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The article links to another article by freep.com that really boils the problem down to high-profile, "blunt-nosed" SUVs and trucks (picture: https://www.gannet

The article links to another article by freep.com that really boils the problem down to high-profile, "blunt-nosed" SUVs and trucks (picture: https://www.gannett-cdn.com/labs/death-on-foot/graphics/NU_062018-Jeep-Honda-size-FULL.png?width=1800 https://www.gannett-cdn.com/labs/death-on-foot/graphics/NU_0...). This is something I've taken note of in my city. When I park my short sedan next to some of these pickups, the pickups' hoods are taller than my entire vehicle. So imagine your entire body being slammed by that. If you were instead struck by a sedan, your body would more likely roll over the hood and dissipate some of the impact. At the end of the day, the failure is with how our vehicles in America are tested and rated. Safety ratings for vehicles are only in "their class", meaning for instance that they don't smash a sedan into an SUV; they only smash sedans into other sedans, and SUVs into other SUVs. This presents a major asymmetry, leading buyers to think SUVs are safer, when that safety comes at the expense of other users of the road, including people on foot and bike. A major step toward reducing fatality rates in a vehicle-person collision is to factor in pedestrian safety when evaluating vehicle safety rates.

larrik 7y ago
> leading buyers to think SUVs are safer, when that safety comes at the expense of other users of the road, including people on foot and bike. Oh, I don't think that's misunderstood at all. Safety is generally measured with respect to the occupants of the vehicle only, everyone else be damned. Heck, there used to be a myth that in an impending head-on collision you would speed up because that would put most of the force onto the other car and reduce your own damage. (That's not really how that works, of course)
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  >Heck, there used to be a myth that in an impending head-on collision you would speed up because that would put most of the force onto the other car and reduce your own damage. (That's not really how that works, of course) That's the advice for when you're gonna hit a large animal. Getting off the brake raises the nose lessening the chance the animal will wind up sharing the passenger cabin with you. It's not totally invalid but pretty dated. With the low hoods of modern cars Bambi is gonna wind up in the passenger seat damn near every time. If you're driving some 50s-70s brick then it holds more water.
  - larrik 7y ago
    I'm pretty sure Mythbusters busted that one (for moose, at least)
btrettel 7y ago
As a cyclist in Austin, one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Texas was how many vehicles have grille guards. The vast majority don't buy these because they need them. They buy them because they like the look or because they think it'll make their vehicle survive a collision better. I've often thought about what the grille guard would do to me or a pedestrian.
- bin0 7y ago
  So if a truck hits you at eighty miles per hour, what will kill you: the force of the truck, or the grille guard? Also, as a fellow Texan, you're dead wrong. The majority of the people who have those have them because they have ranches and do need them.
  - btrettel 7y ago
    The answer to your question is obvious and not relevant. I don't ride on roads where anyone goes near 80 mph, so I do think that the grille guards will contribute to lethality in my case. Given that I live in central Austin, I find it hard to believe that most drivers I encounter with grille guards need them because they have a ranch. That would imply that many more people have ranches than I believe is true. Plus, I grew up in a rural area outside of Texas and rarely saw grille guards, even on farms.
    - sieabahlpark 7y ago
      I too never drive into the local city from my suburban or rural home. The mere thought of it is insane.
  - notus 7y ago
    Not in Austin.
    - tdxcbkif 7y ago
      Oh let me take off my grill guard every time I drive into the city.
tomatotomato37 7y ago
Except it's the opposite, higher hoodlines (and thus more blunt noses) are actually because of pedestrian safety requirements involving contact area and crumble zones; a lot of that facade is hollow. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15118822/taking-the-hit-how-pedestrian-protection-regs-make-cars-fatter-feature/ https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15118822/taking-the-h... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1123098/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1123098/
- ramenmeal 7y ago
  Is the requirement to have higher hoodlines? Or is it to have safety mechanisms within the hood, which result in higher hoodlines?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
sjg007 7y ago
This is true and also people drive way to fast. edit: also they are distracted by phones and texting.
notacoward 7y ago
It's like High and Mighty II. https://www.amazon.com/High-Mighty-SUVs-Dangerous-Vehicles/dp/B00009NDAJ https://www.amazon.com/High-Mighty-SUVs-Dangerous-Vehicles/d... Also worth mentioning is the effect of these walls of steel on visibility, both for other drivers and for non-drivers. Lower visibility means shorter reaction windows means more collisions.

larrik 7y ago

> leading buyers to think SUVs are safer, when that safety comes at the expense of other users of the road, including people on foot and bike. Oh, I don't think that's misunderstood at all. Safety is generally measured with respect to the occupants of the vehicle only, everyone else be damned. Heck, there used to be a myth that in an impending head-on collision you would speed up because that would put most of the force onto the other car and reduce your own damage. (That's not really how that works, of course)

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
>Heck, there used to be a myth that in an impending head-on collision you would speed up because that would put most of the force onto the other car and reduce your own damage. (That's not really how that works, of course) That's the advice for when you're gonna hit a large animal. Getting off the brake raises the nose lessening the chance the animal will wind up sharing the passenger cabin with you. It's not totally invalid but pretty dated. With the low hoods of modern cars Bambi is gonna wind up in the passenger seat damn near every time. If you're driving some 50s-70s brick then it holds more water.
- larrik 7y ago
  I'm pretty sure Mythbusters busted that one (for moose, at least)

btrettel 7y ago

As a cyclist in Austin, one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Texas was how many vehicles have grille guards. The vast majority don't buy these because they need them. They buy them because they like the look or because they think it'll make their vehicle survive a collision better. I've often thought about what the grille guard would do to me or a pedestrian.

bin0 7y ago
So if a truck hits you at eighty miles per hour, what will kill you: the force of the truck, or the grille guard? Also, as a fellow Texan, you're dead wrong. The majority of the people who have those have them because they have ranches and do need them.
- btrettel 7y ago
  The answer to your question is obvious and not relevant. I don't ride on roads where anyone goes near 80 mph, so I do think that the grille guards will contribute to lethality in my case. Given that I live in central Austin, I find it hard to believe that most drivers I encounter with grille guards need them because they have a ranch. That would imply that many more people have ranches than I believe is true. Plus, I grew up in a rural area outside of Texas and rarely saw grille guards, even on farms.
  - sieabahlpark 7y ago
    I too never drive into the local city from my suburban or rural home. The mere thought of it is insane.
- notus 7y ago
  Not in Austin.
  - tdxcbkif 7y ago
    Oh let me take off my grill guard every time I drive into the city.

tomatotomato37 7y ago

Except it's the opposite, higher hoodlines (and thus more blunt noses) are actually because of pedestrian safety requirements involving contact area and crumble zones; a lot of that facade is hollow. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15118822/taking-the-hit-how-pedestrian-protection-regs-make-cars-fatter-feature/ https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15118822/taking-the-h... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1123098/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1123098/

ramenmeal 7y ago
Is the requirement to have higher hoodlines? Or is it to have safety mechanisms within the hood, which result in higher hoodlines?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

sjg007 7y ago

This is true and also people drive way to fast. edit: also they are distracted by phones and texting.

notacoward 7y ago

It's like High and Mighty II. https://www.amazon.com/High-Mighty-SUVs-Dangerous-Vehicles/dp/B00009NDAJ https://www.amazon.com/High-Mighty-SUVs-Dangerous-Vehicles/d... Also worth mentioning is the effect of these walls of steel on visibility, both for other drivers and for non-drivers. Lower visibility means shorter reaction windows means more collisions.