Urban families may love travelling in large sports utility vehicles, but they can be deadly for those outside them.
A pedestrian struck by an SUV is twice as likely to die as someone hit by a saloon car travelling at the same speed.
The finding, reported in New Scientist magazine, will increase calls for the vehicles to be made safer. Concerns have already been raised that SUVs, with their high centre of gravity, are much more likely to roll over in an accident than ordinary cars, and the bars at the front of some SUVs have been cited as an increased risk for pedestrians in collisions.
However, sales of SUVs continue to grow. In Europe, regulations coming into force in two years will oblige manufacturers to make their SUVs safer by using different materials to soften the bonnet area. - Financial Times service