The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the equivalent of Transport Canada, wants to intervene with manufacturers to remedy a growing and tragic problem: the number of fatal accidents involving pedestrians.
According to the organization, the number of pedestrian-vehicle impact fatalities has risen by 33 percent over the past 20 years, this as the number of in-vehicle fatalities has fallen over the same period.
A proposed regulation on the table aims to establish new collision standards designed to mitigate pedestrian head injuries in head-on collisions.
This could pose problems for pickup trucks and SUVs, which are bigger than ever. In the case of pickups in particular, the fascia of some models have gotten truly massive, and from the inside, it's increasingly difficult to see what's in front. And it's easy to understand that, in the event of a collision with a human, the latter is in greater danger with today's bigger vehicles.
The proposed regulation doesn’t name specific vehicles, but focuses on “all segments of pickup trucks and large sport utility vehicles” in the United States.
The hoods of all types of vehicles receive special attention. However, for particularly large models, the rule could also apply to grilles and bumpers. It would require vehicles to respect certain parameters regarding contact with the sides of pedestrians, as most collisions occur when someone is walking in front of a vehicle. Two dummy (and head) sizes are used for the tests, one roughly corresponding to a six-year-old child and the other to an adult.
This is serious stuff. The document contains 238 pages full of guidelines and recommendations on hood structures, fenders and setting scenarios and parameters on how they may come into contact with pedestrians. The conclusion is that all these structures should better mitigate the force of an impact with a pedestrian's head, to increase their chances of survival.
Said Sophie Shulman, NHTSA Deputy Administrator, “We have a crisis of roadway deaths, and it’s even worse among vulnerable road users like pedestrians. Between 2013 and 2022, pedestrian fatalities increased 57 percent from 4,779 to 7,522. This proposed rule will ensure that vehicles will be designed to protect those inside and outside from serious injury or death. We will continue to work to make our roads safer for everyone and help protect vulnerable road users.”
The proposed rule is currently under review, and a 60-day public comment period is underway.
Original content from auto123.
