[jna4cob]

Increasing demand for bigger and sporty vehicles in India is a great road safety and environmental challenge and the government should discourage sales of these bigger vehicles, David Ward, executive president, Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) said.

Numerous studies have found that SUVs and pick-up vehicles are more deadly to vulnerable road users (VRUs) in almost any crash.

Ward further said that the risk of fatal injuries to vulnerable road users increases as the bonnet height of the vehicle hitting them increases. According to Ward, a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car with a bonnet 90 cm high runs a 30% greater risk of fatal injury than if hit by a vehicle with a bonnet 10 cm lower.

Increasing growth and demand for SUV’s in India and other countries is a major road safety and environmental challenge. The governments should discourage sale of these big vehicles is what he feels.

Source: Why Global NCAP chief thinks big SUVs are risky

[avira_tk]

This is an issue created by CAFE norms and other environmental legislation which made it practically illegal for Americans to buy normal size vehicles. Large BOF vehicles are exempt from both, also get a tax break, who would be foolish enough to build our buy small vehicles with such government harassment.

[PreludeSH]

With pedestrian deaths increasing at higher rate, SUVs are responsible for most of these becoming more fatal.

People like space, versatility, perception of safety that SUVs offer in addition to the commanding view that they provide. Once there are only SUVs it will normalize

[Amrit@wheels]

Finally, someone said it. The same thing has been observed in the USA. These super-high SUVs are not safe for anyone except the people sitting inside. Don't get me wrong, I love BOF SUVs as much as any North Indian, but I will not act like pedestrian safety isn't compromised due to these vehicles, one of the many reasons.

[YD14]

The government should bring regulation regarding frontal visibility to spot pedestrians and bonnet height limit to save them in case of collision before America like SUVs and pickup make their way to India. Heck, even Creta's bonnet is high enough to hit an adult directly on his/hers upper body.

But that said the first thing governments needs to address is the pedestrian infrastructure. We rarely see protected, usable footpaths in India and the ones that are there are often encroached by shops, parked cars or even electricity poles. The second is to educate people that when they are walking, they are road users who have to share space with other road users and be mindful of them. Road deaths are mankind created disaster and can be mostly be eliminated, but still we don't.

[lordrayden]

To play devil's advocate, and to offer all points of view:
How many people are alive today because they were sitting in an SUV instead of a sedan when their car met with an accident? Is this number more or less than the number of pedestrians who are dead because the vehicle that hit them was an SUV instead of a sedan?

In 2021, there were 7388 pedestrian deaths in the US:
https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality...il/pedestrians

In the same year, ALL traffic fatalities was estimated at 42915:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases...fic-fatalities

Whether this number of 42915 includes pedestrian deaths or not, as a percentage the pedestrian deaths is smaller than non-pedestrian deaths. In other words, the ratio of non-pedestrian deaths to pedestrian deaths is far more than 1.

So, is it not possible that SUVs have saved more lives than they have taken?

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by YD14

The government should bring regulation regarding frontal visibility to spot pedestrians and bonnet height limit to save them in case of collision before America like SUVs and pickup make their way to India. Heck, even Creta's bonnet is high enough to hit an adult directly on his/hers upper body.

Tell me that- a few years we were traveling around alongside the backwaters of Dhom dam near Wai in our Duster. For some reason my parents got out of the car and when they were coming back to get onboard, my mom passed by the left edge of the front bonnet/fender -JUST when I moved the car slightly at 5-10 kmph (by engaging the first gear). She had a sore shoulder for the rest of the evening!

[itspatra]

This is elaborately explained in this video by " Not Just Bikes " Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7mSXMruEo

However I would say in India the size of these large pickup trucks would be unfeasible to drive ,park and maintain. With the launch of the Cybertruck which acks as an axe for pedestrians I don't think it will pass EU's pedestrian safety laws any time soon.

[Arwin07]

While the global NCAP executive president's concerns are of the design of the SUVs sold by the car companies, imagine the issues compounded by the illegal attachments which are made by almost all the SUVs plying in India- bull bars, flag posts with sharp tips which are definitive pedestrian killers in the fateful event of an accident.