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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS’s) recent study showed new SUVs are more lethal to pedestrians than cars, according to a Fort Myers pedestrian accident attorney.

Sam Monfort the lead author of the IIHS study said, “The proportion of SUVs in the U.S. fleet has grown dramatically, so it’s discouraging that they still seem to be more deadly to pedestrians than cars are.”

The IIHS study analyzed a sample of crashes (79) from three urban areas in Michigan. The findings of this small study showed:

“…SUVs caused more serious injuries than cars when impacts occurred at greater than 19 miles per hour. At speeds of 20-39 mph, 3 out of 10 crashes with SUVs (30 percent) resulted in a pedestrian fatality, compared with 5 out of 22 for cars (23 percent). At 40 mph and higher, all three crashes with SUVs killed the pedestrian (100 percent), compared with 7 out of 13 crashes involving cars (54 percent). Below 20 miles per hour, there was little difference between the outcomes, with pedestrians struck by either vehicle type tending to sustain minor injuries.”

IIHS said that although the Michigan crashes were not necessarily representative of those that occur nationwide, the injury patterns were consistent with earlier, national studies which showed SUVs were more likely than cars to throw pedestrians forward and nearly twice as likely to cause severe hip and thigh injuries. These types of injuries were mainly caused by impacts with the bumper, grille or headlights. According to IIHS, these injuries were likely because of the high point of the front profile, or “leading edge,” of most new SUVs that is still considerably higher than that of the average car. The IIHS says it is going to use the Michigan crash data to determine what kind of SUV profile poses the least risk to pedestrians.

SUV manufacturers who have adopted more carlike designs are addressing the risks SUVs pose to SUV occupants, but not yet addressing the issue of risks to pedestrians.

“Our findings provide more evidence that manufacturers need to make design changes to help combat the increase in pedestrian fatalities now that more of the vehicles on the road are SUVs,” said IIHS Senior Research Engineer Becky Mueller.

Fort Myers Pedestrian Accident Attorney Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. wants victims to know that the firm is available to assist them 24/7 should they be injured in an accident. There are no costs or attorney fees until we receive a monetary recovery for you.

“We represent people involved in numerous types of personal injury and wrongful death accidents throughout the state of Florida. All of our clients have unique personal injury cases. Our firm provides personal contact and communication along with aggressive representation,” said Attorney Spivey.

Fort Myers Pedestrian Accident Lawyer  Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one percent (1%) of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll-free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County at 239.793.7748.