As cars and trucks get bigger and taller, lawmakers look to protect pedestrians
Congress is introducing the Pedestrian Protection Act to enhance pedestrian safety by establishing federal standards for vehicle hood height and visibility, addressing rising fatalities linked to larger vehicles.
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Lawmakers in Congress are set to introduce a bill aimed at enhancing pedestrian safety in response to the increasing size and weight of vehicles, which have been linked to a rise in pedestrian fatalities. The proposed legislation, known as the Pedestrian Protection Act, would establish federal standards for hood height and visibility, addressing the dangers posed by larger vehicles, particularly SUVs and trucks. Research indicates that vehicles with higher front ends are 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian accidents compared to smaller cars. Since 2009, pedestrian deaths have surged by over 75%, with larger vehicles contributing significantly to this trend. The bill's co-sponsor, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, emphasized the need to extend safety standards to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would be responsible for implementing these standards. Despite previous calls for improved pedestrian safety measures, advocates express concern that past proposals have lacked sufficient enforcement mechanisms. The bill reflects a growing recognition of the need to balance the popularity of larger vehicles with the safety of all road users.
- Congress is introducing the Pedestrian Protection Act to enhance safety for pedestrians.
- Larger vehicles are significantly more dangerous for pedestrians, contributing to rising fatality rates.
- The proposed legislation would set federal standards for vehicle hood height and visibility.
- The NHTSA will oversee the implementation of these new safety standards.
- Advocates are concerned about the effectiveness of past pedestrian safety proposals.
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13 commentsAs a New Yorker I'm not often in a car, but whenever I'm stuck in traffic I think about this. If all the cars are 10 inches longer, that adds up over the course of all the cars I'm stuck behind and has a real impact on the carrying capacity of the road.
To another point of the article, I walked by an SUV the other day where the front hood was up to my shoulders. I'm pretty regular height at 6' and just thought how getting hit by that thing would probably kill me. It's like all the cars on the road are in an arms race with each other.
Separate streets and roads so that roads don’t have people and people and bicycles cross across roads through skywalks or tunnels.
Wait for the cars to get bigger and taller enough that they become planes and the humans cross under that way.
If that's true, it doesn't say much good about the effectiveness of all the safety regulations over the years that have added thousands of dollars to the price of a car.
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