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Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

arstechnica.com

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Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#201

Post by aidenn0 »

alistairSH wrote: post #156
aidenn0 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wagons are heavier and less aerodynamic than sedans. When coupled with the same engine they are less fuel efficient (compare the E450 sedan to wagon). The fact that they are heavier and sell poorly means they will only usually be available with the large(r,st) engine (no E350 wagon in the US). Note that I used the Mercedes because it's the only non-compact wagon I'm aware of for sale in the US.

That's fair, but the wagon should still outperform an equivalent cross-over in just about any measure. What I don't know is where the line is between car-based cross-over and actual truck (as it related to emissions and safety standards).

There's an envelope, rather than a single line, but one line that makes up that envelope is AWD, such that some models without optional AWD are cars, but trucks with optional AWD

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#202

Post by jamwil »

bejk22 wrote: post #161
danaris wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we're going to try to "punish" SUV drivers for driving those vehicles, then I think we need to both recognize and do some things: 1) We need to recognize that there's a wide variety of vehicles in the SUV category. Many of them have replaced (not supplemented, replaced , because they sell better and car companies are hyperoptimizing their profits like everyone else) old standards like station wagons and minivans i…

I won't recognize (2) because it's false. Any current - and past - fwd will work just fine in Canadian snowy and icy conditions. Sure if you drive a shitty propulsion car you will get stuck everywhere but those cars are the exception. Edit: you acknowledged yourself that argument is mostly bs later in your comment...

Calgarian here. AWD does help in the snow.

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#203

Post by uoaei »

dcotter wrote: post #164
burnerburnson wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I regularly pass people on the right and then cut them off getting back into the left lane just so that I don't have to be stuck behind someone I can't see around. The tinted front/rear windows really piss me off because they make my drive more dangerous for very little reason. I'd make them illegal if it were up to me.

Know what's already illegal? Passing on the right: > Laws that cover passing when crossing the centerline of the roadway is not required (where there are multiple lanes in the same direction), often say something like this: > The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway u…

Those jurisdictions typically have more strongly enforced "slower traffic keep right" laws also. Why the double standard?

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#204

Post by epage »

mturmon wrote: post #125
wharvle wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows and front/back windshields are way smaller now, too. It's like we're all driving around looking out of tank-viewport-slits. (I'm sure there are exceptions in some models—I drove a buddy's Jeep-truck the other day and the unusually-good-by-modern-standards visibility nearly turned me into a Jeep guy on the spot—but that's the trend)

Yes. As you may know, recent safety regulations prompted by rollover incidents have meant that the "A" and "C" pillars connecting the body to the roof have been made wider. [See the first 2 paragraphs of the "Design" section of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillar_(car) ] It seems like there's a second-order effect here on visibility that may not have been really appreciated.

With my previous car, I never remember having visibility issues. I then got a 2013. The pillars aie ierfect pedestian blockerr, especially when making turns. I don't see how me doing better in a roll over is better than me running someone over.

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#205

Post by bitfilped »

mrguyorama wrote: post #199
TrevorJ wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason some of these vehicles ARE so big IS the regulations. We could look at rolling back THOSE changes first.

Consumers just prefer larger vehicles here in the US, and those same preferences are also becoming the norm in other countries. You can't blame the modern Camry being gigantic on the Chicken Tax. You can't blame larger vehicles being associated with luxury on efficiency regulations.

I don't think that's accurate, vehicles are being made larger to get around emission limitations. I'd love a new small truck like what Toyota used to make and ford f150/ranger's used to be ~10-20 years ago, but such vehicles just don't really exist anymore.

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#206

Post by uoaei »

Stratoscope wrote: post #166
el_benhameen wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tinted front windshields are illegal in California, among other states, fwiw. The law just isn’t enforced, just like modded exhaust, and residential speed limits … and passing on the right.

It's perfectly legal in California to safely pass on the right on a multilane highway and in some other situations. What is illegal is using anything other than a normal traffic lane to do this, such as the shoulder. Of course this does not excuse GP's practice where "I regularly pass people on the right and then cut them off getting back into the left lane..." Unless I misunderstood GP's comment, that sounds like re…

You were being pedantic up until here, so let's continue with the presumption of pedantry: what GP described is very far from reckless driving because they knew exactly what they were doing. You can cut people off safely, if dickishly, because of how the laws of physics work: cars can't suddenly teleport into where you will be, acceleration (especially at those speeds) is relatively slow for the vast majority of passenger vehicles.

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#207

Post by mbostleman »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #55

There is another angle here besides the immediate impact (pun intended) of getting hit by a big truck. I'm nearly 60, but I can remember what it was like learning to drive back in 1980. Before SUVs and huge pickup trucks became common, and before tinting windows to near opacity became a thing, it was possible to see road conditions three cars ahead -- you simply looked through the windows of the car or cars in front…

I think that's more of a function of the relative difference between the sizes of your vehicle and the other vehicle, not the absolute size of the other vehicle. The relative size is a big factor in why mixing bikes with cars is so deadly. The other one, of course, is relative speed. Years ago I got my CDL and there was a multiple choice question to the effect of what is the safest speed to drive. Three of the answers were all relative to the speed limit and the correct answer was relative to other traffic: the safest speed is the speed of the cars around you, or zero relative speed.

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#208

Post by tomaskafka »

It seems that no one has yet posted the famous article linking SUVs to immaturity and low self esteem, so here we go.

> Car companies managed this remarkable feat because they ran—and continue to run—quite possibly the most sophisticated marketing operations on the planet. They knew what people really wanted: to project an image of selfish superiority. And then they sold it to them at a markup

> Who has been buying SUVs since automakers turned them into family vehicles? They tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7q7eb/electric-or-not-big-s...

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#209

Post by tomjakubowski »

HeatrayEnjoyer wrote: post #120
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We need to do something that makes SUV drivers feel ridiculous and humiliated Oh, that couldn't possibly have any side effects.

Hopefully it would have an effect. 95% of the people in these giant walls of steel have no reason to be driving them.

they need protection from the other people also driving giant walls of steel for no other reason than...

Re: Higher vehicle hoods significantly increase pedestrian deaths, study finds

#210

Post by consp »

Hamuko wrote: post #143
sschueller wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe vehicles like the Humer electric can't even be driven with a regular license because of its weight (3500kg is the limit). It's basically a large truck and requires a much more involved license.

The EV Hummer is probably impossible to get registered as anything other than a truck, but there's some trickery you can do with regular pick-up trucks. I found at least one F-150 on sale that is registered as a van and you can drive it with a regular passenger car (B) license instead of a light truck (C1) license. Shockingly, the van F-150 isn't even prohibitely expensive in tax: just 531€ per year. Although with 1.…

The F150 lightnings registered as a VAN can carry two passengers and about 250kg before going over it's registered and allowable weight limit. As a civilian those fines are hefty where I live, doing it as a company is extremely expensive. It's a useless vehicle except maybe for towing. If you fill all seats with some hefty adults wou'll already cross the weight limit.
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