The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs • Hacker News Board

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#671

Post by triceratops » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:25 AM UTC

giantg2 wrote: post #293

nkrisc wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drunk driving is already criminalized, generally socially unacceptable, and has received lots of attention over the decades. Vehicle size is a relevant factor in vehicle-pedestrian collisions regardless of the cause of the collision.

Alcohol is also a factor on the pedestrian side, not just the driver side. This has not been addressed. It is still a relevant factor on both sides. Yes, vehicle size/design is another factor.

> Alcohol is also a factor on the pedestrian side... This has not been addressed.

What is there to address? Unless you enforce that people only drink in private homes there will always be pedestrians who've had a few. Walking is probably the safest mode of transportation when you're impaired.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#672

Post by olyjohn » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:26 AM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #508

asdff wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now look at the front end of a toyota sienna vs a lincoln navigator. One slopes down so that you might actually see what is in front of you and allows for pedestrians to impact and roll up and off. The other is effectively a brick notorious for making it difficult to see obstructions in front of you as well as creating an impact that would sooner see the pedestrian explode into a bloody mess over just rolling up and…

Which has nothing to do with the weight of the vehicle. The Audi SQ8 E-Tron has a sloped hood and weighs more than the Navigator. There are vehicles with a square grille that weigh less than the Sienna.

Time for all of the crossover drivers to admit that they are also part of the problem. They aren't safe just because they are somewhat better than some jacked up bro truck.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#673

Post by TulliusCicero » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:28 AM UTC

mothballed wrote: post #235

TulliusCicero wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, it's not exactly the same situation, but it does ban them for the riders (the teens) who were previously on them. You could make it more analogous by saying that we could enforce stricter regulations on big SUVs and trucks in terms of, say, driver licensing, and you'd still have a huge outcry if we tried that.

It blew my mind the first time I rented a 35' long 26,000 GVWR diesel truck and drove it right onto the interstate. What you can accomplish on a simple US driving license is something special you can't get almost anywhere else in the world unless you count places where bribes work. The EU cuts you off at like 8,000 lbs.

And you can literally fall asleep at the wheel and get away with a $300 fine: https://komonews.com/news/local/sleeping-tesla-driver-speedi...

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#674

Post by seabird » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:28 AM UTC

xnx wrote: post #575

seabird wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thumb through IIHS numbers and you'll see that "bigger is better" doesn't pass a sniff test. https://www.iihs.org/ratings/driver-death-rates-by-make-and-...

Good data point. I'd assume that drivers of big cars are often worse/more dangerous drivers. Hard to control for in statistics, but a good driver in a big car is more protected against other bad drivers. For reference, I drive a compact car.

There's a lot of sociological observations you can make. RWD Challengers and Hemi Chargers are obviously going to be death magnets. The Altima gets the exact type of numbers you would expect. The WRX is surprisingly low. The Outback is no surprise considering your average Outback driver. Most of the chart toppers are the type of car you would buy if you're looking for trouble or you don't know how to drive. People with more expensive cars seem to be making an effort to not die in them.

A good road driver just generally positions themselves to not get hit by other cars, regardless of whether or not they're in something pretty nimble or a fat pig boat.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#675

Post by olyjohn » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:28 AM UTC

xnx wrote: post #567

kube-system wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The claim is not that they do, it is that they should. The high hood trend post-2009 has provides no functional utility.

> no functional utility Air cooling while towing (allegedly), but it must be a tiny percentage of owners that tow at all.

You mean cooling a 700lb-ft engine. Which is totally unnecessary. You don't need to do 80mph up the steepest hill in the world while towing 20,000lbs.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#676

Post by bastawhiz » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:28 AM UTC

tayo42 wrote: post #616

bastawhiz wrote: post #611

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: why am I able to buy a Ram 2500 and drive it without a CDL? I rented one recently to help a friend move some furniture and it's an unbelievably big vehicle. The example of the standard you suggest could equally apply to large motor vehicles: you need special training above and beyond the status quo for vehicles that meet a certain standard. To your own point, motor vehicle laws were largely written base…

You can rent and drive a truck bigger then that at uhaul

Arguably you shouldn't be able to, at least without being qualified to drive it. Just because it's legal doesn't mean someone made the active choice for it to be legal.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#677

Post by forgetfreeman » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:29 AM UTC

cyberlurker wrote: post #474

forgetfreeman wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're going to have a hard time hiding the entire SUV and Light Duty truck market behind an airstream, especially considering neither have transmissions capable of hauling one. Statistically almost nobody tows anything. Of those that do the vast majority tow stuff that comfortably falls within the pulling capacity of a Subaru Outback (or a VW Golf hatchback if you're really feeling rude). Nobody's trying to take any…

Those cars already exist. They are made in China and banned for sale in the US.

Oh don't I know it. I'm currently in the midst of a full blown temper tantrum over the Toyota Hilux being unavailable on the US market. I need an actual real truck for actual real truck shit and there's literally nothing on the market that's serviceable.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#678

Post by TulliusCicero » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:29 AM UTC

jorvi wrote: post #272

ggreer wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law doesn't ban them. It classifies fast e-bikes as motorcycles (which require registration, insurance, and a motorcycle endorsement).[1] This seems reasonable to me. The previous laws for e-bikes were based on outdated assumptions about battery & motor technology. I do think it would make more sense to simplify (and future-proof) the law to just say, "If it can go >30mph on level ground and has a motor, it's a m…

You do realize e-bikes only go 25 km/h? You're confusing them with speed pedelecs. Those go around 50 km/h, although that's still a far cry from scooter speeds, let alone motorbikes.

You do realize e-bikes exist beyond Europe? In the US, e-bikes can go up to 20mph (32 kmh) or 28 mph (45 kmh) depending on classification.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#679

Post by olyjohn » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:30 AM UTC

somerandomqaguy wrote: post #458

mikepurvis wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But families towed tent trailers back in the 80s behind their sedans and station wagons, too. Maybe there's a bit of circular reasoning going on here where people bought giant vehicles because they liked the aesthetics and internal roominess, and then the prevalence of giant vehicles opened up the market for larger and heavier towables— rigid body RVs, seadoos, a trailer full of gas dirt bikes, whatever it is. I also…

I think you're romanticizing that era a bit. The most commonly sold CUV's today are smaller length and width wise then station wagons or sedans way back when. The Crown Victoria was considered a regular sized sedan for it's day and it's as long as a crew cab F150. The land yachts easily match the footprint of the super cab F150 with shorter beds today, they just seem smaller because they're lower.

Crown Vic has always been full size. Sorry.

Re: The deadly rise of giant trucks and SUVs

#680

Post by olyjohn » Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:31 AM UTC

budsniffer952 wrote: post #434

mikepurvis wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But families towed tent trailers back in the 80s behind their sedans and station wagons, too. Maybe there's a bit of circular reasoning going on here where people bought giant vehicles because they liked the aesthetics and internal roominess, and then the prevalence of giant vehicles opened up the market for larger and heavier towables— rigid body RVs, seadoos, a trailer full of gas dirt bikes, whatever it is. I also…

> But families towed tent trailers back in the 80s behind their sedans and station wagons, too. Are we concerned about safety, or are we not? Because towing a 2000+ lb trailer behind a sedan is kind of dangerous.

Based on what?