New research shows that larger vehicles such as SUVs are more hazardous to cyclists than cars. SUV accidents cause more serious injuries to bicyclists than those caused by cars, according to a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Experts say it’s because the front ends of SUVs are taller and strike bike riders higher on their bodies. The study also found that “ground-impact injuries,” which are a frequent cause of head injuries, are more than twice as common in SUV accidents than those involving cars.
If you’ve been injured in an SUV accident, talk to an Orlando car accident attorney at the Martinez Manglardi personal injury law firm. Call 866-730-3508 for a free consultation.
SUV Accidents on the Rise
In the study of SUV accidents, IIHS Statistician Sam Monfort analyzed detailed crash data from 71 Michigan bicycle crashes from the International Center for Automotive Medicine’s Pedestrian Consortium. It was noted that when it came to head injuries, SUVs caused 63 percent higher average Abbreviated Injury Scale scores than cars. Additionally, when it came to the Injury Severity Score, trauma to the body as a whole was 55 percent higher for SUVs than for cars.
The data also showed that only SUVs caused injuries by running bicyclists over, whereas cars only caused injuries by vaulting bicyclists onto the vehicle’s roof. Furthermore, when it came to the head injuries sustained in the SUV and car crashes, the ground, wheels, or undercarriage caused 82 percent of the head injuries in SUV accidents, whereas the roof, rail across the top of the windshield, or windshield itself caused all the head injuries sustained in the car crashes.
These results suggest that SUVs forcefully knock bicyclists to the ground, where they may be run over by the vehicle as the driver attempts to stop. Even if the bicyclist is not run over, SUV crashes are much more likely than car crashes to result in injuries caused by the bicyclist hitting the ground.
SUV accidents can be devastating to cyclists. If you’ve been injured in an accident, call 866-730-3508 for a free consultation with an Orlando car accident attorney at the Martinez Manglardi personal injury law firm. Convenient locations throughout Central Florida.
