What it's like to get hit by an SUV....

[DGUtley]

What It’s Like to Get Hit by an SUV

th-864314506.jpg


One Thursday afternoon, I stepped out to cross a city street – and woke up in hospital with broken bones and a brain injury. After I recovered, I started looking into why so many drivers just don’t stop.

Pedestrian fatalities on US streets have surged in the past decade. In 2021, 7,485 pedestrians were killed by vehicles. That’s an increase of more than 65% since 2011 and the highest annual total in 40 years. Even during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, when fewer people were driving, more pedestrians were hit and more died as a result. Researchers speculate that drivers took advantage of empty streets and flouted traffic rules. Maybe they were preoccupied, under stress. Maybe they drank more. Alcohol and distractions contribute significantly to collisions and deaths.

Another factor is the increasing popularity of SUVs, pick-ups and vans, collectively known as light truck vehicles (LTVs). These kinds of vehicle are two to three times more dangerous than passenger cars in collisions with pedestrians. Part of the increased danger comes from their taller front ends, which strike above the body’s centre of gravity, increasing the odds of pitching pedestrians forward and driving over them. Another factor is the positioning and thickness of pillars that frame the windshield, which reduce visibility and impair drivers’ view of pedestrians, especially when turning. Finally, these vehicles are more lethal because of their overwhelming mass. As the sales and popularity of SUVs and other LTVs grow, so do the pedestrian fatalities they cause. But in any accident, however distracted or inexpert the driver, and whatever size their vehicle, speed is the critical factor. On average, just 10% of pedestrians hit by vehicles travelling 23mph will die, but 90% of those hit at 58mph will.

All but 13 states experienced increased pedestrian traffic deaths per capita in 2021. Minneapolis experienced its highest number of pedestrian fatalities since 1998. A report published by the city attributed the dramatic increase to “very reckless driving”.


th-864314506.jpg


th-864314506.jpg

th-932154834.jpg


th-2701255406.jpg

[Peter1469]

The same goes for small cars that get hit by an SUV. I drive an SUV and that is one reason. Heavier vehicles are safer. And mine is a hybrid so that much heavier.

[Abby08]

If people wouldn't walk out into the street without looking, because they feel they, being the pedestrian, have the right of way no matter what, so many of them wouldn't get hit.

[OLD GUY IN FLORIDA]

I don't know what it feels like to be hit by an SUV but I do know what it feels like to be hit by an 18 wheeler. It hurts.

[carolina73]

I see a great deal of arrogance in pedestrians and cyclists.

The old commercial was:
Michael ODay had the right of way. He was right. Dead right.

Living in an area that grows by up to 20 times on the big weekends we see lots of pedestrians and bicycles. So you are extra careful but pedestrians will not even look and then suddenly take a turn into the cross walk thinking you must be a mind reader and you should lock up your brakes. Cyclists will block the road and give drivers a tough luck buddy look. Arrogance gets them killed. But frustration of drivers make them aggressive at the same time.

Me? I'm just taking in the bikinis and happy to stop.

[carolina73]

I don't know what it feels like to be hit by an SUV but I do know what it feels like to be hit by an 18 wheeler. It hurts.

On foot?

[Standing Wolf]

If people wouldn't walk out into the street without looking, because they feel they, being the pedestrian, have the right of way no matter what, so many of them wouldn't get hit.

Whether walking or driving, I always assume that the other guy, driver or pedestrian, is going to do something idiotic at any second.

Some years ago I was driving along a wide city street in Phoenix, three lanes in either direction, and approaching a red light. I was in the far right-hand lane. There were large vehicles, trucks or SUVs stopped at the light in the the #1 and #2 lanes. The light turned green as I approached, so my first thought of course was just to continue on through the intersection without slowing down. (I was probably doing about 30.)

Fortunately, I noted something odd: the two vehicles already at the light were not moving, despite having a green light, and a caution flag went up in my head. As I braked up to the intersection, an elderly homeless woman pushing a shopping cart appeared in front of me; she'd been entirely screened by the other vehicles. Had they been regular autos, I'd have seen her through and around them immediately. When learning to drive I was taught to always, whenever possible, keep your eyes not only on the vehicle immediately in front of you, but on the vehicle in front of him, etc. I'm not one of those drivers who has to be in the lead all the time, and will pull out and around you and then continue going the same speed you are. But if it's a van, large truck or SUV that's directly in front, I will sometimes go out of my way to get around it just because I don't like having my view of the road ahead blocked.

There was a thread here recently that touched on the fact that so many long, straight roads without traffic lights or crosswalks contribute to pedestrian deaths, and we have a lot of those here in the Phoenix area. You have to have some sympathy for someone, especially an older person or a mother with her kids, who takes a chance on getting across the street as a jaywalker, rather than hiking a half a mile or more (not an exaggeration) to the nearest marked intersection.

[OLD GUY IN FLORIDA]

On foot?

I was on a motorcycle