Why are feds cracking down on SUVs and big trucks?

Pedestrian deaths have risen sharply since 2009

Side view of a woman driving a big SUV with a blue sky and a mountain in the background
"Reining in the heaviest vehicles would save lives"
(Image credit: Ryan McVay / Getty Images)

America's love affair with super-sized trucks and SUVs has a downside: The giant vehicles can be a menace to pedestrians, who have died in ever-greater numbers in recent years. That may change.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing new rules designed to "reduce the number of pedestrians killed and seriously injured" on American roadways, NPR said. The number of pedestrians killed in vehicle accidents has risen by 75% since 2009. The reasons for that rise are "complicated," but surely include the "growing size and weight of vehicles." Another factor? Design. Those big vehicles with "higher front ends and blunt profiles" are 45% more likely to cause fatalities than smaller cars and trucks.

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.