It's well known that vehicle design can influence the type and severity of pedestrian injuries. Modifying the front structures of passenger vehicles to reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries has been the subject of research for decades...
The most common crash scenario involves pedestrians crossing in front of a passenger vehicle that is traveling straight. These crashes typically occur in daylight on roads with speed limits below 40 mph. The majority of pedestrian deaths occur in dark or twilight conditions and at locations other than intersections, where vehicle speeds may be higher and where drivers do not expect to have to stop.
Page 23 onwards has greater detailed insights on the engineering approach towards increased safety measures...
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstr...202/102873.pdf
And here's another publication on pedestrian:vehicular safety measures...
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv...ceed/00089.pdf