Cyclists and pedestrians are 44 per cent more likely to be fatally injured when struck by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) or light truck vehicle (LTV), compared to a smaller passenger car, according to new research.

The study, carried out by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London, analysed real-world collision data from over 680,000 crashes across the past 35 years and found that larger vehicles caused significantly more severe injuries.

For children, the risk was even greater: a child hit by an SUV or LTV was 82 per cent more likely to die than one struck by a passenger car, with the risk increasing to 130 per cent among children under the age of 10.

The researchers, publishing their findings in the journal Injury Prevention, found similar results when isolating SUVs from other LTVs such as small vans and pick-up trucks. They pointed to the taller, wider and heavier profiles of SUVs as the main factor, with the blunt front ends striking adults higher on the body — hitting the pelvis rather than the knees — and young children being hit directly in the head. Victims were also more likely to be thrown forward and struck again by the vehicle.

Across all ages, the odds of suffering a fatal or serious injury compared to a slight injury increased by around a quarter when cyclists and pedestrians were hit by an SUV or LTV. This rose by 24 per cent in adults and 28 per cent in children.

"No more giant cars"
"No more giant cars" (Image Credit: Clean Cities)

> Active travel campaigners call for higher taxes on “supersized” SUVs to tackle “carspreading”, claiming they are more dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians and cause more pothole damage

Elsa Robinson, who worked on the study as an MSc Public Health student at LSHTM, said: “Analysing over half a million crashes from countries from across the world tells us that SUVs and other similarly large vehicles are much more likely than traditional passenger cars to cause serious harm if they strike a pedestrian or cyclist.

“Our findings also highlight that these larger vehicles are particularly dangerous for children, especially young children. This could be because children are shorter in height, and are therefore more vulnerable to the risks of being hit by vehicles with a tall front end.”

Anna Goodman, Assistant Professor at LSHTM and senior author of the study, said: “Around the world, we have seen a huge increase in the sale of ever-larger cars. Previous research has found that this trend is substantially undermining progress towards net-zero goals. Similarly, our findings indicate that this proliferation of larger vehicles threatens to undermine all the road safety gains being made on other fronts.

“Cities and countries around the world are starting to introduce measures to discourage the use of these large vehicles, and our study strengthens the road safety rationale for this.”

> SUVs more dangerous to cyclists than other cars, study suggests

The analysis covered 24 separate studies, mostly from high- and middle-income countries, including the US, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Although none of the studies were from the UK, the researchers said the results were broadly consistent across regions, suggesting their relevance beyond North America.

At present, SUVs are involved in around 45 per cent of car crashes in the US and about 20 per cent in Europe. The researchers estimated that if all SUVs were replaced with passenger cars, deaths of cyclists and pedestrians in car crashes would fall by 17 per cent in the US and 8 per cent in Europe. For child cyclists and pedestrians, the reduction would be even sharper — 27 per cent in the US and 14 per cent in Europe.

Carspreading
Carspreading (Image Credit: Clean Cities)

The Clean Cities campaign group has been calling for higher vehicle taxes and parking charges for “supersized” SUVs to reflect the additional danger to children, greater road damage and larger space requirements.

Oliver Lord, UK head of Clean Cities, said: “It’s alarming to see fresh evidence confirming SUVs are linked to more fatal crashes. No one buying a car would want to put children at greater risk.

“We urgently need government to take action on ‘carspreading’. Councils could introduce fairer parking charges that reflect the size and weight of these vehicles, while government reviews taxes to address the real harm caused by supersized SUVs. That would provide more opportunity to invest in priorities like fixing potholes and better public transport.”

> “Increasingly at risk of fatal injuries”: Danger to cyclists posed by larger, heavier cars laid bare by new research

The phenomenon of “carspreading” — cars becoming wider and longer over time — has drawn increasing criticism from active travel advocates. Last month, Clean Cities pointed to YouGov polling showing only 18 per cent of British car owners oppose higher charges for SUV owners, while 61 per cent said SUVs take up too much space and 71 per cent said they make parking more difficult.

The active travel organisation said around 4.6 million vehicles bigger than a typical urban parking space had been sold in the UK since 2021 — around 1.2 million per year — and defined “supersized” SUVs as being more than 1.8m wide or 4.8m long. The extra overhang alone would stretch more than 192 miles if lined up end to end.

Child walking in front of SUV
Child walking in front of SUV (Image Credit: Clean Cities)

A research paper published in April, led by civil engineer Ruth Carlson and co-authored by Nima Dadashzadeh at the University of Huddersfield, suggested that heavier vehicles were linked to a greater risk of fatal collisions.

The researchers warned that increasing average car weight in the UK could lead to a rise in deaths unless new policies, such as taxing heavier vehicles and adjusting parking fees, were introduced.

> SUVs ‘eight times more dangerous’ to kids walking or cycling than smaller cars are

Parents have also raised safety concerns about SUVs. Harriet Edwards, a mother from Sutton, said: “It’s not just the added stress of not being able to find somewhere to park, it’s the sense that if I’m involved in a collision with one of these giant SUVs, that me and my family are far more likely to be seriously hurt or killed.

“If you cause more danger, create more potholes and take up more parking space, it’s only fair that you pay a little bit more.”

While proposals for SUV-specific congestion charges have been floated before — notably a £25-per-day charge for “Chelsea tractors” proposed by former London mayor Ken Livingstone — they have so far failed to be implemented. Transport for London reported 110 road deaths in the capital in 2024, up from 95 in 2023, although it does not break down how many involved SUVs.

Previous studies from the US have shown that SUVs cause 55 per cent more trauma and 63 per cent more head injuries to cyclists than standard cars, and that SUVs are eight times more likely to kill children walking or cycling than smaller vehicles.