Активисты Альберты требуют расследования роли пикапов и внедорожников в дорожно-транспортных происшествиях

Are bigger vehicles more deadly? Alberta groups call for probe into role of pickups, large SUVs in road deaths 'We need proper analysis of what’s happening in Alberta so we can make the right decisions based on good data,' said Doug Clark, president of Bike Calgary Road safety advocates in Alberta are calling on the province’s chief medical examiner to investigate whether pickup trucks and large SUVs pose a disproportionate risk of death to pedestrians and cyclists involved in collisions. Multiple Alberta organizations penned an open letter Wednesday to Dr. Akmal Coetzee-Khan, Alberta’s chief medical examiner, calling for a review under the Fatalities Inquiries Act of road crashes involving pickup trucks and large SUVs. The letter’s signatories, which include Bike Calgary and Youth en Route, are part of the Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards (C.R.A.S.H.), a national effort seeking to reduce dangers posed by increasingly large vehicles. “The proliferation of pickup trucks and large SUVs . . . constitutes a real and preventable danger on our roads to the lives of pedestrians, cyclists and persons with disabilities,” the letter states. “The chief medical examiner is well-positioned to provide the public with an expert assessment of the evidence, and appropriate recommendations for action.” Bike Calgary president Doug Clark said the objective is to determine whether larger vehicles pose an increased safety risk to Alberta road users and, if they do, what measures could reduce those risks. “There may be a significant risk to pedestrians and cyclists from pickup trucks and SUVs, which are getting larger every year,” Clark said. “We need proper analysis of what’s happening in Alberta so we can make the right decisions based on good data.” Groups involved with the coalition would like to see the federal government require vehicle front ends be designed in ways that reduce the likelihood of death when pickups and large SUVs strike pedestrians or cyclists. They also propose requiring safety warnings about risks posed by large vehicles to accompany advertising, similar to warnings required for cigarettes. And at the provincial level, advocates propose the government introduce driver’s licence requirements for people operating pickups and large SUVs, as well as a sliding scale for vehicle registration fees based on the danger a vehicle poses to pedestrians and cyclists. Road safety a concern in Calgary The push comes amid heightened concern about road safety in Calgary, after 15 pedestrians were killed on the city’s roads in 2025, a 225 per cent increase from the previous year. In February, a two-year-old child was killed after being struck by a Jeep while being pushed in a stroller by their parents in a marked crosswalk. The Jeep involved in the collision appeared to have been modified to sit higher off the ground than the original factory height. The incident underscores the need to examine how the size and height of vehicles can contribute to the severity of crashes involving vulnerable road users, according to Clark. “If (ride height) was a contributing factor to that death, then we need to understand . . . how can we make it safer?” Clark said. The Calgary Police Service says modifications to a vehicle can affect its safety in a collision. “Of specific concern is the modification of ride height of the vehicle, which can greatly affect collision outcomes, especially those involving vehicle-versus-pedestrian collisions,” CPS said in a statement. U.S. research indicating taller vehicles can be deadlier to pedestrians Advocates point to growing research emerging from the United States about the risks associated with larger vehicles, which they say underscores the need to examine whether similar trends are happening in Canada, where the issue has not been studied as closely. A U.S. study on the effect of front-end vehicle height on pedestrian death risk, published in Economics of Transportation in March 2024, found that taller vehicle fronts were associated with a disproportionate increase in the risk of a pedestrian or cyclist dying in a collision. The study used U.S. crash data for 2016 to 2021 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, along with a Transport Canada public data set on vehicle dimensions. Its findings suggest that an estimated 10-centimetre increase in a vehicle’s front-end height was associated with a 22 per cent increase in fatality risk. A New York Times investigation published in June tied the growing prevalence of large pickups and SUVs to a surge of pedestrian deaths on American roads. The Times investigation found that larger vehicles can be deadlier to pedestrians because of their taller front ends and larger blind zones. Large vehicles ‘don’t need to have tall, blunt front ends,’ says advocate Brandon Kwong, board chair of Paths for People, an Edmonton-based road safety advocacy group, said those calling for the inquiry aren’t opposed to the use of pickup trucks, but want greater attention on how vehicle design can affect the safety of road users. “No one is calling for a buyback of trucks, but we need to reverse the trend of vehicles becoming more and more dangerous,” Kwong said. “We know there’s people for whom the truck makes a lot of sense. “Of course we need vehicles that can tow and carry tools and transport supplies, but they don’t need to have tall, blunt front ends.” Kwong said greater awareness of the risks associated with different vehicles could help policymakers, businesses and individuals make decisions that improve road safety. “When equipped with more information and awareness and understanding of the safety risks . . . everyone equipped with that information can start to make different choices and make a better change.” Catch up with the day’s headlines, curated by our editors and delivered to your email inbox at lunchtime on every business day. 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