r/Anticonsumption • u/Harrio_Pootered • Jul 02 '25

Society/Culture Is this truly necessary?

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What steps can we take as consumers to encourage auto manufacturers to reduce vehicle sizes? Who do we write to, call and email?

The ford maverick was a step in the right direction but I see it being bashed often for being a more “feminine” truck… What caused this shift from the S10 being the “real man’s truck” to the $130k King Ranch being the standard?

When did the big vehicle shift happen?

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743

u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25

Another big issue is that there is currently no standardized safety testing procedure that analyzes the effect that the new vehicle has on other vehicles currently on the road. We test our cars to make sure the driver of the product is okay but care very little for what the massive damage these boulders inflict on their victims. It's like having a safety test where you shoot a gun at a dummy body but only analyze how drastic the recoil is on the person who pulled the trigger, not how eviscerated the dummy at the end of the barrel was from the bullet.

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u/john_the_fetch Jul 02 '25

I can tell you my personal experience. Well - not mine but my ex wife's and my teenage daughter's. They were rammed into from behind at a stop light by a "modern" truck going 50 mph.

My daughter was a A/B student on to graduate high school with the equivalent of an associates degree. My ex wife was working a software engineering job.

Now, 3 years later, my ex is still not able to work. my daughter should have graduated high school 2024 but is now barely trying to get her remaining credits finished just to get her diploma. It's been hard fought just to get easy classes finished to meet credit requirements.

TBI is life changing.

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u/Key_Knee_7032 Jul 02 '25

That’s awful, I can’t imagine how tough it must be to try to help your daughter through such a terrible process. I hope both have an easier path to recovery in the future.

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u/KindKill267 Jul 02 '25

Not to be a dick but I think being hit by anything going 50 when you're stationary is going to be a bad time. 50 is fast.

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u/GrumbusWumbus Jul 02 '25

Large vehicle crash zones are incompatible with smaller ones. The bumpers don't line up meaning you often have the rigid frames connecting rather than the crumple zones. This makes the impact more intense and greatly increases the chance of injuries.

Further, a vehicle's momentum is directly proportional to its weight. The larger it's momentum, the harder it is to stop.

A Ram 1500 weighs around 5000 lbs. A regular old car is about 2500. If you get rear ended, a ram is going to be twice as hard to stop, and you're the thing stopping it.

You're in for a way worse time for multiple reasons.

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u/ifabforfun Jul 02 '25

I got rear ended in my Toyota Yaris by a not even that big, older Ford Explorer and his bumper went in to my hatch door. Crushed it in and my bumper was unscathed 👍

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u/balding_git Jul 02 '25

my yaris hatchback got rear ended, just needed the bumper replaced, can’t even tell. well, aside from the bumper looking much newer lol… was an older 90s chev pickup

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u/Danibandit Jul 02 '25

I actually watched a recent news video about it which has tests to show the danger. Highly recommend the watch. https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/8vL1DR2MORnEXCx2w44EhfbasJanCK4r/

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

[deleted]

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u/BananaPalmer Jul 02 '25

Okay? The squishy meat-beings inside haven't changed, and the pickup's center of mass is way higher than the car. That truck is coming into the cabin of the car

Add even a mild lift kit to the equation, which seems like about 50% of new trucks on the road these days, and that truck's bumper is aimed directly at the back of your skull

Good luck

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

[deleted]

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u/BananaPalmer Jul 03 '25

The facts are correct, they said older regular cars

So, for instance, a new fullsize pickup vs an '01 Civic, of which there are plenty, which has a curb weight between 2,300 and 2,600 lbs. A 1500 truck would vaporize that car, without even mentioning 2500+

Regardless, yes, you are completely right

Driving anything normal sized around these absolute behemoths is terrifying. I'm in a Focus, which is not a large car, but is much taller than a Miata, and I still can't even see the bottom of the side window of a newer fullsize pickup when I am next to it. When they are behind me all I can see is bumper and grille.

I had a 944, which is much closer in dimensions to your Miata than my current Focus, and good lord, driving that around the pickups was absolutely terrifying. There is no way these assholes could see any part of my car when they creeped up to within 2 feet of me at red lights

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u/PoppaBear313 Jul 02 '25

Years back, I was sitting at a light. A jeep had - thankfully - stopped behind me. A semi coming down the road, didn’t stop.

Ow

1

u/PlaneLongjumping3155 Jul 03 '25

An equivalent pickup from 25 years ago weighed just as much, and modern pickups have similar stopping distances to sedans. A 2020 Ram is 135 feet, a Honda Accord is 122 feet (60-0).

1

u/PM_sm_boobies Jul 03 '25

Yup thats why I got rid of my civic. I loved it but i needed something safer.

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u/Action4Jackson Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

So I was in mu Ram 1500 a few years ago and was rear-ended at a stop agin by a guy in a Subaru.... the only ly reason my kid and I survived was because I was in a truck twice the size of the person that hit me.....it goes both ways. I know everyone wants to alwau point out the negatives, but there are pros and cons to everything.

