Nova Scotia must take action to prevent deaths from pick-ups and large SUVs
Pickups, largely promoted and used for personal travel, along with SUVs and minivans, accounted for almost 88% of new vehicle sales in Canada in 2025.
A coalition of Canadian and local road safety groups is today calling on the Chief Medical Examiner of Nova Scotia to investigate and recommend steps to address the growing danger to pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users from pick-up trucks and large SUVs.
The call to action by C.R.A.S.H. (Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards) coincides with the latest road fatality on July 17, 2026 attributed to the driver of a pickup truck. Dr. Nouman Ali, a 71-year-old Professor of Transportation Engineering at Dalhousie University was riding his bicycle in Halifax when he was struck.
Dr. Ali’s death comes as a growing body of research shows that pick-up trucks and large SUVs pose a measurably greater fatality risk than conventional cars. Evidence from a comprehensive 2024 study in the United States, for example, shows that as the front-end height of pick-up trucks and SUVs grows, there is a disproportionate increase in the fatality risk to individuals walking or cycling.
C.R.A.S.H. and local partners Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Halifax Cycling Coalition, and Vision Zero Kijipuktuk- Halifax have written to Dr. Matthew Bowes, the Chief Medical Examiner, calling for a death review of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities involving pickups and large SUVs in Nova Scotia.
Specific design features make pickups and large SUVs more dangerous and distinguish them from cars. These vehicles often have significant driver blind spots, are much larger and heavier than sedans, and are built with a high, blunt front end. The high front end - which is primarily a marketing feature - changes the point of impact with pedestrians from the lower legs to the torso and head, resulting in increased fatality risk. Children and seniors are particularly vulnerable.
The coalition is calling upon the Chief Medical Officer to assess the greater fatality risk of pickups and large SUVs on road safety, and to make recommendations to address these dangers. The recommendations include calls that:
- The federal government require the re-design of vehicle front ends so that pickups and large SUVs are less lethal in crashes with pedestrians, cyclists, and people with disabilities, and require safety warnings about the dangers of pickups and large SUVs to accompany vehicle advertising (an effective approach to reduce cigarette smoking)
- Provincial governments introduce new driver’s licence requirements to operate pickups and large SUVs, as well as a sliding scale of vehicle registration fees based on a vehicle’s danger to pedestrians and cyclists; and
- Municipal governments levy parking fees based on vehicle size, and review purchasing policies for service vehicles, including pickups that are used for simple maintenance tasks in parks
Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Examiner has the authority and expertise to examine patterns of preventable harm. A review of fatalities involving pickups and large SUVs would provide valuable evidence for decision-makers and could help prevent future tragedies. As researchers have warned, this problem is unlikely to resolve itself. The question is whether we act now, or wait until more families bear the cost.
