According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), crash deaths involving pedestrians have risen almost every year since 2009, increasing nearly 60% through 2020, when more than 6500 deaths were recorded. Further, an additional 54,700 pedestrians were hurt in road accidents. A leading cause may just be the escalating pervasiveness of bigger vehicles like SUVs, pickups, vans, and minivans. Moreover, it appears these vehicles have a greater propensity to strike pedestrians while turning.
A new study by the IIHS indicates that larger sized vehicles may not have as clear a view of crossing pedestrians as smaller cars. Additionally, previous research done by the IIHS supports the notion that larger vehicles are more deadly to pedestrians than their outsized counterparts.
“We already know that larger vehicles cause more severe injuries when they strike pedestrians,” says IIHS Vice President of Research Jessica Cicchino, one of the study’s authors. “The link between these vehicle types and certain common pedestrian crashes points to another way that the increase in SUVs on the roads might be changing the crash picture.”
Study data show that pedestrians crossing near intersections were more likely to be killed by a left turning vehicle rather than a non-turning vehicle. SUVs were two times more likely than smaller passenger cars to be the culprit in these crashes, while vans/mini vans (3x) and pickups (4x) had an even greater likelihood to be the blame. Further, where deaths of crossing pedestrians occur when vehicles make a right turn, pickups are nearly 90% more likely, and SUVs more than 60% more likely than cars to be responsible. Overall, crashes occurring during turns were to blame for greater than 900 of the approximately 5800 deadly pedestrian road accidents at, or close to, intersections in the US between 2014 and 2018.
“It’s possible that the size, shape or location of the A-pillars that support the roof on either side of the windshield could make it harder for drivers of these larger vehicles to see crossing pedestrians when they are turning,” says IIHS Senior Transportation Engineer Wen Hu.
While previous studies do indicate that wider A-pillars result in larger blind spots, more research will be necessary to pinpoint actual causation. While bigger, heavier vehicles like SUVs, vans and pickups do require stronger A-pillars than smaller, lighter passenger cars, specific evaluation of both structure and design elements by vehicle type has not yet occurred. It may be possible that other factors are contributory to visibility impediment, such as vehicle height and length of body.
“Improving vehicle design, along with addressing road infrastructure and vehicle speeds, can play an important part in reducing pedestrian crashes and fatalities,” Hu says. “Our findings suggest that looking at the problem through the lens of vehicle type could also be productive.”
There already exists design-oriented vehicle innovations which may help drivers improve pedestrian visibility, as well as potentially reduce the likelihood of death and injury if there is an impact. Chief among these innovations is the Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, which can both sense and potentially avert vehicle contact with pedestrians. This system can also reduce impact speed when contact does occur. Other innovations focus mainly on front end design, including airbags for hoods, pop-up hoods that engage on impact and greater slope to the front end.
IIHS Study Findings – Large Vehicles Hitting Pedestrians
IIHS Study: SUVs are more lethal to pedestrians than cars
