High-end SUVs are largely to blame for bike crash deaths: IIHS

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According to a report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the sheer geometry of modern SUVs is the problem. SUVs tend to knock drivers over, where they can also be run over, rather than throw them onto the vehicle’s hood, says IIHS statistician Sam Monfort. This is likely because the taller front end of an SUV hits the rider above their center of gravity.

Manfort reviewed detailed data from 71 Michigan bicycle crashes as part of the study. The dataset covered crashes between a single SUV or car and a cyclist over the age of 16. The study looked at police reports, medical records and accident reconstructions, among other data. The study also aimed to investigate the role of vans, which have also gained momentum in recent years. However, there were not enough pick-up accidents in the dataset to include them in the study.

Using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS), Monfort compared injuries between SUVs and car crashes with cyclists. According to AIS, Monfort found that head injuries were inflicted by SUVs at a 63% higher rate than regular cars. Data from the ISS revealed that collisions involving SUVs had a 55% higher overall injury injury score.

The modern SUV’s slab-like face is more likely to send a cyclist under the wheels, according to the data. Jerry Perez, Kristen Shaw

In particular, there was a strong tendency to accidents analyzed by Monfort. Only SUVs were responsible for running over cyclists, often causing injuries with their wheels or undercarriage. On the other hand, cyclists only ended up jumping on the roof during incidents with cars. Windshields and the roof were the main cause of injury to cyclists in these cases.

The study results also indicated that ground impact injuries occurred twice as often in collisions between SUVs and cyclists, compared to collisions involving cars. The results suggest that SUVs tend to knock cyclists to the ground, where they are then susceptible to being knocked over by the vehicle. The report follows previous IIHS research that found SUVs to be more dangerous to pedestrians than regular cars. Both studies concluded that the high front ends of modern SUVs were responsible for the problem.

Unfortunately, fatal bicycle accidents are on the rise in the United States. In 2010, only 621 deaths were recorded, with this number rising to 932 by 2020. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130,000 cyclists are injured in road accidents every year. Cyclists account for more than 2% of fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, while bicycles account for only 1% of all trips in the United States.

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All in all, it’s a grim assessment of modern SUVs. Poor sightlines are bad enough, but it seems that the very design of these vehicles also causes more serious injuries. It’s obvious to anyone who’s stood in front of a modern, hulking SUV at a crosswalk, but it confirms that the real-world data backs it up.

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