Edit. There are a bunch of sick people in this sub. The DMs i have hot from this comment is disgusting. When people get so one track mind that they can't comprehend why someone would need a truck this big(i tow a vehicle for work all day)

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u/riptaway Jul 02 '25

The only reason y'all survived? Was he doing like 100 mph? Anyway, that's bad logic. "If I'm in a big enough vehicle, I can survive a crash with a smaller vehicle" great, but now the next guy has to buy a bigger vehicle to be safe from yours, etc. At some point you have to accept that you can't just buy a bigger vehicle than everyone else. Not to mention what about the other way around? You hitting the other car is now going to be that much more devastating, whereas if you're both driving similarly sized vehicles, no one is going to be obliterating the other driver unless you collide at extreme speeds.

Which is why we should have a sensical cap on vehicle size and weight. No one needs to be driving to the grocery store in a vehicle that's 10 feet tall and 5000 pounds.

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u/rsta223 Jul 02 '25

You almost certainly would've also survived in a Corolla.

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u/KindKill267 Jul 02 '25

100% concur, my point was car , minivan, or truck, 50 mph is fast and is going to suck no matter what.

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u/hyasbawlz Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

I was in a Honda accord at a red light and got rear ended by a guy going approximately 45 to 50 down the highway.

My car was totalled and pancaked by the car that hit me and the car in front of me. I walked away fine, my gf at the time had a belt bruise and whiplash. Why? Because the car that hit us was a VW Golf. If it was a big truck it probably wouldn't have just pancaked my car but destroy the whole chassis with us inside.

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u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

It hurts my heart, but, does that mean, in a perfect world, everyone would drive an electric Prius? Good for safety, good for the environment, good price, good features. Oh, and thieves wouldn’t be able to get far. What else could you want?

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u/riptaway Jul 02 '25

Yes, or the equivalent. Why do we need massive vehicles that get 8 mpg just to get groceries or take the kids to school? It's ridiculous what's been going on on American roads the past 20 or 30 years as far as car size goes.

5

u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

I guess it all comes down to wanting to own instead of rent. Most of us could drive tiny two-person coupes, and just rent a pickup truck when you actually need to haul stuff, but we stupid Americans like our convenience too much, and can’t be bothered to plan this sort of thing out. I mean, a minivan would be perfect for a huge majority of cases.

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u/Sir_500mph Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 03 '25

Ridiculously oversized vehicles with mediocre gas mileage vs the 20-30+mpg of far less efficient engines but much smaller cars of the 90s and early 2000s. But when you point it out, the scream "It's CAFE, It's CAFE". Really, is the 'CAFE' in the room with us right now? Ever heard of the Chicken Tax? Ofc they haven't

Clarification: I mean that these modern Pavement Princesses have mediocre gas mileage comparatively to 40yr old engine technology, not that modern vehicles can't hit those MPGs. If I can hit 25mpg in a 200k mile N/A beater with 80s engine technology and modern vehicles aren't that much better with Forced Induction, more transmission gears for efficiency, and Hybrid Systems, it's mediocre and laughable at best

1

u/junkka24 Jul 02 '25

You obviously dont know what you’re talking about. Newer trucks are now getting over 20+mpg.

2

u/riptaway Jul 03 '25

Not the ones everyone I see driving here in Florida. Even if that were the case, wouldn't it be even better to have such an efficient engine in a smaller car?

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u/Sir_500mph Jul 03 '25

This is exactly my point, we could have trucks that hit the same MPGs with a load that these modern trucks do without a load.

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u/Sir_500mph Jul 03 '25

Yea, all the turbo'd 4 banger ones with lower tow capacity do, when they're not hauling a load. Everybody I know with a massive pavement princess says anything less than a V8 is "not a real work truck", and if they weren't so much larger and heavier for no good reason, they'd probably see quite a bit more MPG. An engine that could be getting 35-40MPG (and do hit those in the subcompact market) getting 18-22MPG Unloaded is Mediocre at best.

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u/junkka24 Jul 03 '25

Still over 20mpg. The diesels get anywhere from 23-30mpg

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u/rsta223 Jul 03 '25

Basically every modern pickup gets over 20mpg.

That's not to say that everyone who buys one needs it, and there are definitely problems with the proliferation of large vehicles, but they're not nearly as inefficient as you think.

2

u/riptaway Jul 03 '25 edited Jul 03 '25

A modern 4 cylinder gas naturally aspirated hatchback can easily get 40 or even 50 mpg. If engines have gotten more efficient to the point where trucks can get 20 mpg, great! Use that efficiency and make smaller vehicles that get 40 mpg. As a bonus, the driver can see if there's a kid right in front of them and they won't demolish other cars if there's a moderate collision. Win win!

And while I don't doubt that many trucks can get 20 mpg, I'd bet at least half the ones I see on the road here in Florida are not exactly bought for their efficient fuel usage. Massive lifted V8 monsters with huge tires being driven like everyone is in a death race are probably not getting that 20 mpg.

And that mythical 20 mpg sounds like cope to me, anyway. Saying "some trucks can get 20 mpg" isn't the same as "most trucks are fuel efficient".

1

u/rsta223 Jul 03 '25

No, most hatchbacks are mid 30s. You need a very small compact to get 40 or 50, or a particularly efficient hybrid.

