation about the 25 mph speed limits that are common in many neighborhoods, saying that they may be too fast for areas with large numbers of pedestrians.

[Images: Chevrolet, Ford, Ram]

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