Vehicle safety is a necessity when driving on the road. However, larger vehicles are beginning to dominate highways in the United States. What may be driving this shift? On Instagram, one video highlights the major issues with this dangerous trend.
Shared as a collaborative Instagram reel between the accounts CBC Gem (@cbcgem) and CBC Docs (@cbcdocs), the clip features Uytae Lee's Stories About Here, which notes a study of vehicle deaths between 2015 and 2018. The study found that sedans registered 48 deaths per million owners every year — SUVs, on the other hand, were found to have about half that amount.
"Why are people buying SUVs? Safety is a very compelling argument," the Instagram caption reel reads.
As SUVs are bigger vehicles, they can offer greater protection for the drivers and occupants, as the clip notes. However, it points out that larger vehicles can be a threat to smaller ones — a concept known as crash incompatibility.
According to a study from the University of California cited in the video, when a smaller vehicle collides with a vehicle around 1,000 pounds heavier, occupants have a 40-50% higher fatality risk. This has furthered a "feedback loop" for consumers to buy bigger vehicles.
"It's the survival of the biggest. In a world where SUVs are becoming more and more popular, smaller vehicles become more dangerous," the narrator says.
Adopting larger vehicles doesn't just make the roadways more unsafe, but it also comes with a significant environmental impact.
While electric vehicles of various sizes are growing in popularity due to their lower maintenance and charging costs compared to buying fuel, gas-powered SUVs release around 20% more carbon pollution than medium-sized gas-powered vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency.
One commenter highlighted that larger vehicles are also dangerous for people looking to get some fresh air on their commutes. Many U.S. cities have a long way to go to make their infrastructure more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists.
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"Not to mention the weight and design of the front of an SUV can result in greater fatality if a pedestrian is hit," one person wrote in the comments.
"Those who buy them should be informed that, yes, they're making themselves safer, but they're making everyone else less safe," another person affirmed.
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