SUVs are twice as dangerous as cars when they strike children

A British study indicates small children are 130 per cent more likely to be killed or seriously injured when struck by an SUV. That increase compares with being struck by a hatchback or saloon.

A team led by the Imperial College London analysed over 600,000 road collisions that occurred over the past 35 years.

They found that being hit by an SUV, a ute or a van resulted in a 44 per cent greater chance of fatality than being hit by a car. That rose to 82 per cent for children and 130 per cent for those aged under 10 years. Roughly 17 per cent of adult pedestrian and cyclist fatalities could be avoided if drivers swapped their SUVs for cars. The figure for Europe is about half that. But it translates to 620 lives saved per year.

It should be noted that most of the SUV collisions were in the US, where vehicles tend to be larger than anywhere else. Hence, the reduced figure for Europe.

Researchers also found that the chance of a slight injury increased by 24 per cent for adults and 28 per cent for children when they are hit by this type of tall vehicle.

The authors felt that the dimensions of SUVs are an aggravating factor, particular their “taller, blunter front-end”. The senior author of the study, Anna Goodman, described how the explosion in popularity of SUVs “threatens to undermine all the road safety gains being made on other fronts”.

The term SUV covers a multitude of vehicles. Small SUVs like the Ford Puma are barely bigger than superminis. However, the largest SUV models are amongst the tallest and heaviest passenger cars on the road.    

Modern SUVs have safety features that reduce the impact on pedestrians, or avoid impacts altogether. But the study suggests that SUVs with their higher front ends are more likely to impact higher up on a pedestrian. That affects more vulnerable areas like the chest or head. Moreover, the pedestrian or cyclist is more likely to be thrown forward onto the road rather than up onto the bonnet. The striking vehicle may then hit them a second time or they may be driven over.

The author remarked “Cities and countries around the world are starting to introduce measures to discourage the use of these large vehicles, and our study strengthens the road safety rationale for this.”

Study authors recommend ameliorating the high beltlines and blunt front ends that are typical of SUVs and pick-ups.

Another 2024 study concurred. The researchers found that a 10cm increase in a car’s front-end height increases the risk of pedestrian fatality by 22 per cent.