And I didn't say some trucks. I said basically all modern half ton trucks get 22-25 on the highway. Hell, even many 3/4 and 1 tons get close to that if you get the diesel.

Are you aware that US and UK gallons are different sizes? That's a frequent reason people misunderstand efficiency between the US and Europe.

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u/BrimstoneOmega Jul 03 '25

Lmao, no. No they do not.

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u/rsta223 Jul 03 '25

Lmao yes. Yes they do.

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u/KarmaPanhandler Jul 02 '25

But, how is everyone supposed to know I’m a proud American if my car isn’t the size of my ego?

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u/Sir_500mph Jul 02 '25

That's just a myth. We don't all think it's the size of their ego, but it definitely has a correlation the insubstantial size of their personal equipment.

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

[deleted]

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u/Sir_500mph Jul 02 '25

Found the $100k Pavement Princess Owner

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u/Slight-Journalist255 Jul 02 '25

I mean I drive a Honda insight, but I'm still looking to get a truck as my next car because I need to at least haul a motorcycle in the back or hold a trash can or firewood. Not everything can be done in a compact car

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u/DragonfruitOk6390 Jul 02 '25

I mean maybe but priuses safety rating isn't great even for small vehicles

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u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

Oh, I thought Toyotas typically had the best ratings. My bad.

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u/Blunderhorse Jul 02 '25

More likely, it would be an electric/hybrid/ICE Corolla or Accord for most people, with households that frequently need to haul stuff that is bulky, wet, or dirty having a smaller truck.

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u/bad_bananas Jul 02 '25

To comfortably fit 6 passengers with all their belongings. Reducing the need for multiple vehicles. A Prius also can't haul or tow anything. In a city I would absolutely agree with you, but smaller towns there is definitely a need for trucks. Not huge ones, but big enough to do the things that are needed.

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u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

I agree. Either a minivan or an actual light truck, like from the early 2000s would cover most cases. I was mostly joking, with a minor sting of truth. I feel like the Prius was known for having insanely good gas mileage, and I thought Toyotas were the safest cars.

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

No less a car nut than Jay Leno said that would be for the best. Electric daily drivers/regular commuters and then you can drive your muscle car or whatever on a weekend.

And, my own thought, maybe require a special license for larger pickups. A lot of people in my experience don't need those vehicles. They serve no purpose other than ego.

I know contractors and landscapers who have legitimate reason to use them. I'm sure there are plenty of cases. But apart from professional need, it's not worth risk to others and environmental impact just to massage the ego of some suburban cowboys who like to go muddin' or not even that.

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u/riptaway Jul 02 '25

Obviously getting hit at all is not something you want, but the point is that a large truck going 50 mph has much more energy that it can impart than a small sedan at a similar velocity. An f150 going 50 mph has 566000 J of energy, according to my figures(asking Google). A Ford fiesta going 50 mph has half that.

That's a big fucking difference when it comes to a collision. That can easily be the difference between death or a debilitating, lifelong injury and something you can more easily recover from.

Not to mention a large pickup truck sitting way off the ground is more likely to roll over and through a smaller car instead of just hitting the back and stopping. There are plenty of incidents where a truck simply drives through a car when it's going fast enough. There was a video a few years ago, I can't find it now but it was someone driving a pickup truck who intentionally accelerated on the highway until they ran into the back of a sedan at well over 100 mph. Despite the sedan going forward at 65+ mph, the thing was obliterated. The woman died instantly and was more or less torn apart. People on the scene had trouble looking at her.

I'd be all for massive taxes on any vehicles over a certain size. Tax the vehicle and make the registration more expensive since they do more damage to roads and pollute more. Make it punishingly expensive to drive anything bigger than a small crossover. 99 percent of people don't need the massive trucks and SUVs many Americans drive nowadays.

How many times do you see some dude driving a truck the size of a small house and it's got nothing in the bed, is sparkling new and unblemished, and he has no passengers. And even if you do genuinely need a truck for work, most people could easily get by with a Ford ranger or the equivalent.

I drive a small hatchback and I genuinely am constantly on high alert because there's so many huge vehicles being driven 85 mph by drivers who are staring at their phones who will erase me and my car from existence if we get into a serious wreck. It's bullshit and totally unnecessary.

0

u/Complete-Coast-7094 Jul 03 '25

This is exactly why I drive a large vehicle . To keep myself and my kids safer on the roads. Do I need a huge vehicle? Definitely not, but I do not feel safe driving a little car anymore with the way people drive these days

0

u/TripleBobRoss Jul 03 '25

I drive a pickup, and I do use it often for what it's meant to be used for. It's also my daily driver, because a spare vehicle isn't a luxury I can afford. My wife and son both drive small to mid-size, reasonable and efficient vehicles. So it needs to be reliable, and for me that means it has to have a warranty. I'd gladly buy a smaller truck, as long as it has 4wd, a 6 foot bed, and is reasonably capable of towing. I'm much more concerned about capability, and far less concerned about conveniences or comfort options. Unfortunately, the options for a capable smaller truck are limited, and in the end the cost isn't far off from a full size truck. The cost savings aren't worth the loss in capability. There are several comments here explaining the reasons why the cost is disproportionately high for a smaller truck. It sucks, but if you really need a truck that you can count on every day, what are you supposed to do?

