The height of Irish car bonnets is increasing every year, putting pedestrians’ lives at risk, a new study has found.
The report by Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels based advocacy group on sustainable transport, found that the average bonnet height of newly-sold cars in Ireland rose from 77.38cm in 2011 to 83.67cm in 2024.
Ireland is “very similar to the European average”, which stood at 83.8cm in 2024, a representative from T&E said.
When bonnet heights rise from 80cm to 90cm, it raises the risk of death by 27 per cent for road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, the report states, citing 2023 data from a Belgian road safety institute.
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T&E also commissioned tests from Loughborough University in the UK to examine the risks to children from SUVs with high bonnets. It found that a person of average height who is driving a Land Rover Defender is not able to see a child aged up to 4½ standing directly in front of the front of the vehicle.
High bonnets also compromise a driver’s vision at junctions, which can increase crashes, particularly when turning, the study found. It describes the rising heights as a “clear and growing threat to public safety, especially for children”.
The researchers also criticised marketing campaigns around SUVs, accusing Land Rover of “trading on the intimidation that comes with high-fronted vehicles [and] ignoring their related dangers”.
A Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson said: “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, amongst other things, include pedestrian detection, 3D surround camera systems, and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).”
Asked about the findings, the director of Ireland’s Medical Bureau of Road Safety Denis Cusack said that, while he had yet to consider the report, he was aware of the dangers that vehicles with high bonnets can have.
He stressed the importance of having maximum speed limits in residential areas, saying that “if children are out playing, the driver’s up higher, so they’ve got to be very careful”.
[ Sorry, kids. We blew your climate budget - but we really love our SUVsOpens in new window ]
Dr Cusack said “unlike an adult, who may end up being hit somewhere on the leg”, a child “could end up being hit, depending on their height, on the abdomen, the tummy, the chest, or even the head”.
T&E has called on European lawmakers to cap bonnet heights by 2035. They are recommending a maximum height of 85cm for bonnets on new cars from 2035, subject to further study.
There is no legal limit to bonnet heights in Europe.
The organisation has also called on national governments to put higher vehicle and road taxes on bigger cars. – Additional reporting Guardian
