Pedestrians and cyclists are 44% more likely to die if they are hit by an SUV or similar-sized vehicle rather than a traditional car

RTÉ »

The figure rises to 82% for children, the analysis produced by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London showed.

Researchers gathered data from more than 680,000 road collisions over the past 35 years.

They compared the severity of injuries suffered by pedestrians or cyclists struck by standard cars with light truck vehicles, which include SUVs, small vans and pick-up trucks.