IIHS researchers analyzed pedestrian crashes to develop injury risk curves showing how speed affects crash outcomes. They found that the effect of crash speed on injury risk was magnified for vehicles with taller front ends. Compared with risk curves developed using crash data from Europe, where tall passenger vehicles are less common, risk curves for the U.S. show pedestrians here begin to suffer more serious injuries at lower speeds.
Is it the height that’s an issue or the weight of the vehicle? I imagine taller vehicles are generally also a lot heavier.
Or is it because it becomes a wall hitting a pedestrian instead of something you can roll over the top of?
Both!