The risk of fatality was 1.2 times higher when the crash involved a station wagon and 1.6 times higher when it involved a utility vehicle, relative to sedans and hatchbacks.
capping vehicle weight and/or height at their median levels corresponds to approximately 9% fewer predicted pedestrian fatalities within the observed crash sample.
The Australian vehicle fleet has progressively upsized, with light-vehicle footprint increasing by ∼7% (and pick-ups by ∼18%) over the past two decades. Our analysis also revealed a 9% rise in average vehicle weight and a 3% rise in height among passenger vehicles involved in Victorian pedestrian crashes.
The influence of vehicle size also depends on operating speed. Effects are evident in less than or equal to 60 km/h speed-limit environments but not at higher speeds, supporting the interpretation that the fatality outcome is more sensitive to vehicle size in survivable low-speed crashes, showing a decreasing marginal effect of vehicle size at higher speeds.
Every additional 100 kg of vehicle weight increased pedestrian fatality odds by 6%.
• Every additional 10 cm of vehicle height increased pedestrian fatality odds by 11%.
•Reducing size to typical passenger car was estimated to prevent ∼9% of fatalities.
•Equivalent percentage increases in vehicle height had a greater effect on fatality odds than weight increases.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670726006633?via%3Dihub#sec0013