
These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us
About this video
Not Just Bikes explains how SUVs and light trucks have grown in size and share of US sales, and why that is dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and city life. He covers the regulatory loopholes, such as fuel economy rules and the chicken tax, that favored them.
Why it appears in the archive
It is HN's default link whenever vehicle size comes up, with commenters recommending it for the history of the light-truck loophole and the safety effects of tall bumpers.
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From the Hacker News discussion
As a European I was really surprised why SUVs are so popular in the US, making biking extremely dangerous. This documentary was quite eye-opening for me: [VIDEO] Similarly in Germany we’re building a new Autobahn in the middle of a city (Berlin) under extreme costs, while still neglecting investment in trains, because we’re a car country.
Read original comment ↗Just do yourself a favour and watch this video[0], you might learn why SUVs and in general cars with a taller bumper height are more dangerous. .0: [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗Here's a video I wish I could make every American watch [VIDEO] It provides a deep-dive video into the history of how we got to the situation we're in today with American cars exploding in size. It actually has its origins in Obama-era legislation for emissions standards that made an exception for "light trucks". SUVs are legally classified as light trucks so the industry has massively pushed these tanks onto the consumer promising more safety. It has led to a dramatic decrease in public safety and pedestrian deaths that is unique to the US. One contributor to these deaths is literally parents running over their own children in their own driveways. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS HAPPENING IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY. The video goes over the visibility issues with these trucks, how our safety regulations fail to account for them (light trucks only need to be tested in collision with other light trucks) and also covers how modern trucks have the same carrying capacity as pickup trucks from 30 years ago (the main thing that's increased is the hull and cabin size) while being harder to use for actual work since the bed is higher offer the ground
Read original comment ↗> Article didn't mention CAFE (which is the reason for larger sizes) nor chicken tax (which makes, even if they qualified under CAFE, foreign small trucks economically non-viable). I was pointed to the article from the just-posted Not Just Bikes video "These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us", which does go over those things: * [VIDEO] The point of the Axios article, which comes up at the 25m25s point in the NJB video, goes towards the point that the pickup truck has actually become less practical over the decades. And to the idea that most folks would be better served with a station wagon or perhaps a minivan. Trucks have gone from the cargo bed being >60% of the usable length (ignoring the engine), to the (crew) cab being >60% of the useable length. Pickup trucks gone from thing-haulers to people-haulers, in which case, why bother with that form factor?
Read original comment ↗Not Just Bikes video on the same subject today: [VIDEO] It's crazy to see how much trucks have blown up in the last few years. They clog up parking lots, barely fit in parking garages (let alone personal garages), blind me at night with their too-high too-bright headlights, and completely block cross-street vision for anything except other trucks when they park on the street. A complete failure of US govt regulation. At this point I hope gas prices go through the roof and punish these truck owners for their selfish decisionmaking.
Read original comment ↗Not Just Bikes just released a very relevant video about the very real problems that SUVs and modern trucks have on urban environments. [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗On that note, there's the video essay "These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us" [VIDEO] , which includes various statistics and some striking visual examples of the absolutely absurd grill heights of modern production vehicles.
Read original comment ↗Not Just Bikes, a YouTuber made a video about increasing vehicle sizes in the US and why you may be interested in [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