Car bonnet heights

[GingerBeverage]

I don't understand how they pass safety tests?

In crashes, high-bonneted SUVs are more likely to strike the vital organs in the core of adults’ bodies and the heads of children. Hitting pedestrians above their centre of gravity means they are more likely to be knocked forward and down and then be driven over. In contrast, low bonnets tend to hit pedestrians’ legs, giving them a greater chance of falling on to the vehicle and being deflected to the side.
The report, by the advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E), found that the average bonnet height of new cars sold in Europe rose from 77cm in 2010 to 84cm in 2024.
The rise matches booming sales of SUVs from 12% to 56% of all cars over the same period, with the increasing size of vehicles being described as “carspreading” or “autobesity”. SUVs are also 20% more polluting on average and this rise in sales is cancelling out the reduction in climate-heating CO2 due to electric vehicles and fuel efficiency improvements.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/11/ever-rising-height-car-bonnets-suv-threat-to-children-report

Of course they can protect themselves from being struck by vehicles. Don't walk out in front of them 🙄

@Chiseltip have you ever actually been to the UK. Most roads and settlements pre date cars by 100s of years. The village I grew up in (and my dad still lives in) has zero pavements or road crossings. Under your proposed law how would any resident leave their homes?

Even in London many residential roads have no crossing. Under your law how would I get from one side of my road to the other?

I can only conclude you are an actual idiot.

SUV dominance happened way before electric

Suggesting pedestrians should only cross at pedestrian crossings sounds like it's coming from someone who doesn't walk enough.

I've just realised I struggle in car parks because of large cars now.

Yawn yet another SUV bashing post.

Agree. It’s pretty obvious when posters are clearly those who just drive everywhere. They’re usually the ones who see no issue with cars parked on pavements too.

As for zebra crossings, it’s clear when drivers aren’t going to stop when I’m checking so I will start to cross. If you can’t safely stop then a. you’re driving too fast and b. you aren’t paying attention to road markings/signs. Either way that’s dangerous and unsafe driving with undue care to hazards.

Yup must be that time of the week.

Ill read through it later in my LandRover while waiting for DS on the school run.

Oh no, not people having opinions about things. Whatever next.

Every time I go out for a walk, there will be a car or van parked on a pavement somewhere. They have to get on and off the pavement and they don't tend to care if the pavement happens to be occupied by a pedestrian at the time.

I agree with @dynamiccactus and will add that it's not unusual to have to walk on the road to go round these vehicles using the pavement to park where I live.

Also I notice that at every set of traffic lights it seems to be the norm that at least one car goes through each time after the light turns to red. So even if the pedestrians behave themselves and follow the rules without fail, they will still be at risk from lazy selfish drivers.

huh? Why so smug?

Same as every other traffic law.

If there is a crossing anywhere on your street it would be an offence to cross that street without using it. No laws have ever been universally applied to every road and street. Start enforcement with the infrastructure you have, then increase the number of crossings each year, similar to the EV charger target.

Of there aren't any pavements then obviously it's not a dense urban area, so there would be significantly less pedestrians around anyway.

You willingly walk out in front of cars that you don't think will stop at a crossing?

Being right must feel great when you're dead.

I wish people would own the decisions they make.

I drive a car and in making that decision I am prioritising my own and my family’s convenience over the environment.

People who own massive SUVs are prioritising whatever it is they like about owning a SUV (fashion, status, feeling safe?) over the safety of others, including particularly children. If that’s you then own it.

Don’t claim that actually collisions where pedestrians are injured or killed are the fault of the pedestrians. Even if they are then better visibility of cars would help and lighter cars with lower bonnets would help.

Umm have you ever been to a village? People walk to school, the pub, each others houses all the time. Farmers cross the roads to access other parts of thier farms. Shock horror - farmers move sheep and other livestock on foot along and across roads.

As others have said, such a law would under mine very entrenched UK legal and cultural norms. Pedestrians have the right of way over cars in pretty much all roads apart from motorways. And that is the way it should stay.

I suggest you move to LA or somewhere similar - more your pace.

The incident in Wimbledon a couple of years ago where an SUV left the road, smashed through a school fence, carried on for some distance hitting a group of children and killing 2 of them would NOT have had such terrible consequences if that driver had a smaller less powerful car.

It’s highly unlikely that driver in fact needed an SUV because she regularly used it off road with a sheep in the back. A fiesta probably wouldn’t have breached the fence, and our estate might have but probably would have slowed down or stopped before hitting the children’s tea party.

Same as any other collision. Investigation and conclusion.

There have been very few instances of people being struck by trains or aircraft, this is largely down to the fact that we don't let people walk down train lines or runways.

Imagine the reduction in deaths if we also banned people from blindly walking out into the road . . .

Also while I would say crossings are the best place to cross bisy roads I would defend vigorously the rights of pedestrians to corss most roads at any point as long as it is safe. Why on earth shoild I be forced to walk to a crossing to ctoss a road that is safe at that moment to cross?

But there still exists the possibility of being struck by vehicles without walking out in front of them. This is really simple stuff.

No doubt @Chiseltip will find a way to blame the children who died.

There also exists the possibility of Not walking out in front of a car and therefore NOT being hit. This is really simple stuff.

So you said. That doesn’t preclude other situations resulting in pedestrians being struck by vehicles.

Isn't it frustrating and very time consuming have to go a mile out of your way to use every pedestrian crossing when you walk to work or the supermarket? It loses you 15 mins each way.

Most people crossing roads, either at crossings or not are NOT walking out in front of cars. They are crossing a road when they judge it safe to do so.

Sometimes peole can make mistakes or yoing children break free of parents. In these situations the responsibility lies more on the driver to try and stop safely or take evasive action. Sometimes it isn't possible or safe, but as you say, that can be judged in a court.

Good luck trying to anyone wanting to buy one!! I actually wanted an estate car earlier this year when my 2008 Ford Focus estate klapped out.

It was impossible to buy a second hand car, with a multi year warranty that was an estate, that didn't cost significantly more than most other cars.

I got a Kia Sportage 🤷🏼‍♀️

Most manufacturers have retired their estate models

No its about genuine concerns about unsafe vehicles