Pedestrian Killed in Tragic Crash on Trask Parkway in Beaufort County, South Carolina (SC)
BEAUFORT COUNTY, SC- Islandpacket.com writes that a pedestrian crash left one person dead this week in Beaufort County. The victim was identified as a 29-year-old woman from Columbia, South Carolina. The vehicle that struck the woman was a 2008 GMC SUV.*
The crash took place near Poppy Hill Circle. Pedestrian deaths have been increasing in recent years. Investigations indicate that the design of modern vehicles could be leading to a massive rise in fatal pedestrian incidents.
SUVs, which many Americans purchase because they believe they are safer than smaller cars, are presenting serious risks to pedestrians. Pedestrian safety advocates have been pointing to the dangers posed by these larger passenger vehicles for years. For the last ten years, SUVs and other light trucks have continued to make up an ever-larger part of the automobile market.
Now more than 60 percent of new vehicles purchased in the nation are SUVs. Not only are SUVs bigger and heavier than sedans, but they are also taller. As a result, when an SUV collides with a person, the impact occurs higher up on that individual's body. The resulting injuries are to the victim's torso rather than to their legs. The dangers do not end there, though, because SUVs are also more likely to push a pedestrian beneath the vehicle rather than over the hood as cars often do in these instances. SUVs also come with more horsepower than cars. This means that speed is another factor that puts pedestrians in more danger when they are struck by SUVs as opposed to cars.
As a result, the number of deadly pedestrian crashes has increased along with the popularity of SUVs on American roads.
Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes. To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.
Sources:
https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/article243857477.html
https://www.curbed.com/2018/9/27/17909270/pedestrian-deaths-suv-car-design