WALES — A recent UK-wide study found that safety warnings did not substantially reduce the intention of drivers to purchase sport utility vehicles. Research led by psychologists at Swansea University involved more than 2,000 participants.

The study showed that awareness of pedestrian fatality risks increased from 35 percent to 54 percent among participants who viewed advertisements containing safety warnings. Despite this increased awareness, the intention to purchase an SUV decreased by only 3.7 percentage points in the group shown safety warnings when compared to a control group. Ninety-five percent of participants who intended to buy an SUV maintained their decision after seeing the warnings.

Even among participants who identified vulnerable road user safety as an important factor in their purchasing decisions, 86 percent still planned to buy an SUV after viewing the safety information. SUVs and oversized domestic vehicles, such as pickup trucks, have higher and blunter front ends, which increase risk for pedestrians and cyclists.

A recent meta-study indicated that adult pedestrians struck by an SUV are 44 percent more likely to die than those struck by a smaller car. The same meta-study found that the fatality risk for children hit by an SUV is 82 percent higher than for those hit by a smaller car. SUVs currently account for nearly 60 percent of new car sales across Europe.

Professor Ian Walker, an environmental psychologist at Swansea University and a co-author of the study, commented on the observed purchasing trends. "Buying whatever vehicle we like, and driving it wherever and whenever we please without having to think about the consequences for other people, has become normalised and ingrained across our society over decades." Walker said.