For example, the risk of death for pedestrians and two-wheelers is 50 percent higher if they are hit by a vehicle weighing 1,800 kilograms instead of 1,200 kilograms. And the weight of cars is increasing. Between 2000 and 2020, the average weight of a car has increased by about 140 kilograms. The power of a car also plays a role. If you are hit by a vehicle with 200 horsepower, the risk of injury increases by 10 percent compared to a vehicle with 120 horsepower.
That means that if a pedestrian or cyclist is hit by a car today, there is an average 10 percent higher risk of dying than 20 years ago, should there have been no further progress since then in terms of the active and passive safety of passenger cars for vulnerable road users.
That progress has just been made: cars are being designed differently to make the effects of possible collisions with cyclists and pedestrians less serious, or even to avoid them, for example by means of sensors that warn you as a driver for active users close to your car.
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