Sports utility vehicles should carry health warnings because they pose an increased risk to pedestrians compared with ordinary cars, according to researchers in Trinity College Dublin.
A study entitled Sports Utility Vehicles and older pedestrians, published in the British Medical Journal, says pedestrians are at far greater risk of death if hit by an SUV then if knocked down by an ordinary car.
The study's authors, Prof Desmond O'Neill and Dr Ciaran Simms, believe a health warning on SUVs should be part of an integrated approach from public health, transportation and road safety agencies to address "a growing threat".
In Europe SUV sales have risen 15 per cent in the past year, while sales of standard cars have dropped by 4 per cent. And a recent US study found that, for the same collision speed, the likelihood of a pedestrian fatality is almost doubled when the collision involves a large SUV compared with an ordinary car.
