SUV BUYERS UNMOVED BY PEDESTRIAN SAFETY WARNINGS, STUDY FINDS

Drivers shown warnings about the safety risks posed by sport utility vehicles to pedestrians and cyclists are very unlikely to be deterred from purchasing one, according to research conducted by psychologists at Swansea University. The study, which examined a UK-wide sample of more than 2,000 people including drivers and non-drivers, found that awareness of SUV risks rose from 35% to 54% among those shown safety warnings on mocked-up advertisements. However, the proportion of people stating an intention to purchase an SUV as their next vehicle fell by only 3.7 percentage points after viewing the warnings, with 95% of prospective SUV buyers maintaining their purchase intention despite being informed of the risks.

Existing safety research indicates that adult pedestrians struck by an SUV are 44% more likely to be killed than if struck by a smaller car, a figure that rises to 82% higher mortality for children. Much of this elevated risk derives from SUVs' higher and blunter front ends. The study tested purchase intentions by randomly assigning participants to two groups: one viewed SUV adverts with warnings of "significantly higher risk of fatality" to pedestrians and cyclists, whilst the other viewed identical adverts without safety information.

The findings suggest that informational warnings alone have negligible effect on SUV purchasing decisions. According to the Swansea University researchers, governments seeking to reduce the number of large vehicles on roads would likely need to implement financial penalties rather than relying on safety awareness campaigns. The conclusion held even among participants who reported that the safety of vulnerable road users was an important factor in their vehicle purchase decisions.