Will rule designed to combat the deadly dangers of car bloat and truck bloat help save lives?
More and more people are dying in motor vehicle accidents in the United States, with this trend steadily rising for the past ten years. Read, “Deadly Decade: U.S. traffic deaths soar by 30% since 2014,” written by Angie Moreschi, Nathan Aaron, and Mike Griffith and published by the Centers for Auto Safety on September 27, 2024.
It is particularly tragic when a deadly crash involves someone on foot who is hit and killed by a car or truck. Pedestrians in Illinois and Indiana face a shockingly high risk of being seriously hurt or killed in an accident where they are struck by a motor vehicle while walking alongside roadways or crossing streets.
This is especially true for those living and working in Chicagoland. For details on how great the danger is for those on foot in the Chicago area, both child and adult, read our earlier discussion in Why is Chicago So Deadly for Pedestrians?
So, both for safety organizations and those advocating for accident victims and their loved ones, it is encouraging to learn that regulatory agencies are working to make things safer for pedestrians in this country. The news release earlier this month by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) is welcomed by everyone who is concerned about the sobering statistics regarding pedestrian crash deaths in this country. Read, “NHTSA Proposes New Vehicle Safety Standard to Better Protect Pedestrians,” published by NHTSA on September 9, 2024.
Explains NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman:
“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% 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.”
New NHTSA Pedestrian Safety Rule
The intent behind this new federal regulation is to “reduce fatalities and serious injuries among pedestrians struck by vehicles.” Once effective, it will mandate that car makers change their product designs for passenger vehicles.
It does not apply to all motor vehicles in this country; for instance, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, and big rigs are not included here. Only those motor vehicles that weigh 10,000 pounds or less will be under this new federal regulation.
What motor vehicles come under the new Pedestrian Safety Rule? Design changes will be necessary for any passenger vehicle that weighs up to 10,000 pounds. NHTSA specifically points to “multipurpose passenger vehicles (trucks, SUVs, crossovers and vans).”
Why target these specific types of motor vehicles? Because NHTSA research (2022 data) confirms that most pedestrians die in accidents where they are hit by the front of the motor vehicle, and most of these deaths involve accidents with (1) multipurpose passenger vehicles (49%) or (2) passenger cars (37%).
The formal summary of the new rule to be published in the Federal Register explains:
NHTSA proposes a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) that would ensure passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,536 kilograms (kg) (10,000 pounds (lb)) or less are designed to mitigate the risk of serious to fatal injury in child and adult pedestrian crashes. The proposed standard would establish test procedures simulating a head-to-hood impact and performance requirements to minimize the risk of head injury. This NPRM is based on a Global Technical Regulation (GTR) on pedestrian protection, with focused enhancements to address safety problems and a regulatory framework unique to the United States.
It has been written to conform with the existing Global Technical Regulation No. 9, but with added provisions to deal with the distinct designs of larger American motor vehicles, specifically our huge and high pickups and SUVs.
The New Pedestrian Safety Rule Requirements
The goal is greater safety for all pedestrians, “from a small child to an adult.” The proposed rule does two things:
- First, manufacturers must establish and perform tests to study head-to-hood impact for the vehicle as aligned with performance requirements needed to minimize the risk of head injury for the pedestrian who has been hit by the vehicle.
- Second, the auto makers have to use “human-like headforms” when they are measuring the impact of these head-to-hood crashes. These forms cannot be the same in every test, but have to vary in order to confirm increase safety for all sizes of victims, children or adult.
To learn more, read the National Roadway Safety Strategy published online by the United States Department of Transportation.
Bigger Vehicles Increase the Likelihood of Pedestrian Fatalities: The Bloat Problem
Why is this new rule, which essentially demands testing by manufacturers, important? Because advocates for victims as well as safety organizations understand that motor vehicles on our roadways just keep getting bigger, and higher, and more powerful. And that means that the driver’s position often blocks the ability to see someone who is near or in front of that passenger car, SUV, or pickup truck.
Some within the transportation and safety industries call it “autobesity,” others refer to it as “car bloat” or “truck bloat.” Whatever the terminology, the reality is that motor vehicles sold in the United States have consistently been getting bigger every year. Bigger in size, and bigger in power. It is easy enough to spot in any parking lot designed in past decades: newer cars can barely fit in between the yellow lines, and new model pickups are so long they can literally block traffic.
These are inconveniences; however, the trend in bigger motor vehicles has brought with it a substantial danger to us all: bloating cars and trucks are changing in design to accommodate things like bigger engines. The unintended consequence: pedestrian deaths.
For details, read “Congress sat back and let trucks become heavier, taller, and deadlier. Now pedestrian fatalities are at a 40-year high,” written by Madison Hall and published by the Centers for Auto Safety on March 24, 2023; and “Truck bloat is killing us, new crash data reveals,” written by Andrew J. Hawkins and published by The Verge on November 14, 2023.
Pedestrian Accidents: Justice for Victims in Illinois and Indiana
Sadly, while this new rule is good news and will hopefully lead things in the right direction – which means saving lives – it does little to solve the problem of pedestrian dangers that exist today. Even when the new NHTSA regulation becomes law, it will be years before the required testing will result in a design change.
And, in the meantime, more and more of these bloated cars and trucks will continue to be driven on our roads, streets, routes, and highways endangering kids and adults with a potentially fatal pedestrian crash.
Everyone in Illinois and Indiana must be alerted to the very real danger of how “car bloat” and “truck bloat” can easily cause a deadly pedestrian accident.
For those who suffer serious harm in a pedestrian accident, the victim and their loved ones will have legal rights to seek justice in the aftermath. More than one person or company may be legally responsible under state law to these victims for their injuries.
To learn more, see:
- Chicago Pedestrian Accidents: Duties of Care in State Statutes and City Codes
- Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accidents in Chicago
- Chicago Pedestrian Accidents with Commercial Vehicles
- Causes of Chicago Pedestrian Accidents
- Defective Car Parts & Liability for Fatal Crashes and Serious Injuries in Illinois and Indiana.
Accident reconstruction experts and experienced injury attorneys may be able to confirm that more than one party may bear legal responsibility (not just the driver, as many may assume to be the cause of a pedestrian accident). Legal duties of care or safety that have been breached, once shown to have been a cause of the crash, will impose liability.
For more, read: Accident Reconstruction Experts and Injury Claims and Why a Lawyer who is a Trial Attorney Is Important for Accident Victims in Personal Injury Cases.
Illinois and Indiana personal injury, product liability, and negligence laws all provide avenues for justice to those who have suffered harm in a pedestrian crash. Each case deserves its own independent evaluation to determine the reasons for what happened and all those responsible. Please be careful out there!
