Average new truck hood height now exceeds 50% of U.S. adults’ stature, study finds

A new analysis links the rising hood heights of modern trucks and SUVs to America’s worsening pedestrian safety crisis, with taller front ends striking victims above their center of gravity and pushing them into the pavement rather than allowing a safer roll-over. Federal crash records, vehicle-dimension data, registration files, and crash-test results analyzed by the New York Times show that the growth of pickups and SUVs may account for roughly 200 to 400 additional pedestrian deaths each year. Between 2016 and 2024, researchers estimate about 3,000 fatalities could be tied to the increase in hood heights compared with vehicles from the early 2000s—a figure that excludes crashes on private property and thus understates the true toll. Sedans typically clear the ground by less than 30 inches, while a current pickup averages closer to 45 inches, catching a person at chest level instead of below the waist. Even mainstream models now wear a hood around three feet tall, high enough to knock down anyone under 5-foot-6, which describes roughly half of U.S. adults. The physics are unforgiving: taller hoods increasingly strike pedestrians above their center of gravity, so victims are more likely to be pushed downward into the pavement rather than rolling onto the hood. “We see a lot of devastating collisions even at lower speeds because the pedestrian gets punted forward,” said Shawn Harrington of Forensic Rock, which conducted crash tests for the analysis. “Before the driver knows what’s happened, the pedestrian’s head is under the wheel.” Visibility is the other major issue. A 2009 rollover safety rule forced roofs to survive three times the vehicle’s weight, leading automakers to thicken the A-pillars flanking the windshield. That fix protected occupants in rollovers but widened blind spots behind the windshield. Blind zones in popular pickups have grown substantially over the past 20 years: the Chevrolet Silverado’s blind zone nearly doubled, the GMC Sierra and Toyota Tacoma rose about 60 percent, and the Ford F-150 increased roughly 25 percent. Automakers counter that advanced safety tech—automatic emergency braking, exterior cameras, and pedestrian detection systems—can mitigate the risks, but researchers and safety advocates argue that electronic systems are not foolproof and that direct visibility remains critical, especially when children, shorter adults, cyclists, or pedestrians suddenly enter a vehicle’s path. The market incentives are clear: the average full-size pickup now lists near $70,000, about twice the price of a typical sedan, even though assembly costs have risen only modestly. That price premium explains why trucks bankroll nearly the entire industry’s bottom line. Ford’s car sales collapsed from more than a million in 2017 to fewer than 100,000 by 2022 as buyers shifted to trucks and SUVs. Despite the mounting evidence, the trend shows little sign of reversing, and researchers warn that the unintended consequences are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.