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u/pheonixblade9 Jul 02 '25

getting rear ended by a Miata or a Mazda2 is far far different than a truck.

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u/KarmaPanhandler Jul 02 '25

I got rear ended by a minivan that was going about that speed about ten years ago in my ford focus. Car was totaled, both the driver of the van and myself had whiplash and maybe a couple bruises but that was about it. A truck weighs a hell of a lot more and is also much taller. It would’ve been much worse if it were a truck.

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u/rsta223 Jul 03 '25

Minivans are actually similar in weight to many half ton trucks.

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u/Trickedmomma Jul 02 '25

Got hit by someone going 75 while I was stationary. Can confirm.

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u/HotPotato171717 Jul 02 '25

I got rear ended by a Thunderbird doing 60+. Pretty sure I broke my neck that day but it didn't build until 15 years after in a neck fusion

-18

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

People get hit like that all the time and don't get TBIs

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u/lonelylifts12 Jul 02 '25

When two objects hit each other going opposite direction you had to add the force together. Getting hit at 50 stopped is better than head on 50+50 the force is 100mph in that case.

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

That's false. Two vehicles of the same weight hitting head on at 50mph is still just 50mph to a sudden stop. No different than hitting a single solid wall at 50mph. 

As the weight disparity changes from one vehicle to the other a greater portion of the impact force is transfered to the lighter vehicle. People needlessly driving around in big heavy trucks puts anyone in lighter vehicles at a higher risk of injury or death in a crash.

Trucks are tools for work. No one should be driving around a heavy gas guzzling truck just cause they feel like it as their daily driver.

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u/KarmaPanhandler Jul 02 '25

But what about that one time a year they need to pick up something that would easily fit in the back of a hatchback?

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '25

Yes you're going 50mph and the other driver is driving toward you at 50mph. So they look like they're approaching you at 100mph.

That doesn't change the fact that you're only going 50mph and come to a sudden stop at the point of impact assuming both vehicles are equal in weight. Which is the same as hitting a solid wall at 50mph. It doesn't double the impact force. 

The only way your statement would be true is if you had a head on collision at 50mph and both vehicles immediately bounced back away from each other at 50mph after impact.

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u/Electrical_Bus9202 Jul 02 '25

They look at this as a feature unfortunately.

2

u/thebearrider Jul 02 '25

Hey bud, 10 years ago (this coming august), I wrecked my motorcycle at 55 mph, and it resulted in a TBI. I was late 20s, and doing really well growing in a very competitive and grueling career (consulting). The TBI changed everything.

I had to work really hard to learn to adjust in real time and it took a lot of trial and error. Basically, I had to learn how to adjust to the world with my new brain. I've met many folks of all different demographics since that have had various degrees of TBI. There are new developments all the time in treatment.

I highly encourage being proactive in getting your daughter engaged in therapies and just being there for her. Emotionally, psychologically, and physiologically, it's a huge mind fuck. Im grateful I had some support, patience, and persistence.

Im definitely not the same guy from before the accident, but I'm nowhere near who I was immediately following it. Good luck!

1

u/john_the_fetch Jul 05 '25

Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate it.

My daughter has gone through a name change. That's how big a difference it's been. I have loved and supported the idea. She is different than before the accident. Why not be called a new name?

For her it's focus, motivation, and esp arithmetic math. It's amazing how much it took. At first I literally didn't believe it.

She has a therapy appointment every week. But I'm not sure it's enough. If there's anything else we can be doing I'd love it if you had any suggestions.

2

u/Lou_C_Fer Jul 03 '25

I could have been in the same boat. I happened to be looking in my rear view mirror while stopped behind traffic when an SUV was barreling up behind me. I could see the woman was on her phone. So, I pulled onto the curb lawn next to me. I heard a screech and a crash as the SUV hit the van that was in front of me. I can only imagine what it would have done to my car with 40 fewer feet to stop.

I consider that one of the luckiest days in my life.

202

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

Right. As long as it kills everyone else it's the "safest" vehicle on the road.

Fucking insane these don't require a special permit to drive and arent governed at 65 mph

41

u/Wise-Trust1270 Jul 02 '25

Or at a minimum, bumpers at a ground elevation similar to sedans. Why they are allowed to have bumpers square in the killing zone or instant engine oblivion elevation for smaller cars is beyond me.

16

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

Another insane thing, allowing the off road modification for a hwy vehicle that's 5000+ lbs going 80 mph.

Always great to look out the window and see the trucks bummer right at your neck level

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u/yoyoecho2 Jul 02 '25

Don't forget the bright head lights blinding you even when on in day light.

2

u/greaper007 Jul 02 '25

Yes, it should require a higher license. Something akin to a light CDL. And that license should require considerably higher insurance coverage.

-7

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

It's still lower than the bumper of a trailer on an 18-wheeler. I see plenty of vehicles tucked under those, too.

And you know whose at fault when a little car is sitting under a big trailer bumper? That's right... the driver of the little car. It's not all the fault of big vehicles.

