La pedestrian safety is always more compromised in collisions with vehicles of ever-increasing size. According to a new Transport & Environment study (T&E) and of the Clean Cities Campaign, the front part of cars, especially SUVs and pick-ups, is progressively rising: on average half a centimeter per year, coming to 83,8 cm in 2024 against i 76,9 cm of 2010. It is the effect of the so-called “carspreading”, the trend that sees cars becoming increasingly larger and bulkier, driven by the race for SUVs, which are now dominant on the European market: from 12% of sales in 2010 to beyond 56% in 2024.
L'Italy is at the forefront of this process. If in 2010 it recorded the lowest cars among the six main EU markets, today holds the European record with an average of almost 85 cm. The growth in Jeep sales (FCA/Stellantis group) was decisive, covering the 5% of the market, five times the continental average.
To make matters worse, theabsence of specific rules: Neither the European Union nor individual Member States impose limits on the height of the bonnet of new vehicles. If the trend continues, by 2040 the average could rise to 92 cm, with numerous models that would surpass 1 meter height.
Road safety in danger: high hoods more lethal
The risks associated with increasing the front end of vehicles are multiple. Tests conducted by T&E show that, in case of impact, SUVs with high hoods tend to achit pedestrians above the body's center of gravity, directly damaging vital organs and increasing the likelihood of being thrown under the vehicle. In contrast, vehicles with lower hoods typically hit the legs, reducing the severity of injuries.
A Belgian study based on 300.000 collisions found that 10 cm more in bonnet height (from 80 to 90 cm) increases the risk of death by 27% for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users. In addition, in collisions between SUVs and traditional cars, taller vehicles pose a greater risk (up to 50%) of serious injury to the occupants of the other vehicle.
Impaired visibility: children “invisible” from the driving seat
The tallest bonnets compromise direct visibility, especially towards shorter subjects such as children. In tests commissioned by T&E, an average European driver sitting in a Ram TRX (130cm bonnet) is unable to see children up to nine years of age in front of the vehicle. With a Land Rover Defender (115 cm), the visibility limit drops to four and a half years.
This frontal blindness makes it particularly Exit maneuvers are dangerous from driveways, parking lots or intersections. The risk of “near misses” increases, even if these episodes are often not officially recorded, making the danger underestimated.
The appeal: regulatory limits and fiscal reforms are needed
T&E and Clean Cities ask European and British institutions to set a legal limit on bonnet height at 85 cm for new vehicles from 2035, with legislative proposals to be presented by July 2027. The limit would protect 95% of adult women involved in accidents and would also offer greater protection to children aged 11 and up, who are starting to move independently.
The organizations also recommend the introduction of a Visibility test for children in the Euro Ncap protocols and, subsequently, in the EU legislation. Furthermore, they ask that License plates, taxes and parking fees should be based on the weight, size and emissions of vehicles, following the example of cities such as Paris, Lyon and Cologne.
“It's time to stop the race to gigantism of the cars – he declared Esther Marchetti by T&E Italia –. We need clear regulation that puts safety first.” “In our cities we need safe mobility for everyone, not an arena for off-road SUVs” he added Claudius Magliulo, of the Clean Cities campaign.
