The increase in the height of car bonnets on SUVs and other luxury models means that this risk has returned. Research carried out for Clean Cities shows that a 10cm increase in bonnet height from 80cm to 90cm results in a 27% greater chance of death for pedestrians run over. For children, the risk of death is increased threefold if they are hit by an SUV rather than a conventional vehicle. They are also more likely to be hit since the driving position is often too high to observe what is in front of the vehicle.
Research carried out for Clean Cities shows that a 10cm increase in bonnet height from 80cm to 90cm results in a 27% greater chance of death for pedestrians run over.
Ironically the reason for the increase in bonnet height was actually EU safety regulations which required car makers to increase the gap between the bonnet. This was because when a pedestrian got hit and their head hit the bonnet there was very little gap between that and the solid engine underneath so their head was effectively hitting the solid engine. The idea of increasing the gap was that it allowed the bonnet to deform more, dissipating the energy and reducing the trauma the head experienced.