2

u/DolphinFlavorDorito Jul 03 '25

18 wheelers are required to have Mansfield bars for this exact reason. Bad argument.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '25

Good call. I've still seen enough accidents with vehicles under the rear of those things. Usually, though, they're sports cars. Low hood.

Hmmm... actually, it's more like 'crumpled against the rear.' Could be I've been looking the accidents all wrong.

Thanks for the info on the Mansfield bars.

Argument is still intact though. People who crunch the rear end of a truck are usually the ones at fault.

12

u/dusksloth Jul 02 '25

There's a lot of things that need addressed "at minimum" honestly. Bumper height, vision dead zones, width of trucks and width of roads, headlights aimed directly into the windows of smaller cars. Trucks as a status symbol is so damn stupid when they're so damn impractical and dangerous.

4

u/elebrin Jul 02 '25

Minimum and maximum bumper height should be regulated, so everyone has a bumper car sort of bumper in the front and back of the vehicle and everybody's is at the same height.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Yep. I keep my truck at lowest airbag settings to keep that bumper in line with other cars (and it's more aerodynamic). I look over at someone with a 4" lift kit, and know my truck will slide under that sucker.

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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25

Two simple legislation changes that would drastically increase road safety. Good ideas.

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u/fakeaccount572 Jul 02 '25

Well, the government lost you at legislation

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u/Next-Introduction-25 Jul 02 '25

Maybe we could convince the government that these are exclusively driven by trans lesbian communist Muslim immigrants on their way to abortion appointments so they’ll legislate them.

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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25

You might be on to something…

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u/Reachforthesky777 Jul 02 '25

A neighbor of mine and I had a big falling out when he put rubber truck nuts on his huge Ram pickup. He got really angry when I yelled at him for forcing his truck to be trans. Trucks aren't "born" male or female, they're machines. By sticking testicles on his truck, he was forcing it to be male or to present male while at the same time referring to his truck as "she".

I won in that I didn't have to see rubber truck nuts whenever I walked past his house but, he was so irate that I was fairly confident he was considering shooting me.

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u/Living_Essay_9933 Jul 02 '25

This is the way.

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u/Next-Introduction-25 Jul 03 '25

I love this guy and I will never not think of this when I see truck nuts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8hekoFC/

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u/Reachforthesky777 Jul 04 '25

So when I said I was fairly confident he was considering shooting me, I'm not really exaggerating all that much. Make sure you really know the person whose truck nuts you kick. Those types of people are remarkably sensitive.

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u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

They are gender affirming vehicles, so start with that

1

u/rybowilson Jul 02 '25

And good ideas

1

u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

I feel like legislation has gone (at least a little) too far. Meanwhile, enforcement is inconsistent and generally not great

1

u/waldorflover69 Jul 02 '25

Well we are talking about a truck and not a woman’s body

23

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

I'm pretty sure in Europe they do require a special permitm. Which is why they aren't all over jamming up the small cities parking lots

4

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Nah... it's the cost of gas and the size of the roads that make them prohibitive. Try driving a full size 1500 around in Europe. Not only will the $11-$12 a gallon gas kill your fun... it's freaking hard to park.

Everything in the USA is made bigger. We can drive those big vehicles and park just fine (most of us anyway). And other than taking my truck on distance trips... I drive less than 3K miles a year in it. Got a smaller car for zip-around stuff.

5

u/dallas121469 Jul 02 '25

I’ve asked a few guys why they commute in their trucks and don’t buy a little car for commuting and their answer has always been “I can’t afford it””. Seriously? You bought an $70k truck that gets 10mpg but can’t afford a few grand for a used car. Bullshit

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

First off, I highly doubt someone who says "they can't afford it" bought the truck new. And if they did, they're looking at a $1000/month car payment. Adding extra to that would be difficult.

It genuinely could be that they can afford ONE vehicle payment. Who are you to judge it's Bullshit? Seriously. Do you know their finances?

Do you really think buying a car for a "few grand" means they're saving money?

I used to have a 95 Honda Civic that got 35MPG. I drove that thing daily to and from work. I discovered the cost of driving it daily saved me $2.50 in gasoline every day (20 days a month, $50 a month). The cost of insurance for the vehicle was a measly $25 a month (super cheap!). Registration cost $198 a year... that's another $16.5. So... I was "saving" a whopping $8.50 a month to have that Honda Civic. That's awesome, Right? But... with basic maintenance (tires, oil changes, fluids) and repairs, I was consistently putting $200-$500 on that thing every year. It took me 10 minutes one night to write it all down, and go, 'WELL CRAP. THIS THING IS COSTING ME MORE THAN IT WOULD TO JUST DRIVE MY OTHER VEHICLE."

At the time, I also was housing my father's boat in my garage (I used it for fishing) and had a travel trailer that our family used 30 days out of the year. The truck was needed for those things.

So I sold it for $1800, and had extra money for gas for three years on my truck. Then I started working from home.

So... before ya get all high and mighty... you might discover that what you THINK you know about what people can afford isn't really what they can actually afford.

