The effect of front-end vehicle height on pedestrian death risk

Pedestrian deaths in the US have risen in recent years. Concurrently, US vehicles have increased in size, which may pose a safety risk for pedestrians. In particular, the increased height of vehicle front-ends may present a danger for pedestrians in a crash, as the point of vehicle contact is more likely to occur at the pedestrian’s chest or head. I merge US crash data with a public data set on vehicle dimensions to test for the impact of vehicle height on the likelihood that a struck pedestrian dies. After controlling for crash characteristics, I estimate a 10 cm increase in the vehicle’s front-end height is associated with a 22% increase in fatality risk. I estimate that a cap on front-end vehicle heights of 1.25 m would reduce annual US pedestrian deaths by 509.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecotra.2024.100342
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212012224000017
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/22120122
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Tyndall, Justin
  • 0000-0001-8192-6830
• Publication Date: 2024-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 100342
• Serial:
  • Economics of Transportation
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier Science Publishers BV
  • ISSN: 2212-0122
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22120122

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatalities; Frontal crashes; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Vehicle design
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01911487
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 11 2024 3:56PM