By Leslie Vasquez
Vehicles in the U.S. have gotten much larger over the past few decades, and research suggests that this shift has had far-reaching consequences, making roads more dangerous for everyone while increasing emissions and other environmental impacts. A recent New York Times analysis estimates that between 200 and 400 pedestrian deaths each year could have been avoided if cars had remained roughly the same size as they were 25 years ago. While the rise of SUVs and pickup trucks is often treated as the result of a cultural shift or consumer preference, researchers argue that policy has also helped shape today’s vehicle market. If policy helped encourage this shift, it could also help reverse it.
Larger vehicles are more dangerous for several reasons. Their taller, flatter front ends are more likely to strike pedestrians in the chest or torso rather than the legs, increasing the likelihood that a person is knocked to the ground and run over. Higher hoods also create larger blind spots, making it harder for drivers to see shorter adults and children standing in front of the vehicle. Today’s average vehicle hood is now high enough to exceed the center of gravity for nearly half of American adults and most children. Larger and heavier vehicles also make crashes with other drivers more deadly. As we discussed in a previous blog, research found that more than a dozen lives are lost in other vehicles for every life saved among occupants of the heaviest 1% of SUVs and trucks.
While larger vehicles have become increasingly popular, research on fuel economy regulations suggests policy has also played an important role in their rise. Federal fuel economy standards have historically treated passenger cars differently than light trucks and SUVs. More recently, fuel economy targets have also been tied in part to a vehicle’s size, incentivizing manufacturers to make larger vehicles that have to meet less stringent efficiency requirements. Combined with the higher profits manufacturers often earn on SUVs and pickups, these policies have helped reshape the American vehicle fleet over time.
The trend is not limited to the United States. Recent research from Europe also shows that new vehicles continue to grow longer, taller, and wider each year. As in the U.S., larger vehicles carry significant environmental costs because they require more energy, consume more fuel, and produce more emissions over their lifetime. Europe is already experiencing many of the same issues in pedestrian safety, parking shortages, energy use, and the loss of public space.
The good news is that this new trajectory is not inevitable. Researchers have identified several policy options that could encourage a shift toward more appropriately sized vehicles, including stronger vehicle safety standards, reforms on fuel economy regulations, and pricing policies that discourage oversized cars. As vehicle sizes continue to grow, the choices policymakers make today will help determine whether that trend continues—or begins to reverse.
Photo credit: mali maeder via Pexels. License.