Posted on 10/07/2005 11:23:50 AM PDT by texianyankee
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Sports utility vehicles may feel safer for their drivers but they are more deadly than other cars for pedestrians, Irish scientists said on Friday.
Research has shown that the chance of killing or seriously injuring a pedestrian is two to four times higher for someone driving an SUV, or 4X4 vehicle, than a car.
"There is clearly a higher risk for pedestrians when they are struck by a light truck or SUV compared to a passenger car," Dr. Ciaran Simms, an expert in mechanical engineering at Trinity College in Dublin, told Reuters.
Elderly pedestrians and children are most at risk.
In an editorial in The Lancet medical journal, Simms and Desmond O'Neill, a professor of medical gerontology at Trinity College, called for warnings on SUVs to inform buyers of the increased risk the vehicles pose to pedestrians.
They also recommended a higher road tax and called for all SUVs involved in accidents to be documented.
The researchers, who studied accidents involving SUVs to determine why they are so deadly for pedestrians, said size didn't matter.
The vehicles are increasingly popular. Sales of SUVs in Europe have risen by 15 percent in the last year while demand for cars has slumped by 4 percent, according to the scientists.
"In the United States, 40 percent of new vehicles are classified as light trucks or vans (many of which are SUVs)," they said in the editorial.
Elderly pedestrians are more vulnerable to the dangers of SUVs because they are weaker, less agile and may have poorer reactions which may make them less likely to avoid being struck and more at risk of suffering serious injuries and dying.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
I think mine has killed two or three this week alone. I've had to chain it up at night...
If that be the case, then you might ought to have your SUV documented.
I have an F-150 and my wife has an Expedition, I thought ZI heard them planning something last night.
I had to put my Canyonero down...just like a dog once they get the taste of chicken feathers!
More stuck on stupid research.
The main problem was the height and shape of the front of vehicle. The hood, or bonnet, is higher than on cars and has a more severe impact when it strikes the center of the body and upper legs and pelvis.
Sounds to me like pedestrians need to grow taller...
And the business about elderly folks has no place in this story. The "fact" that elderly pedestrians are more vulnerable to the dangers of SUVs because they are weaker, less agile and may have poorer reactions may be true, but it's just as true for other cars, motorcycles and anything else.
The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.
The only two variables that count are the weight of the vehicle and its velocity/acceleration not if its a Mercedes sedan or a Lincoln Navigator. Morons. A 1500 pound Honda Civic circa 1983 will severely maim anyone it hits at even 15 mph.
Hey, wasnt that already determined by Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon scientists?
If you don't like the way I drive, then stay off the sidewalk!
If they outlaw SUVs, only criminals will have SUVs.
I'll bet that a half-ounce Matchbox car traveling at 600 feet per second could be pretty lethal at the right distance above the ground.
: ^ )
lol
The article confuses two issues:
1) Likelihood of striking a pedestrian with the vehicle and
2) Average severity of injuries to the pedestrian if struck.
#1 is up to the driver. Anyone could drive in a reckless manner regardless of vehicle type.
#2 - I would expect a taller, heavier vehicle to cause more damage hitting someone so that part actually makes sense to me.
Not necessarily. Such information might be useful in determining appropriate lower legal limits on insurance coverage.
If those driving SUVs are more likely to do greater damage, then perhaps the legally required minimum in insurance coverage should be raised for those driving SUVs.
Obedience training works quite well too.
But visibility of areas close to the vehicle is much reduced. There's just more vehicle in the way. This might explain why children are at greater risk. Being so short, they're much likely to be invisible to the driver of and SUV if they're standing nearby.
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