The American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has published an interesting study. It has long been known that large SUVs and heavy crossovers are more dangerous for pedestrians than small cars.
In a new study, the IIHS looked at the most common types of pedestrian collisions that occur at or near intersections. In this case, the size of the cars has been taken into account. It should be noted that between 2014 and 2018, more than 900 of the approximately 5,800 pedestrian fatalities occurred at or near intersections.
According to the study, a person is about twice as likely to die during a left turn at an intersection as an SUV (compared to city hatchbacks, sedans and station wagons). If it’s a van or minivan, it’s nearly three times more likely, and if it’s a pickup, it’s nearly four times more likely. When turning right, the probability of a tragic accident in the case of pick-ups is more than 89%, and in the case of SUVs – 63%.
“The size, shape or location of the A-pillars on the sides of the windshield may make it difficult for drivers of these large vehicles to see around the corner and avoid seeing pedestrians crossing the road,” says Wen Hu. , Senior Transport Engineer at IIHS.
The IIHS believes that more research is needed to understand the reasons for these statistics. For road safety, it may be necessary to revise the standards for the design of cars, according to the institute.
Source: Z R