More SUVs Lead To More Pedestrian Fatalities
SUVs have vastly increased in popularity over recent years. They are a convenient in-between for those of us who need more room than a sedan provides but do not want a minivan. However, this rise in popularity has led to more pedestrian accidents.
Recent data has shown that pedestrian fatalities are up 46 percent since 2009 and more than half of all cars sold in the US today are SUVs, according to NBC News. That, coupled with the fact that more Americans are driving more miles and longer hours every year, greatly increases the risk of an accident involving an SUV.
Pedestrian accidents are on the rise
SUVs are much larger than sedan-style cars and as such, have larger blind spots and less general visibility than smaller cars. David Harkey, the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, sees this as a problem: “SUVs have higher front ends, and often the design for the vehicle is much more vertical than passenger cars,” he said, according to the NBC News article. This vertical design makes it harder for drivers to see pedestrians and others on the road.
It is not only the cars themselves that have led to this rise in accidents. Distracted driving is, as always, responsible for far too many accidents on the road. One primary distraction these days is smartphones. According to data compiled by Statista, there were roughly 238 million people using smartphones in 2017. Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst with Kelley Blue Book, sees the danger of smartphone distractions all too clearly - and it’s not only drivers who are making our roads more dangerous. “We’ve got distracted drivers and we’ve got distracted pedestrians, and that is a deadly combination," said Lindland, according to NBC.
Cities everywhere are doing their part to make the streets safer for pedestrians. This includes fixing any malfunctioning street signs in a timely matter and increasing the number of crosswalks and other safety features that aid pedestrians on the road.
Brent C. Miller will fight for you
Florida pedestrian accident lawyers have seen how devastating a collision with an SUV can be for anyone walking around our great state. If you or a loved one has been injured, contact the Law Offices of Brent C. Miller. We can offer you a free case consultation. You deserve to have your story heard. Our lawyers have helped Floridians seek the compensation they deserve for more than 25 years and we can help you too. Contact us today.
