Pedestrian Fatalities: More SUV-Related Accidents Are Killing Pedestrians

There has been an increase in recent years in auto accident fatalities. Ever accident is a tragedy, and it is especially troubling to safety experts that there has been a big increase of car accident deaths recently even after decades of decline in the total number of people killed in collisions from year-to-year.

Accidents can happen for many reasons, including unsafe driving as well as problems with vehicles. A Los Angeles lemon law attorney can offer assistance if your new car has issues. You should  give us a call today to find out about the ways in which our firm can provide personalized help when you buy a defective vehicle.

While there are many different types of accidents that occur on the roads, one particular type of collision has become especially common and fatal: accidents in which SUVs strike pedestrians.

SUVs are Killing an Increasing Number of Pedestrians

NBC News reported recently on the phenomenon of SUVs becoming involved in accidents with pedestrians. According to the news report, there has been an 81 percent increase in the number of collisions in which an SUV has struck and killed a pedestrian. This troubling statistic comes from a new report released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

A big part of why so many more SUVs are involved in fatal accidents with pedestrians is that there are simply many more SUVs on the road today than in the past. SUVs now account for more than half of all of the automobiles that are sold within the United States, as sports Utility Vehicles have become one of the most popular vehicle types in the entire country. Since an increasingly number of SUVs are being sold, it is not surprising that many more people are driving them on U.S. roads on a regular basis.

Another reason why SUV and pedestrian accidents are generally so deadly is because the design of SUVs make it more likely that accidents with pedestrians will have deadly consequences. SUVs are designed with higher front ends than other types of passenger cars have. The front end on an SUV is generally also more vertical, in most cases, than the front of passenger cars.

Because the front of SUVs is both higher and is more vertical, the impact when an SUV collides with a pedestrian is much more likely to be a blunt impact. Pedestrians won't roll off the vehicle, as they can with smaller cars that have rounder, shorter noses. Rolling off the vehicle helps to reduce injuries for pedestrians who can suffer serious harm due to a crash impact that's more blunt.

SUVs need to be designed with safety in mind because of the risk they present to pedestrians. If the vehicles have problems or defects that make accidents more likely or that make injuries more common, this is a major issue.

A Los Angeles lemon law attorney can provide help to SUV owners who discover defects in their vehicles and who want assistance pursuing a legal remedy for the potential risk and damage the SUV has caused.