You are probably just as likely to see an SUV in a city these days as much as on a farm, but could that be about to change?

Questions have been raised by the European Transport Safety Council about the suitability of SUV and 4x4 vehicles for use in cities following an accident in Germany which caused multiple fatalities. The concern is that these vehicles do not always meet the same safety standards as normal passenger cars in regards to pedestrians and cyclists safety.

The accident involved a Porsche Macan mounting a pavement and killing four people waiting at a crossing. Although the cause of the accident is still the subject of an investigation, the concern centres on the pedestrian protection offered by the SUV.

In 2014 Euro NCAP rated the Porsche Macan’s pedestrian protection at 60% and said the “the front edge of the bonnet scored no points, with poor protection being provided”. The forward-collision warning system was only offered as an option and was “not expected to be on most vehicles so was not included in the assessment”. 

Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council said, “Pedestrians and cyclists now represent a higher proportion of those dying on our roads simply because vehicle safety measures have so-far mainly prioritised those inside the vehicle.  When we look at how to make urban areas safer, requiring vehicles that enter residential areas to have a high minimum standard of pedestrian and cyclist protection and technology such as Automated Emergency Braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection might be a smart option for cities to consider.  We are now used to urban centre restrictions on certain cars because of air quality concerns, why not also for cars that represent an unreasonable danger to vulnerable road users?”