Pedestrian deaths occur more often in New York during the warmer months when more people are out and about on foot than they are during colder temperatures. Many American motorists have also begun demonstrating a clear preference for SUVs, as opposed to smaller, traditional sedans, and this spells bad news for pedestrians.
According to J.D. Power, collisions between pedestrians and motor vehicles rarely work out in the pedestrian’s favor, and injuries and fatalities become much more likely if the driver who strikes a pedestrian drives an SUV. Nowadays, more than a fifth of all road deaths across America result from car-on-pedestrian crashes.
How popular SUVs have become
Back in 2009, just over a fifth, or about 21%, of all vehicles on the nation’s roadways were SUVs. However, not 10 years later, SUV sales surged dramatically. Now, 70% of all new vehicles sold across the nation are either SUVs or large trucks.
Why SUVs are more dangerous than standard sedans
SUVs have different body types than smaller cars, and this makes them more of a hazard for those traveling on foot. These large vehicles have higher front profiles than smaller cars, and when they strike pedestrians, they therefore often do so higher up on their bodies, where they cause more serious damage. Over the past 10-year span, pedestrian deaths increased by 53%. The number of pedestrians dying from coast to coast has also risen steadily from one year to the next.
Some countries are ramping up efforts to modify the body styles of the vehicles they produce to help prevent and reduce pedestrian fatalities.