Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog
A recent study done by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety indicates that the rise of pedestrian deaths in recent years could be attributable to the rise in popularity of larger vehicles. The authors of the study conjecture that poor visibility and blind spots that these vehicles have could be a major factor in their findings. The Chicago personal injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer have noticed that many of their pedestrian injury cases did in fact involve SUV’s and pick-up trucks.
The statistics are striking. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, 6,519 pedestrians were killed in the United States in 2020. That represents an astounding 59% increase since 2009. Over the same period of time the sales of SUV’s and pickup trucks rose dramatically, now accounting for almost 50% of all new vehicles sold.
A North Carolina study was done from 2010 and 2018 that demonstrated the impact of SUV’s and pickup trucks on pedestrian injuries. This study found that pickup trucks were 42% more likely to hit pedestrians when making a left turn and SUV’s were 23% more likely to hit a pedestrian. Experts conjecture that this disparity is that the larger vehicles have poorer viability. SUV’s and pickup trucks have A-Pillars which can block viability. Additionally, Consumer Reports found that truck hoods have risen 15% since 2000. The magazine also found that the Ford F-250 was a staggering 55 inches off the ground which is as tall as the roofs of many cars. The high hoods obstruct the view of people walking in front of the truck, especially if the pedestrians and are short or are children.
The Chicago injury attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer PC encourage more to be done to protect pedestrians from injury. However, the city of Chicago has little control over what kind of vehicles that are being sold and bought by consumers.