As vehicles grow ever larger in the United States, their “safety” benefits for drivers diminish while the danger for pedestrians and other drivers rises. From SUVs to oversized pickup trucks, the shift toward heftier cars has become normal for many drivers seeking a sense of security. But beyond a certain weight, these vehicles offer no extra safety to drivers and make the roads more hazardous for others. Removing just the heaviest vehicle fleet could save many lives on the road.
SUV
NHTSA begins to move toward pedestrian safety
Safety advocates have long sought modal parity in American road safety standards. As improving vehicle safety features make driving safer for vehicle occupants, lagging road design improvements and increasingly aggressive car design create hazards for everyone else. At long last, advocates say, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed changing the way it rates new cars to identify those that are the most dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists.