Vehicles with higher, vertical front ends raise risks for pedestrians

Motor vehicles with higher, more vertical front ends are the most dangerous to pedestrians, according to a highway safety organization.An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that, whatever the nose shape, pickups, SUVs and vans with a hood height greater than 40 inches are about 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes than cars and other vehicles with a hood height of 30 inches or less and a sloping profile. But  among vehicles with hood heights between 30 and 40 inches, a blunt, or more vertical, front end increases the risk to pedestrians.