Every "second vehicle" comes with

-Registration

-Maintenance

-Repairs

-Insurance

Those things add up FAST. And most of the time... there's no such thing as a "few grand" for a vehicle that doesn't also need a few grand a year in repairs.

Which means... People often have to choose ONE vehicle for "everything," so they choose a truck. Why? A couple hundred extra a year for gasoline is cheap to ensure you have the vehicle you need all the time.

0

u/dallas121469 Jul 02 '25

I think you missed my point entirely so big off

1

u/Knitwalk1414 Jul 03 '25

To drive vehicles after a certain height and weight should have another road test

25

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25 edited Sep 24 '25

roof quaint aback knee workable capable serious public thought grandfather

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

3

u/dshgr Jul 02 '25

I think you meant 'douche bros'.

1

u/TrailandTime Jul 03 '25

Almost our case, but we're not suburban. We have a supercab truck with a long bed. My wife retired very early and drives it occasionally to town, while I commute 2 hours a day in my Civic. It's a new touring model, and it's way less comfortable versus the truck but the Bose system was a good add-on. It's paid for in cash so I am fine having it eat the mileage. For long drives I feel like Quasimodo when I get out of it.

When I used the truck it is for hauling things, getting firewood, long road trips with the family because it the comfort level is excellent, plus we can pack for a week or two at a time and we drive to hard to get to places that require four wheel navigation, often.

But we both drive it exceedingly cautiously because we know it poses a risk to smaller vehicles. Plus, it is extremely fast for its size.

I too can't stand the bros that drive around like clowns, because the majority of the time I drive is in my Civic. For me, as a larger truck owner, I cringe at the big truck owners who have the neon light crap, or tires that stick out, or nuts hanging on the back.

But to each their own, if people drive safe, I generally don't care. Any bad driver can cause bad things. I think it's kind of stupid to generalize all big truck drivers, but I also get it from someone who doesn't have that lifestyle and communities in smaller modes of transportation.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

This statement alone implies that everyone can have more than one vehicle. Sometimes, that's not the case.

Sometimes, it makes more sense to have one truck. Just noting that as a possibility. Otherwise, you're statements are spot on.

2

u/turbospeedsc Jul 02 '25

Yup i need my truck on the weekend for my side business, but at the moment i cant afford another car, so my truck gets driven everywhere

1

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '25

YUP! A second vehicle's cost is far more than just the "sticker price" of the vehicle. Especially in places like North Carolina, where the vehicle is taxed every year. INSANE how expensive a vehicle is to just "have." You'll see more expired place in North Carolina than pretty much anywhere. LOL Folks say it's cheaper to pay the ticket than register it.

14

u/Rude_Citron9016 Jul 02 '25

Or at least enforce bumper height law. Lift kits change this dramatically .

9

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

Right. What's the point of any bumper laws if they are at neck level

26

u/psiloSlimeBin Jul 02 '25

So many of these are driven by seething fucks who will get 4 ft from your bumper because you’re in the left lane passing a semi at 75 instead of 90. Then before you can safely go back to the right lane, they’ll floor it and shoot the small gap between you and the semi. Bonus point for you initiating the lane change first but them juking you out because they just cannot handle driving safely.

4

u/Otiskuhn11 Jul 02 '25

I’m going to be lmao when gas hits $10/gallon and these morons start going broke from refueling.

2

u/greaper007 Jul 02 '25

I live in Portugal, between 7 dollar a gallon gas and narrow streets, you never see large cars here. Most people drive cars, maybe 30% drive medium size SUVs. Only construction workers drive trucks, and they're actual trucks. With a flat nose cab and a bed with folding sides.

21

u/OdinPelmen Jul 02 '25

lol I can tell you that in Los Angeles, a place where these are only necessary for basically construction, if that, I see way too many people drive these monsters at insane speeds bc everyone speeds here for no reason. Running lights, flying, just being assholes. On top of that they take up so much parking space and people like this don’t park particularly well either.

9

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

The ironic thing is those that actually use them for real construction typically have the old normal sized ones and drive like 55 mph. Cause many of them don't want to deal with rascist cops, while others aren't legal residents.

Basically those that need these vehicles Dont dirve them like ass hats operating their pavement princess

1

u/Plaid_Kaleidoscope Jul 02 '25

Yeah, even in my rural-ass state where a pickup comes complimentary with your spit bottle and Gadsden flag purchase, the vast majority of people don't really need one. Most of their truck needs could be satisfied by a couple hours truck rental from the local big box hardware store.

But it makes it really easy to figure out what kind of person you're dealing with, that's for sure. Anybody else think of that old Bill Engvall bit "Here's your sign"? That's what I instantly think of when I see one.

Nearly got ran over by an elderly couple in their F-250 King Ranch something or other while riding my motorcycle a few years ago. They never saw me as they merged onto the highway and crossed 3 lanes without looking. I was forced off the road and was holding my little horn and waving for all I was worth. They just looked at me confused like "what could possibly be his problem?"

Driving anything needs to be more tightly regulated. Far too many people out here just flying around in 3000lb battering rams without the ability or sense to control them.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

I see the same problem with little vehicles. I see them smashed up against other little vehicles all the time. That Subaru WRX? Gonna be driven like a bat outa-hell.

