Young children 'twice as likely to die if hit by SUV than standard car'

Their taller and blunter fronts contribute significantly to higher fatality rates among pedestrians, especially children

The likelihood of a pedestrian or cyclist being fatally injured is 44 per cent higher if they are hit by a sports utility vehicle compared with smaller passenger cars, research shows. Getty Images

Young children are more than twice as likely to be killed if they are hit by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) compared with an ordinary passenger car, a study has found.

Pedestrians and cyclists were 44 per cent more likely to die if hit by an SUV, rising to 82 per cent for children and 130 per cent for under 10s, the analysis produced by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London showed.

Researchers gathered data from more than 680,000 road collisions over the past 35 years.

They compared the severity of injuries suffered by pedestrians or cyclists struck by standard cars with 'light truck' vehicles (LTVs), which include SUVs, small vans and pickup trucks.

SUVs have grown in popularity in recent years, with many drivers favouring their higher seating position.

They accounted for 54 per cent of the cars sold globally last year, an increase of three percentage points on the previous year, according to GlobalData.

SUVs are generally taller, wider and heavier than traditional cars, and less fuel-efficient.

The study highlighted previous research indicating a key reason for the increased risk from SUVs is that they have a taller front end, which means a person is struck higher on their body.

This means an adult is hit in the pelvis rather than the knees, while a child is struck on the head, not the pelvis.

A blunter front ends also means a person is more likely to be thrown forward, which could result in the vehicle hitting them a second time or rolling over their body, the report added.

Researchers analysed 24 studies, including 16 from the US, with others from countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands.

The authors estimate the proportion of car crashes involving an SUV is about 20 per cent in Europe and 45 per cent in the US.

If all SUVs were replaced by standard cars, the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed in car crashes would decrease by an estimated 8 per cent in Europe and 17 per cent in the US, they said.

When looking at the likelihood of fatal or serious injury, as compared to slight injury, the likelihood increased by about a quarter (odds 24 per cent higher in adults and 28 per cent higher in children) for those hit by an SUV or LTV. These effects were similar for both pedestrians and cyclists.

A number of cities worldwide have recently introduced, or are considering, policies that discourage the use of such large vehicles. Parisians voted to triple parking costs for SUVs but that was due mainly to pollution concerns rather than safety. Milan has introduced a congestion charge, which is also being considered by Toronto.

Anna Goodman, assistant professor at the LSHTM and senior author of the study, said: “Around the world, we have seen a huge increase in the sale of ever-larger cars. Previous research has found that this trend is substantially undermining progress towards net-zero goals.

“Similarly, our findings indicate that this proliferation of larger vehicles threatens to undermine all the road safety gains being made on other fronts.

“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.”

The research is published in the journal Injury Prevention.

Tanya Braun, of UK charity Living Streets, said: “It’s clear that SUVs make people, especially children, less safe while walking on our streets.

“Nearly 50 child pedestrians are killed or injured in England every day and every one of those deaths is a tragedy. We urgently need more measures to protect pedestrians.

“We’re urging the government to invest in active travel infrastructure and safe zones around schools that are proven to help keep children safe from vehicles like SUVs.”