Wimbledon Pressured To Drop Range Rover As A Sponsor As Children Are 82% More Likely To Die When Hit By SUVs

The dangers posed by tall heavy SUVs have been studied for decades, and yet the statistics are still grim. According to a paper published by the BMJ Injury Prevention Journal, the probability of a pedestrian or cyclist being killed increases by 44% when struck by an SUV compared to a passenger car, and that probability increases to 82% for children. These statistics, and the fact that two eight-year-old girls were killed by a woman driving a Land Rover Defender during the Wimbledon Championships in July 2023, have led numerous organizations to pressure the famous London tennis championship to drop Range Rover as a sponsor.

According to the London Daily News, a community organization called the SUV Alliance is coordinating the letter, and it’s signed by the Road Danger Reduction Forum, Clean Cities Campaign, Mums for Lungs, Transportation Action Network, Merton Cycling Campaign, the Campaign for Better Transport, Adfree Cities, and more. Range Rover was confirmed as the official partner of the Wimbledon Championships in May last year. The tennis players are transported around London, the most populous region in the United Kingdom with nearly 9 million residents, in Range Rovers and Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrids.

Data shows that vehicles with higher hoods are more dangerous in crashes, and yet the average height of new car hoods is increasing in the UK by 0.5 centimeters each year according to research by an advocacy group called Transport & Environment. The average height of a new car’s hood in the year 2010 was 76.9 centimeters, but that increased to 83.8 centimeters as of last year.

Higher hoods impede driver visibility more, as well as the vision of other road users. London Daily News said, “High-bonneted SUVs and pick-up trucks typically strike adult pedestrians above the centre of gravity, often first hitting vital organs in the body’s core, with a higher likelihood of knocking them forward and down, and a greater risk of driving over them. On the other hand, low bonnets tend to hit pedestrians’ legs, giving them greater chances of falling towards the vehicle, or of being deflected.” This kind of thing applies to regions outside of England, too, as we reported that American bicyclists are 291% more likely to die if they’re hit by a truck instead of a sedan.

Community organizations and London Assembly members want stricter limits on vehicle size and hood height, including higher parking charges for larger vehicles and increased taxation of larger, heavier vehicles in urban areas. In a city as old as London, and with such narrow streets that were not originally designed with large vehicles in mind, SUVs are overkill. Especially considering the city’s vast public transportation system, and the All England Club’s net-zero operational emissions targets, maybe Mini would have been a smarter British car company to sponsor the event.