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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

#61

Post by sickofparadox »

jewayne wrote: post #52
sickofparadox wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's government regulations that made trucks get this big, most people simply buy what is available in the form factor they like. Trucks are the most popular form factor in the United States (with pickups a close second)[1], and the manufacturers keep making the cars bigger because of the poorly written CAFE laws[2]. I, and I suspect most Americans with pickups, would prefer to purchase one the size of a '90s F-150 a…

> Making up some macho strawman to attack actually obfuscates the problem and makes discussing solutions more difficult. Blaming the government for getting captured by industry also obfuscates the problem and makes discussing solutions more difficult. The current (grotesque) CAFE standards went in during the last months of the Bush administration, as a gift to the automakers.

At the end of the day, the government makes the laws - regardless of any influences upon it. I think we both want the laws to change, we just disagree about what changes are needed. I encourage you to call your representatives, as I have done.

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

#62

Post by practicemaths »

mecsred wrote: post #44
practicemaths wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TBF Trucks and SUVs are relatively easier to drive in certain regards. Such as being able to see over parked traffic when making a turn. And I've found driving taller vehicles more comfortable for my back coincidentally.

When you become the parked traffic, how does anyone see over you? Guess they need an even taller vehicle.

Yup. There's certainly a feedback loop.

Just stating things that make these larger vehicles more easier to drive, especially for women whom on average are generally shorter so, even with pumping the seat up it's still considerably harder to see around traffic.

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

#63

Post by jewayne »

dingnuts wrote: post #32
KennyBlanken wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I see someone behind the wheel of the absolute largest SUV a company offers, it's a small woman. Even as far back when SUVs first became a thing, I noticed that the smallest moms at school at the biggest SUVs. They love the "might" that a huge vehicle gives them.

it's because they are mothers with >2 children. You cannot fit three car seats in the backseat of modern sedans, and station wagons don't meet the emissions requirements. Large SUVs meet CAFE regulations by being large enough to be regulated as a different class of vehicle. Want smaller trucks? Complain to your Congresscritter to reign in the EPA and force them to write better regulation that does not have these unin…

I love how everybody here who mentions the CAFE regulations neglects to mention that they were a gift to the automakers.

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

#64

Post by alistairSH »

cbondurant wrote: post #34

the current pavement princess trends have left me doubting that any more regulation of any kind will happen in the US.

Not just the pavement princess stuff - Congress is simply doing less period.[1]

Through most of the 20th century, 1000+ laws/year was common. Since 2000, that's dropped to 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_...

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

#65

Post by Havoc »

iknowstuff wrote: post #51
Havoc wrote: post #46

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

The cybertruck has not been shown to have lower pedestrian safety than other trucks. Ironically, you’re commenting on an article about higher hoods, and the CT has one of the lowest hoods among trucks on the market.

I'm commenting on pedestrian safety & regulators absence. Sharp edges and rolled steel instead of crumple zones is absolutely a bad time if you're a pedestrian. High hoods isn't the only possible risk.

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

#66

Post by AlgorithmicTime »

closewith wrote: post #42
sickofparadox wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's government regulations that made trucks get this big, most people simply buy what is available in the form factor they like. Trucks are the most popular form factor in the United States (with pickups a close second)[1], and the manufacturers keep making the cars bigger because of the poorly written CAFE laws[2]. I, and I suspect most Americans with pickups, would prefer to purchase one the size of a '90s F-150 a…

Does anyone call an SUV a truck? Surely pickups are trucks.

Some SUVs qualify as trucks under the definitions written into the law.

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

#67

Post by aidenn0 »

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…

Non-trucks attempting a right-turn-on-red next to trucks are also more likely to hit a pedestrian, though if they are driving in a sane manner, it's unlikely to be fatal. I cannot see a pedestrian over the hood of a truck stopped just short of the crosswalk until my bumper is already well into the crosswalk.

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

#68

Post by s1artibartfast »

beretguy wrote: post #28

Whoever injures - or knock on wood kills - somebody with a truck with such a high hood should serve a mandatory prison sentence.

I think it should depend on the circumstances.

If the pedestrian is at fault, I think the individual, or their estate, should have to pay for the truck repairs and therapy for the driver.

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

#69

Post by AlgorithmicTime »

jewayne wrote: post #59
hipadev23 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Government regulation is what forced manufacturers to make bigger vehicles.

But who asked for the government regulations? Perhaps the manufacturers themselves? Edit: Yeah, it was the manufacturers.

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