As far as I'm aware, serious and fatal RTAs have been reducing pretty much year on year for the last couple of decades. Interesting correlation with the increased popularity of the larger SUVs.
I'm not sure there are that many large SUVs on the road to make a huge difference to others, it's just that they are used so much for anti-social trips in residential areas that it seems that way. Car sales: cars.uk.msn.com/features/the-bestselling-cars-in-each-market-sector
Large SUVs are notorious for being pedestrian-killers.
www.brake.org.uk/facts/4x4s-the-risks.htm
"A pedestrian hit by a large 4x4 is more than twice as likely to be killed than if they were hit by a normal sized car.
In the UK, there have been double the numbers of 4x4s sold in the first decade of the 21st century as in the last decade of the 20th century. More than a fifth of these were sold in the Greater London area, and only a fraction of them will ever be taken off-road
Generally a 4x4 is heavier, stiffer and shaped more bluntly than normal cars and is therefore likely to cause more damage on impact. Weight is a major factor in velocity.
The size and design gives drivers a restricted view of the area immediately surrounding the vehicle. This means that young children are particularly vulnerable, as it is less likely that the driver will see them. According to the American independent body Consumer Reports, the blind spot for a driver of average height in a large 4x4 vehicle can be up to 28 feet. This is a particular danger when taking a 4x4 on the school run when there are a high number of children on pavements and crossing roads, and when using a 4x4 for shopping and parking it in busy supermarket car parks where there are lots of families about.
In safety tests, 4x4s generally perform very poorly in terms of pedestrian safety. For example the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Suzuki Grand Vitara both received zero stars for pedestrian safety when tested by the European New Car Assessment programme (EuroNCAP) in 2005 and 2002 respectively. "
And there have been a number of people saying how safe they --are- feel in a 4x4, but this is at the expense of the safety of others. An arms race, if you will.
"A recent study by Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), shows many crashes now involve a collision between a large car and a small one. In such a crash the person in the smaller car is 12 times more likely to be killed than the person in the 4x4.
The study also shows the rise in sales of 4x4s and people carriers is causing more than 20 extra deaths and serious injuries a year among people in small cars when the two are in collision Research has shown that a car driver is around four times more likely to be killed if hit from the side by a large 4x4 than by a normal sized car.
The high bumpers on 4x4s tend to override the side-impact protection on small cars and penetrate the body "
"The dangers already outlined become more apparent when 4x4s are used by parents on the school run. The school run is a chaotic time on many of our roads, and causes major problems especially in small towns and villages. It brings with it a 20% increase in rush hour traffic and therefore puts pedestrians (many of them being children at this time) at a greater risk. At 8.50am in the morning, nearly 1 in 5 cars in urban areas are taking children to school .
The main ways to make school run safer are:
Do not use a 4x4. If you insist on using one, park it well away from the school, somewhere it is safe to do so, and walk the last distance with your child."
"Many individuals and groups are now recognising the dangers of the 4x4 and are attempting to tackle the problem head-on, by targeting the owners and manufacturers of these large off-road style 4x4s."