- Big cars, big danger. Pedestrian deaths have increased by 75% since 2009 due to the increase of larger vehicles such as SUVs and pickups.
- Size matters in security. Larger vehicle dimensions contribute to the increase in pedestrian deaths, 200–400 lives could be saved annually if cars had not increased.
- Regulations and effects. Changes in emissions and fuel economy regulations inadvertently encouraged larger cars, affecting pedestrian safety.
- Physics of impact. Large vehicles distribute forces differently, but their height and mass increase the risk of fatal collisions.
Ground level: The rise of larger vehicles has significantly increased pedestrian fatalities, highlighting the unintended consequences of regulatory changes and vehicle design trends.
AI assisted, editor reviewed
Since 2009, there has been a documented change in road safety for American pedestrians. After decades of decline, pedestrian deaths have been on the rise since the Great Recession. Deep down, we already knew why: It’s because cars are getting bigger. According to a new study By the new York Times And according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, thousands of deaths over the past 16 years could have been prevented if cars had not increased so much in both height and weight.
“After analyzing federal and industry records, including never-before-examined data on vehicle dimensions, we found that the rise of large pickups and SUVs is a significant factor,” Times The report said.
The report continued, “We estimate that approximately 200 to 400 pedestrian deaths per year would not have occurred if vehicle sizes had remained approximately the same over the past quarter-century.” “This represents about 10 percent of the recent increase in pedestrian deaths.”
According to the report, not only have pedestrian deaths increased by 75% since 2009, but these deaths are related to the dangers presented by the physical weight, height and blind spots inherent in today’s large trucks and SUVs.
Why 2009? The answer lies in the confluence of several consequential events of that decade. The truck and SUV boom actually began in the 90s, and would likely have continued into later years if not for the financial crisis. The interruption was brief, and rising gas prices pushed almost new SUVs to the secondary market even faster than usual.
Then, shortly after 2008, we saw not only the introduction of a stricter emissions regime, but also a restructuring of the way vehicle fuel economy is calculated. Soon after, the Cash for Clunkers came in and completely wiped out about 700,000 cars from the used market, forcing buyers to buy new models that were markedly more fuel-efficient.
The Obama-era revision is now called the “footprint model”. This is a formula that classifies cars based on several different factors, including physical dimensions and tire size. The EPA’s new regulations have basically allowed automakers to pollute more as long as they make their cars bigger at the same time, but the specifics of the government’s regulatory framework are of less importance than its unintended consequences, including the (literal and figurative) rise of the crossover, which has, at least for now, ousted the low-slinging midsize sedan as America’s favorite family car.
Pop quiz: You’re about to be hit by something coming at you at 50 mph; Given the same mass, would you prefer to be the smaller object, or the larger object?
Wow! time’s up. Who influenced you? If you chose smaller, you may die. If you said “big”, your chances are low. Why? two reasons. First, F=ma and second, P=F/A. Well, I guess there’s really just one reason, and it’s called “physics”.
In the long run, those formulas represent two related concepts. The first is force (equals) mass (time) acceleration. In other words, the force acting on an object tells you how much it weighs. And How fast is it going? To skip algebra, a heavy object moving fast hurts more. Hey, okay?
The second formula says that pressure (divided by area) equals force. It tells how the impact of that flying object is distributed. If you make the area (A) larger, the pressure (P) becomes smaller, even if the weight of the object remains the same. As the contact area increases, the force acting on any part of that contact area decreases. In other words, if you can blow up a bullet to several hundreds or thousands of times its size Without By changing its mass, its lethality will be reduced in inverse proportion to its physical size, even though it will still collide with you at speeds of several hundred feet per second.
But we can’t all be Dr. Strange, so let’s put this in the context of car design. This is because the most pedestrian-friendly front-ends will be those that distribute forces most widely across an impact zone. Actually, this thinking informed about many European regulations Which had an immediate and lasting impact on the way cars were built. The low, angular nose disappeared almost overnight in favor of an upturned shape resembling the trading end of a barge (if there is such a thing?).
But as we established from our half-baked physics lesson above, this is a good thing, right? Of course, as long as we remember the one thing that hasn’t changed: mass. And if you haven’t been paying attention lately, oh, foreverThe average mass of a new vehicle is constantly increasing, not just because each successive generation grows and adds new technology, but because the smaller cars that previously kept the average in check no longer exist.
One reason is that automotive shrink inflation works differently than elsewhere. Believe it or not, it’s actually more profitable for automakers to sell you more cars for your money; They handle the “shrinkage” angle with clever manipulation of the options sheet (not to mention clever manipulation of customer FOMO).
The issue is not one of mass alone, but also of height. Yes, spreading the impact over a larger area reduces the force experienced by any part of your body, but as that surface area rises further off the ground, the point of impact on your body increases with it. If you are hit below your center of mass, you are likely to fall toward the vehicle. If you are hit at or above that point, you will likely fall forward and face the vehicle. The latter become less survivable due to the poor visibility provided by tall trucks and SUVs.
“We see many catastrophic collisions even at low speeds because the pedestrian is thrown forward,” said Shawn Harrington, whose company, Forensic Rock, conducted crash testing for the report. “Before the driver knows what’s happened, the pedestrian’s head is under the wheel.”
As enthusiasts, we’ve long accepted that swelling in weight and size comes with a performance penalty, but decades of advancements in both tire and safety system engineering have given us cars and trucks that are easier to control despite being heavier and more powerful than ever before. But the numbers don’t lie; It all comes at a price, and the debt is being paid in blood.
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