The abuses have shot in the United States and the main suspect is also an old acquaintance in Europe: the SUV

25 years ago, cars were more insecure. It is undoubted. Modern vehicles have been filled with radars, sensors and cameras that have turned our cars into authentic technological machines that squeak, stop and even dodge before an obstacle. But mortal abuses have shot in the United States.

Every day we see less. And no, they are not your eyes.

The study. It has been done by the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)an independent association that studies road safety on US roads. According to their data, mortal abuses to pedestrians in the United States have shot 37%. And in 42% if we talk about cyclists abuse.

It is not a matter of cars being more insecure. On the contrary. Cars are safer than ever. At least for those who travel inside. Because the problem is that every time we see less what we have in front of us. And that, according to the IIHS, explains why this increase.

Giant cars. The United States has always been a country of huge cars. In 2021, We already explained in Xataka that some of the best -selling cars in the country could have six children sitting in front and would not see them. One behind the other. Uploaded aboard a Cadillac Escalade, a driver would see only the head (and partially) of the sixth child sitting in the row.

Just take a look at the best -selling cars in the United States To verify to what extent their drivers prefer large cars. The best-selling vehicle is the Ford-F Series, a pick-up with a multitude of versions. The second The Silverado Chevrolet (another pick-up) and the third classified is the most “restrained” Toyota Rav4.

Of course, they are far from the Dacia Sandero, Renault Clio and Volkswagen Golf that take the first three positions on the list of best selling in Europe. However, little by we continue to go down, among the 10 best -selling cars on our continent we find up to four SUVs.

We see less and less. The IIHS has studied What visibility has a driver less than 10 meters around your vehicle and if it has improved or worsened in the last 25 years with the launch of the new generations. And there are bad news: among the three best -selling SUVs in the United States, visibility has worsened considerably.

According to his calculations, the driver of a Honda CR-V saw 68% of everything around a 10 meter radius. In your latest generation, you can only observe 28% of what surrounds you. A Ford F-150 does not get much better data. In a quarter of a century it has only lost 7% visibility. The problem is that 25 years ago it was so bad that the driver has gone from seeing 43% to 36%.

Huge blind spots. The problem is that cars have become machines with huge blind spots. The higher the nose, less visibility in short distances. The bigger the car front pillar, the less visibility we have diagonally. And even the rearview is a problem when the size is triggered.

This has been measured in the IIHS with 360º cameras located at different heights to represent all the carvings of the drivers. Then, a software performs an average and calculates how far the driver begins to see or how much space is outside his viewing angle. In the upper image, the blue zone is the space that is covered to the driver.

In Europe we also know them. Yes, in Europe we also know these cars well. If we take a look at SUV sales 25 years ago we will realize that Just 5% of the market share It was occupied by this type of cars. In 2025 More than half of the cars sold can be put within this category. For a five years, the SUV is the car that sells the most.

But, in addition, cars have grown a barbarity in this quarter of a century. There are SUV versions that would seem more than unlikely 25 years ago, such as Toyota Yaris Cross. And the height of the cars has not grown much but their frontal ones have been muscular and are now larger. A BMW X3 measured 4,565 meters in 2004. Today measures 4,755 meters.

A danger. Those who suffer the most the consequences of this excessive growth are pedestrians and cyclists. As we said, cars are safer in case of accident. And have a technological arsenal to avoid them, such as the rear camera to which forces the European Union.

But lifting the front has very serious consequences in case of accident. In case of shockit is more likely that the pedestrian dies in the accident or that he receives serious injuries such as hip breakage. Also head injuries (if they bounce against the car) are more serious. The studies say That every 10 centimeters that the hood rises, the possibilities of receiving serious injuries increase by 27%.

Photo | IIHS

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