**Study Reveals SUVs Significantly Increase Risk of Fatality for Child Pedestrians**
A new study has raised fresh concerns over the safety of increasingly popular SUVs on British roads, revealing that children struck by these larger vehicles face a dramatically higher risk of death than those hit by standard passenger cars. The comprehensive analysis, carried out by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in partnership with Imperial College London, found that child pedestrians are 82 per cent more likely to die if hit by an SUV or similar-sized vehicle compared to a traditional car.
The findings are not limited to children alone. The study also discovered that adult pedestrians and cyclists who are hit by an SUV are 44 per cent more likely to suffer fatal injuries than those involved in collisions with ordinary cars. This has ignited debate about the impact of the changing vehicle landscape on urban road safety.
The research team compiled and assessed data from more than 680,000 road incidents over the course of 35 years, comparing injury severity for those struck by passenger cars against so-called ‘light truck vehicles’. This latter category encompasses SUVs, small vans and pick-up trucks. Their analysis extended across 24 studies from around the world, notably including research conducted in the United States, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
SUVs have surged in popularity in recent years, with their bulkier designs and elevated driving positions attracting more drivers than ever. According to statistics highlighted in the research, SUVs accounted for a third of all new car registrations in the UK last year—a stark rise from only 12 per cent just 10 years ago. This trend is not without controversy, as the increased size and weight of these vehicles have raised questions about their safety implications for vulnerable road users.
The structure of SUVs appears to be central to the heightened risk they pose. With a higher and blunter front end, these vehicles tend to strike children directly on the head and adults in the pelvis, rather than the knees—the more typical point of impact for traditional cars. This distinction can result in significantly more severe injuries, as documented by the researchers. Additionally, the blunter fronts make it more likely that pedestrians will be thrown forward in a collision, increasing the potential for secondary impacts or for the vehicle to roll over the victim.
The implications of these findings are far-reaching. The authors of the study estimate that were SUVs to be replaced with standard cars, fatalities among pedestrians and cyclists in Europe could be reduced by as much as 8 per cent, and by as much as 17 per cent in the United States, where SUV ownership is even more prevalent. These figures underline the public health challenge posed by the widespread adoption of larger vehicles.
Dr Anna Goodman, assistant professor at the LSHTM and the report’s lead author, pointedly remarked on the global trend towards bigger cars: “Around the world, we have seen a huge increase in the sale of ever-larger cars. Our findings indicate that this proliferation of larger vehicles threatens to undermine all the road safety gains being made on other fronts.” She noted that some cities have already begun introducing measures to disincentivise the use of oversized vehicles, and argued that her team’s research adds an important safety rationale to the case for such policies.
The findings have prompted calls from road safety advocates for immediate action. Tanya Braun, director of external affairs at the pedestrian charity Living Streets, emphasised the vulnerabilities of children and urged for investment in protective infrastructure, particularly around schools. “Nearly 50 child pedestrians are killed or injured in England every day, and every one of those deaths is a tragedy. We urgently need more measures to protect pedestrians,” she stated.
Yet not all voices are in favour of restricting SUVs outright. Nicholas Lyes, speaking for the road safety organisation IAM RoadSmart, suggested that the root issue is driver competence. “The most important factor in reducing collisions is to ensure people in control of these vehicles are better skilled, rather than outright bans,” he commented, highlighting the public demand for SUVs due to their spaciousness and suitability for the UK’s road conditions.
The debate over SUVs has seen some activists take direct action. Groups such as The Tyre Extinguishers claim to have deflated the tyres of thousands of SUVs in British cities as part of a campaign to make it “impossible” to own such vehicles in urban environments, further stoking controversy.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport responded to the findings by noting the government’s commitment to safety via measures such as School Street schemes, which restrict traffic around schools during peak times to create safer conditions for children walking and cycling.
With the debate over the place of SUVs on UK roads intensifying, the new research provides urgent food for thought for policymakers, motorists, and campaigners alike. The balance between personal freedom, road safety, and urban liveability will remain under scrutiny as cities grapple with the consequences of an evolving vehicle fleet.