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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

#191

Post by the_gastropod »

rhuru wrote: post #157
baggachipz wrote: post #6

Yeah but the drivers get to cosplay as Rugged Men™. The only thing that'll reverse the trend and stop this from getting worse will be government regulation. Then come the cries of "Now they're taking our trucks!"

Common sense is the first casualty when any topic has political bias to it. This comment demonstrates that. Large vehicles are important part of American economy and mostly driven by blue collar workers doing their work. For example things like plumbing, construction site work etc. Now a days environment scientists and engineers too drive these large vehicles as they are very important for their day to day work. Not…

> Large vehicles are important part of American economy and mostly driven by blue collar workers doing their work

Aaaaaaaabsolutely not! Trucks outnumber cars in every U.S. state. "Blue Collar" workers represent something like 16% of the U.S. workforce. The vast majority of truck drivers are not blue collar workers.

Other countries have blue collar workers too. And trucks! Have you seen what they look like? Check this bad-boy out. This is peak performance when it comes to manly-man workin' trucks. [1]

[1] https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2FA3BTR/a-small-blue-pickup-utilit...

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

#192

Post by dcotter »

stronglikedan wrote: post #182
dcotter wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

It's not illegal everywhere, and it's silly that it's illegal anywhere.

Not silly. Here's why:

1. Passing on the right, i.e. passenger side, means being in the driver's blind spot longer.

2. On- and off-ramps are almost always on the right, as are police making traffic stops, ambulances, cars pulled over on the shoulder, sidewalks, pedestrians, cross streets, etc.

3. Slower traffic is supposed to be in the right lane (because of #2), so a car accelerating to pass the car in front of it, suddenly in a lane of slow traffic, is a safety hazard to the slower drivers, regardless of #2.

I'm writing from the US, so for me left lane = driver's side.

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

#193

Post by anonymouskimmer »

punkybr3wster wrote: post #162
BobaFloutist wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just require a class A/B license to drive anything above...I don't know, 4000lbs? Exclude batteries from the weight if that becomes a problem for electric cars.

In the F150 Lightning the batteries even on a standard range weigh as much as a Volkswagen. The standard range batteries weigh something like 1800lbs. The ER model has about 25% more battery and the Platinum weight is like 7150lbs! So maybe around 2100lbs of that is battery? So you’re still over 5000lbs on that monster without the batteries.

> In the F150 Lightning the batteries even on a standard range weigh as much as a Volkswagen.

Even a Smart Fortwo is minimally 1800 lbs curb weight. How old is this Volkswagen? :)

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

#194

Post by autoexec »

Johnny555 wrote: post #50
olyjohn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't ignore that every other person also has moved from driving cars to crossovers that offer no actual advantages over a regular car. Most people want to sit high, and that's what sells crossovers. The hoods are higher in them too and we can't discount this and blame it all on big trucks.

that offer no actual advantages over a regular car. Most people want to sit high Isn't that the advantage? In a world where SUV's and trucks are more popular than sedans, sitting higher gives a sight advantage (and probably safety advantage in a side collision with one of those high cars). I drive a midsized sedan most of the time, but when I drive the RV (which has a higher seating position than many SUV's), I love…

That's just led to an arms race where nobody wins. Everybody wants to get higher and higher to get a less obstructed view. Restricting the height of cars would at least put a cap on the escalation while a push for smaller cars would make it less of a problem for everyone over time.

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

#195

Post by FooBarBizBazz »

danaris wrote: post #140
FooBarBizBazz wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the spirit, but don't like the unintended consequence that it would create a stigma around sedans -- "oh, those are the cars for the bad drivers". We need to do something that makes SUV drivers feel ridiculous and humiliated. Or, failing that, just make it expensive: Weight and size dependent tolls, say (using the fourth power of weight, possibly, to match road wear equations?). Or just fewer lanes in which th…

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…

> Full disclosure: I drive a Subaru Outback. [...T]he Outback's [gas mileage] is actually shockingly good for an SUV).

Funny, I call the Outback an AWD station wagon, not an SUV at all. I've got no problem with that; I'd be much happier if people bought those. Indeed, the very existence of Subarus seems to make most SUVs unnecessary. The only SUV Subaru makes (that I am aware of) is the Forester (and while that's a little larger than my ideal, it's not gigantic).

> We need to recognize that there's a wide variety of vehicles in the SUV category.

If I were Supreme Ruler, I would permit the Honda CRV (SUV), Toyota RAV4 (SUV), and Ford Maverick (truck) to exist, but no larger (ignoring commercial vehicles). Also station wagons, and minivans up to the size of the Honda Odyssey.

(As I am not Supreme Ruler, I recognize that this has all the weight of a random opinion on the Internet.)

> Are you actually trying to solve a real problem with what cars are on the road? Or are you just looking for a socially-acceptable group of people to bully and be mean to?

Full disclosure: I walk everywhere, or else I take the bus -- and on the rare occasions that I rent or borrow a car, it's typically a small sedan. I react negatively to oversized vehicles (a) because I view them as a threat to my person, and (b) because I'm acutely aware of the arms-race dynamics here. People buy big SUVs because they "feel safer", i.e., in a crash, they are more likely to survive and kill the other driver, rather than the other way around. Recognizing the primal violence underlying this, I respond that the solution is more primal violence, to disincentivize this selfishness and arrest the arms race before it goes any further.

None of which, I will add, applies to the Subaru Outback, which I'm totally cool with.

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

#196

Post by Zancarius »

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…

Depends on the state.

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2011/chapter66/artic...

Which is probably a good thing since drivers from out of state (ahem, Texas) tend to prefer to left lane, will go 10-15 under the posted speed limit, and promptly go 10-15 OVER the posted speed limit when you attempt to overtake them.

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

#197

Post by autoexec »

Havoc wrote: post #46

After the cybertruck my working assumption had been that US regulators had just given up on pedestrian safety.

Honestly all the "self-driving" car companies allowed to beta test their products on public streets show a strong disregard for pedestrian/public safety.

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

#198

Post by aidenn0 »

markdoubleyou wrote: post #117
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.

There's also the Audi RS6 Avant, a good option for anyone interested in spending $160K on a station wagon with 621 horsepower.

Oh, that beats out the AMG E-series wagon by 18 HP!

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

#199

Post by mrguyorama »

TrevorJ wrote: post #151
jetrink wrote: post #54

My proposed regulation is to introduce a hazardous vehicle license for large trucks and SUVs. Everyone is automatically granted one alongside their normal drivers license, but if you're caught driving recklessly (weaving through traffic on the highway, aggressively tailgating, speeding through residential or urban areas), you lose it and you have to drive a normal-sized car. Perhaps there's a way to earn it back thro…

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.

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

#200

Post by actionfromafar »

punkybr3wster wrote: post #153
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.

This is the one time I always pull out my “Thanks Obama!” without being ironic.

Yes, clearly the US needed less sedans and more F150s.
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