DETROIT (AP) — Drivers of larger vehicles, such as SUVs, tend to run over pedestrians more when cornering than crash drivers, according to a new study.
The study released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety points to the growing popularity of these large vehicles as a possible factor in the increase in pedestrian deaths on the country's roads. The authors also questioned whether the wider columns supporting the roofs of large vehicles could make it difficult for drivers to detect people walking near the corners of vehicles.
“The link between these types of vehicles and certain common accidents involving pedestrians points to another way in which the increase in SUVs on the roads could be changing the accident landscape,” said Jessica Cicchino, author of the study and vice president of research at the institute.
Although the study mentions previous research that showed blind spots caused by columns between the windshield and the cockpit, the authors said that more study is needed to link those blind spots to increased deaths.
In 2020, the last year for which there are complete statistics, 6,519 pedestrians died in the United States, according to government data. That is a 59% increase since 2009 and 4% since 2019, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
In the same period, sales of SUVs have skyrocketed. In 2009, trucks, SUVs, and vans accounted for 47% of all new vehicle sales in the United States, according to Motorintelligence.com. Last year, light trucks accounted for more than three-quarters of new vehicles.
Not all SUVs and trucks have blind spots. Compact SUVs, for example, are now the largest portion of the US market.
Studies show that larger vehicles tend to be more involved in crashes where pedestrians were standing, walking or running near the roadside and away from intersections.
Investigators studied federal statistics of crashes in which pedestrians were killed, in addition to all pedestrian accidents reported to police in North Carolina from 2010 to 2018.
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