DETROIT– The US government’s highway safety agency wants the auto industry to design new vehicles, including: increasingly larger SUVs and pickup trucks so that the number of deaths and injuries among pedestrians decreases.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it is proposing a new rule with testing and performance requirements to minimize the risk of head injuries to pedestrians.
The rule would apply to all passenger vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less. However, the rule is primarily aimed at large SUVs and pickup trucks, which have grown larger and taller over the years, creating blind spots for drivers.
According to NHTSA, the number of pedestrian deaths increased by 57 percent from 2013 to 2022, from 4,779 to 7,522. The agency says the rule would save 67 lives a year.
Data shows that nearly half of all fatal crashes involving pedestrians struck by the front of a vehicle most often involve SUVs and trucks.
The proposed rule, required by Congress in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, would establish testing procedures to simulate head-to-hood impacts, as well as requirements to reduce the risk of head injuries. Human head mannequins simulating children and adults would be used in the testing, NHTSA said in a prepared statement.
“We have a crisis of traffic fatalities, and it’s even worse for vulnerable road users like pedestrians,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said in the statement. “This proposed rule will ensure that vehicles are designed to protect those inside and outside from serious injury or death.”
Messages were left Monday asking automakers and the industry’s main trade association for comment.
The infrastructure law required NHTSA to align U.S. regulations with global pedestrian safety regulations, with regulations that would focus on vehicles made specifically for the U.S. market.
According to Motorintelligence.com, SUVs and trucks of all sizes accounted for nearly 79% of new car sales in the U.S. in August.
Last year a Insurance Institute for Road Safety Research found that vehicles with higher, more vertical fronts increase the risk to pedestrians. The insurance industry’s research arm found that pickup trucks, SUVs and vans with hood heights of more than 40 inches are about 45 percent more likely to be killed in pedestrian crashes than cars and other vehicles with hood heights of 30 inches or less and a sloping profile.
The authors also wondered whether wider pillars supporting the roof of larger vehicles make it harder for drivers to see people walking near the corners of vehicles.
Consumer Reports found in 2021 that high vehicle hoods obstructed drivers’ views of pedestrians crossing in front of them.
The magazine and website found that pickup truck hoods have risen 11 percent since 2000. The hood of a 2017 Ford F-250 heavy-duty pickup truck was 55 inches off the ground, as high as the roofs of some cars, Stockburger said.
Automakers and the public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal, after which NHTSA will issue final regulations.