Since 2009, there has been a documented shift in road safety for American pedestrians. After decades of declines, pedestrian fatalities have been steadily increasing since the Great Recession. Deep down, we already knew why: it’s because the cars keep getting bigger. According to a new study by The New York Times and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, thousands of deaths would have been prevented over the past 16 years if cars had not grown so significantly in both height and weight.

 

“After analyzing federal and industry records, including never-before-examined data on vehicle dimensions, we found that the rise of large pickups and S.U.V.s is an important factor,” the Times report said.