Madam, - There has been much public debate on the merits of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) on Irish roads. There is now a considerable body of empirical evidence from real accident data gathered in the United States which shows that SUVs and other high-fronted vehicles pose a significantly higher risk for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users than passenger cars do.
This is partly a result of their higher mass, but, more importantly, the shape of the front of these vehicles is inherently dangerous for pedestrians. This is because in SUV-pedestrian collisions, the high bonnet results in a more square, and hence harder, impact.
Further, this impact is most likely to involve the vital body regions of the upper torso and head. Pedestrian vulnerability is already unacceptably high in collisions with ordinary passenger cars, but with large SUVs, research shows that risk can be doubled. - Yours etc,
Dr CIARAN SIMMS,
Dept Mechanical Engineering,
Trinity College Dublin.