Labour has been urged to take action and ensure the height of a major car part in popular vehicles is restricted in a bid to improve safety for pedestrians.
It follows a recent report which proposed introducing an 85cm limit on car bonnets by 2035 to address mounting safety concerns, particularly around SUVs.
A study found that average bonnet heights have risen from 76.9cm to 83.8cm since 2010, with higher bonnets linked to a 27 per cent increased risk of death for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
The research revealed that the UK accounted for 39 per cent of all sales of SUVs with bonnets exceeding one metre, despite representing just 15 per cent of total new car sales across Europe.
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The report urged Labour to address the growing number of SUVs on UK roadsCRISPIN HUGHES / CLEAN CITIES "The rise in high-fronted SUVs poses a clear and growing threat to public safety, especially for children," the report by think tank Transport & Environment stated.
The research detailed how SUV sales have surged from 11.5 per cent of new registrations in 2010 to 55.5 per cent in 2024, with the trend accelerating significantly since 2015.
In the UK specifically, SUVs accounted for a third of all new car registrations last year, up from approximately 12 per cent a decade earlier.
According to the think tank, Jaguar Land Rover and Jeep are the only manufacturers with type-approved models exceeding one metre in bonnet height, with seven JLR models and three Jeep models surpassing this threshold.
SUVs have become more popular on UK roads, with experts warning of the dangers larger vehicles pose
TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENTThe Land Rover Defender has a bonnet height of 115cm, while the Jeep Wrangler reaches 123cm. T&E warned that these manufacturers are at risk of "trading on the intimidation that comes with high-fronted vehicles, ignoring their related dangers," citing marketing slogans such as "Locked and loaded" for the Land Rover Defender.
Tests by Loughborough University School of Design found that drivers of average height seated in a RAM TRX pick-up truck cannot see children aged up to nine standing directly in front, while the Land Rover Defender was found to be unable to see children up to four-and-a-half years old.
Belgian crash data analysed by the road safety institute VIAS showed that a 10cm increase in bonnet height raises the risk of death by 27 per cent for vulnerable road users.
High-bonneted vehicles typically strike adult pedestrians above their centre of gravity, hitting vital organs and increasing the likelihood of knocking them forward and under the vehicle, the think tank explained.
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When high-fronted SUVs crash into regular cars, they can impose between 20 and 50 per cent greater risk of serious injuries on the occupants of those vehicles, according to the VIAS study.
A Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson defended the company's safety standards, stating: "JLR is committed to the highest safety standards and our vehicles are made with the strictest adherence to safety requirements.
"We continually invest in safety and advanced technology features, which, among other things, include pedestrian detection, 3D surround camera systems and autonomous emergency braking."
The study also found that battery electric vehicles have an average bonnet height 2.3cm lower than the market average at 81.5cm, with no current BEV exceeding one metre. "Capping bonnet height is a simple, effective step to protect all road users and curb the spread of oversized vehicles," the report shared.
The report suggests that SUVs should have their car bonnet size capped
PASteve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, noted that while pedestrian casualties have fallen over the past decade, the reduction was "only at around half the rate of car occupants".
"It is incumbent on carmakers to ensure they pay enough attention to those around a vehicle as to those within it, and that will include making assessments about car heights and weights," he said.
The report recommended implementing the 85cm bonnet height cap by 2035, with proposals to be published by July 2027 to give manufacturers time to adjust their designs.
T&E also called for bonnet height to be included on Vehicle Registration Certificates by 2030, alongside width, length and total vehicle height measurements by 2028.
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