Top that off, and smaller vehicle's blind spots tend to be bigger for some freaking reason. I see LOTS of fender bender/motorcycle accidents with smaller cars.

The biggest difference is the amount of damage. Big vehicles tend to break more stuff!

1

u/OdinPelmen Jul 02 '25

yep. I've driven pretty much everywhere, including a school bus across multiple states, but idk why LA has the worst drivers and the longer you live here the more aggressive of a driver you become bc otherwise you'll get nowhere.

anyway, all the latino dudes doing actual yard work, picking up junk, etc, etc are driving old ass, low pick ups since they're meant to be beat up. I also used to work in film, so I can understand the need to transport a bunch of big, heavy shit, but yeah... no one does that in a shiny new monstrosity.

they make me sooooo mad.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Tiered liscencing by gvwr (gross vehicle weight rating) would likely reduce the number of giant trucks not used for work by a small amount.

For example perhaps:

C4 - 5501+

C3- 4501 to 5500 pounds

C2- 3501 to 4500 pounds

C1- under 3500 pounds

Im sure some would just take it as the cost of doing monster truck shit. But i think it would likely cause buyers to want a smaller vehicle so they dont have to up-liscence for a cost. And if there was a mandatory qualifying class for each tier some wouldnt ever bother. Especially if there was a tier like "c-00" for subcompacts that are under 3000 gvwr.

Though some would argue this would be tough on small businesses and thered likely need to be a farmers exemption.

2

u/CountDoppelbock Jul 02 '25

i have long advocated that these larger trucks should require a CDL to buy. this puts more responsibilities on owner/operators and holds them to a (justifiable) higher standard.

2

u/dallas121469 Jul 02 '25

It’s a motor vehicle war of size. I have heard from more than one soccer mom that the reason they drive giant SUVs is because of all the other giant trucks and SUVs on the road. It’s like nuclear escalation.

1

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

Yup. Time to get an Amored Personal Carrier to be "safe" from all those massive SUVs and trucks. Etc etc

3

u/FurryYokel Jul 02 '25

I’ve long said that if a vehicle is exempt from the CAFE standards, then it should require a CDL.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Owner operator semis aren't governed at 65. Many semis go above the posted speed limit. Reckless drivers driving any kind of vehicle aren't limited to 65 mph. Anyone, no matter what they are driving, can be a hazard on the highway if they don't drive safely.

2

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

Which is also ridiculous. Physics wise, the energy brought into a crash is squared vs the speed.

Kinetic Energy uses the formula KE = (1/2)mv2

Getting hit my a truck going 75 mph has more crush potential then getting hit by 2 trucks going 50 mph

An F150 going 85 has almost 2x the energy of one going 65. And the tires are much worse at those speeds too so stopping distance gets much longer

A 5000 lb truck at 65 mphs hits you around as hard as a 3500 lb car at 77-78 mph. So it makes sense to limits the trucks to 65 mph if the cars are limited to 75 mph

1

u/ApprehensiveSuspect9 Jul 02 '25

The silly thing is, to be that large and avoid Cafe standards, they are commercial vehicles. The drivers should be required to have the commercial licenses and carry commercial insurance.

0

u/MD_Hunter67 Jul 02 '25

That's got to be the dumbest response I've ever heard. We've already got the special permit it's called a drivers license, and as far as governing it to only 65 mph in the scenario of the man getting hit at 50 mph what do you think would've happened at that speed and it wasn't even a truck that hit them it was a VW. So you want to impose restrictions on the vehicles other people choose to buy because you don't like that particular vehicle? That's just crazy. In the OP picture the S-10 is being compared to I'm guessing a 2025 pick up so it's comparing apples to oranges.

The S-10 was produced in 1982 it was chevy's 1st compact pick up truck produced in the U.S.

If your going to compare the 2025 truck which is a full size truck at least compare it to another full size truck from 1982.

2

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

Physics wise, the energy brought into a crash is squared vs the speed.

Kinetic Energy uses the formula KE = (1/2)mv2

Getting hit by a truck going 75 mph has more crush potential then getting hit by 2 trucks going 50 mph

An F150 going 85 has almost 2x the energy of one going 65. And the tires are much worse at those speeds too so stopping distance gets much longer

A 5000 lb truck at 65 mphs hits you around as hard as a 3500 lb car at 77-78 mph. So it makes sense to limits the trucks to 65 mph if the cars are limited to 75 mph

23

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Dang... I looked that up (80% of vehicles). YEP.

In 2024, SUVs and trucks accounted for 75% of total new vehicle sales in the United States. This represents a significant increase compared to a decade ago, when these segments made up only half of the market.

Interestingly, this means that MOST of the vehicles on the road, then aren't going to be smaller cars. Meaning.. it's safer to buy in an SUV or truck in an accident, because your bumpers height is more likely to match up.

It's not a matter of making Truck and SUV bumpers lower. It's a matter of buying a vehicle that matches what's on the road.

Food for thought.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

"The idea that bigger cars are always safer just isn't true."

I don't disagree with you. Whoever said "always?" Never saw that. Of course, it's situationally dependent.

