SUVs and pick-ups and road safety

Cars are getting heavier, bigger and more powerful. The results of research conducted by the Belgian Vias Institute show how that affects injuries and death of passengers during accidents. All accidents in Belgium between 2017 and 2021 were analysed and concerned 300,000 car passengers and vulnerable road users. In a collision between a 1,600 kg car and a 1,300 kg car, the risk of fatal injury decreases by 50% for the passengers of the heavier car but increases by almost 80% for the passengers of the lighter car. And if the car’s weight is increased by 300 kg, the risk of fatal injuries to vulnerable road users will be 30% higher.

During an accident, passengers in a car with 50 kW more power than the other car involved in the collision are 65% less likely to suffer fatal injuries. For passengers in a car hit by a vehicle with 50 kW more power than average, the risk of fatal injuries is 125% higher. When we consider vulnerable road users, the risk of fatal injury increases as the height of the hood of the vehicle hitting them increases. A pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car with a bonnet at 90 cm is 30% more likely to be fatally injured than if hit by a vehicle with a hood at 80 cm. Pick-up cars and SUVs are the safest for their passengers and, simultaneously, the most dangerous for passengers of other passenger cars, passers-by and cyclists.