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American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

jalopnik.com

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Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#11

Post by resoluteteeth »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Pretty slanted. Could write a complementary article: large cars are safer for the passengers. Why don't we keep pedestrians separate from traffic more effectively?

Large cars aren't inherently safer for passengers. They are only safer in collisions with other cars that are smaller, at the expense of the safety of the people in the smaller cars.

Having an arms race where people buy bigger and bigger cars to be safer in collisions with other cars is really not ideal, because it doesn't improve overall automobile safety on a national level even just for drivers, and it hurts safety for pedestrians.

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#12

Post by cozzyd »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Pretty slanted. Could write a complementary article: large cars are safer for the passengers. Why don't we keep pedestrians separate from traffic more effectively?

Yes, it would help to have more pedestrian only streets, ban drive throughs, reduce curb cuts, ban right turns on red, and reduce speed limits in urban areas to more reasonable safe speeds like 15 mph.

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#13

Post by pmontra »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Pretty slanted. Could write a complementary article: large cars are safer for the passengers. Why don't we keep pedestrians separate from traffic more effectively?

Pedestrian bridges on every intersection? Cars mandated to use only yet to be digged underground roads? Any other idea?

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#14

Post by cozzyd »

resoluteteeth wrote: post #11
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Pretty slanted. Could write a complementary article: large cars are safer for the passengers. Why don't we keep pedestrians separate from traffic more effectively?

Large cars aren't inherently safer for passengers. They are only safer in collisions with other cars that are smaller, at the expense of the safety of the people in the smaller cars. Having an arms race where people buy bigger and bigger cars to be safer in collisions with other cars is really not ideal, because it doesn't improve overall automobile safety on a national level even just for drivers, and it hurts safet…

They also will typically stop slower and are often more vulnerable to rollovers...

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#15

Post by michaelmrose »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Pretty slanted. Could write a complementary article: large cars are safer for the passengers. Why don't we keep pedestrians separate from traffic more effectively?

Do you mean on average they are safer or inherently? Is that a function of the average on the other side of the collision and most importantly is there data proving your position.

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#16

Post by Scoundreller »

orangecat wrote: post #6

You could just make them smaller. There's no rule saying you can't. There kind of is. Fuel efficiency requirements are stricter for smaller vehicles, creating a perverse incentive to increase size. Here's a 2011 paper that predicted exactly what would happen: https://news.umich.edu/cafe-standards-create-profit-incentiv...

And tax advantages for “business use” vehicles when they weigh over 6000 pounds:

https://www.taxfyle.com/blog/list-of-vehicles-over-6000-lbs

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#19

Post by francisofascii »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #2

Not really, it's not the automakers, it's the auto buyers. The American market wants and expects BIG. There's no incentive for anything otherwise, especially when the price of gas is *once again* falling. This isn't going to be solved until we have "autos on demand", and then pricing will be based on the vehicle size ordered. At that point, there will be no justification for an SUV if there's just a single person nee…

> The American market wants and expects BIG.

I guess the question is, why. It is because marketing works? Or a sense of safety? Bigger is associated with wealth, power? etc.

Re: American cars are huge and unsafe, but automakers don't want the simple solution

#20

Post by dv_dt »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #7

Pretty slanted. Could write a complementary article: large cars are safer for the passengers. Why don't we keep pedestrians separate from traffic more effectively?

Large cars are less agile, making it more difficult to avoid accidents. SUVs in particular are also much more likely to rollover than passenger cars. This makes larger vehicles less safe for their passengers.
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