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Road safetyAn elected representative wants to limit the height of the CUPS of SUVs
For the Green Marionna Schlatter, the hoods of large 4x4s are too high and dangerous for pedestrians, especially children. She wants to limit them to 85 cm.
In 2024, out of 245,552 new vehicle registrations in Switzerland, more than half were SUVs.
Jonathan WeissThe SUVs hit the Swiss. To the point that in 2024, they represented 56% of the 245,000 new registrations, according to Comparis. A success that the national councilor Marionna Schlatter (Greens/ZH) judges worrying. In question: hoods that are too high and dangerous for pedestrians, especially children. She therefore challenged the Federal Council on the idea of fixing a maximum height of 85 cm for the hoods.
In her text, the elected official cites a study by the European Transport & Environment Association (T & E), which underlines that the higher the height of the hood, the more the risk of serious injuries increases in the event of an accident. Worse: 10 cm more would increase the risk of death by 25% in the event of a collision. However, the average frontal height of new vehicles in the EU continues to increase. It already exceeds 83 cm, and almost half of the new vehicles now display more than 85 cm.
The association therefore pleads for the introduction of a maximum height of 85 cm from 2035. Especially since this spiral towards always more height is not justified, according to Marionna Schlatter: “The weight and size of the SUVs do not allow to go faster”, she criticizes.
The right already standing
If her arrest arouses the approval of the PS, she already makes the right curl. “This especially illustrates the general hostility of the Greens towards the car”, whether thermal or electric, says Gregor Rutz (UDC/ZH). Which explains the success of SUVs by the specificities of our country: “Switzerland is an alpine country. These vehicles offer advantages. It is not up to politics to impose standards. “
Same bell sound to the PLR: “A limit of the height of the hoods would be problematic, because the SUVs already meet strict standards”, criticizes Simone Gianini (PLR/TI) also president of the Automobile Club Switzerland (ACS). According to him, “many people, especially parents, make this choice for reasons of security, visibility and space.” And to conclude: “Security is essential for us, but the freedom to choose its means of transport too.”
What is happening in the event of a collision
Why the height of the hood influences the severity of an accident? “As a general rule, during a collision with a pedestrian, it is the hood which damages the impact at the level of the head,” replies Manuel Siegrist of the DTC Dynamic Test Center which performs pedestrian protection tests. However, with higher vehicles, such as SUVs, there is a risk that this impact does not comply with protective standards. A child could be hit so high above his center of gravity that he would not drive on the hood, but would be projected. But the nuance expert: “The before SUV faces always adapt more to pedestrians, and driving assistance systems also help to avoid accidents better.”
The area affected by a vehicle in a 4.5 year old child measuring 1.10 m.