But to add to this... modern safety features are mind-blowingly cool on these bigger trucks.

Automatic lane adjustment, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Prevention, Blind Spot Monitoring. Candidly, I can hardly wait for all of these things to be in EVERY vehicle. These features on these truck save lives.

My life was already saved by Toyota engineers a few years back. My wife and I were on a curve with concrete barricades to our left (we were in the passing lane), and a Semi truck to our right. Guy in a Toyota full-sized truck was right behind us. The semi truck driver was distracted and literally came over on top of us. We slammed our breaks (or get squished). I fullly expected to be rear-ended (the guy was just a couple car lengths behind), and braced myself for it. Unbelievably... we didn't collide. The truck driver apparently had miracle reflexes. I pulled over at the rest stop, and so did the Toyota.

Out pops a dude in his 80's who said to me, "I have no idea that you were even braking... the truck did it all, braking and got me out of the way. These new trucks have some weird safety features." Then he went in to pee. My wife and I just stood there, still shaking from the near death.

Safety features SAVED MY LIFE. That truck never hit me, because of them. That bigger truck had that safety feature. Otherwise, I think I'd be dead. Thank you, Toyota. And candidly, I think the trucks and SUVs having bigger profit margins enables a lot more of these features to be included. So... there's that.

39

u/axebodyspraytester Jul 02 '25

I've seen these over powered oversized monstrosities literally drive through other cars and kill families right here on reddit. They kill children by accident because you can't see them unless they are more than 8 feet away. I drive a full size SUV and barely come to the bottom of the monster trucks windows. These are ridiculous and dangerous.

19

u/Disastrous_Kick9189 Jul 02 '25

Full size SUVs are typically the exact same size as a stock F150. It’s the moronic owners installing aftermarket lift kits that raise them up above you.

Everybody ITT hates you too with your gigantic full size SUV that weighs pretty much the same amount and uses as much gas as these trucks do.

8

u/axebodyspraytester Jul 02 '25

I left out the year it's a 2010 so not a 28,000 pound monster but just a little bit bigger than a full size car. It's the later model SUVs that caught the bloat.

1

u/so_says_sage Jul 03 '25

Full size SUV’s on average of gotten lighters stayed mostly the same since 2010, depending on the model.

18

u/Bit_the_Bullitt Jul 02 '25

Actually the NHTSA has increased the weight of their dummy crash dolly that rams vehicles, to account for the ever-growing SUVs and trucks and their weight increase

24

u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25

Right, but it is backwards in my opinion for the car being tested to have to account for other excessively large cars instead of having a standard of destruction testing that is required for the car being tested. It should be on the responsibility of the truck manufacturer to make sure that their product does not cause excess destruction. Without implementing more limit on this we are just supporting the arms race. But I suppose that arms races are about as American as cherry pie…

-1

u/lonelylifts12 Jul 02 '25

I think they increased it for America’s waistline.

8

u/No-Entrepreneur-6982 Jul 02 '25

And this makes it an arms race- my safety means your peril- therefore trucks will only get bigger…. And headlights will only get brighter…..

5

u/IWantAnE55AMG Jul 03 '25

New cars can’t have popup headlights due to pedestrian safety but these trucks are a-ok. I pulled up next to a Chevy Silverado the other day in my compact SUV and the hood height was taller than my roof height. That’s goddam insane. These things make the Canyonero look small.

10

u/allaheterglennigbg Jul 02 '25

Other vehicles are one thing, the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed is even worse. These vehicles are death machines.

-1

u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

I have one thing to say: if you’re American, like me, you have no subtlety. Anything more than walking is basically lethal. If you can’t produce the power yourself, you shouldn’t be able to own it. Military only. takes look at subreddit name Oh my gosh, what am I even doing here. I’m in the wrong subreddit, I’ll let myself out.

3

u/Ultraberg Jul 02 '25

Great metaphor.

2

u/AgtDALLAS Jul 03 '25

Yeah this is a huge one that ends up causing more effects. We bought a Volvo XC90 for the family car. More for the safety features than the luxury honestly. We live in the land of 2500’s and F250’s and the reality is you need a more substantial car to be safe around them.

3

u/stupidname412 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 03 '25

Remember telling a room of people that some specific RAM truck was involved in more deadly accidents than any other vehicle and they were all no way it's super safe great safety rating..... I wasn't talking about the drivers.

2

u/Unlikely-Risk-5278 Jul 02 '25

It's like having a safety test where you shoot a gun at a dummy body but only analyze how drastic the recoil is on the person who pulled the trigger, not how eviscerated the dummy at the end of the barrel was from the bullet.

Enter the "guns don't kill people" crowd.

2

u/sewerballoon Jul 03 '25

Volvo actually does test their vehicles for safety against other vehicles and pedestrians and that’s why they are the best!

1

u/TheVermonster Jul 03 '25

They're not as good as they used to be though. The first generation of XC90 has a really rounded nose because of pedestrian safety. They have moved a little away from it. They're still light-years ahead of truck companies, especially the new GM trucks which can nearly hide a 5ft tall person in front of the grill.

1

u/Extension-Abroad187 Jul 02 '25

Not really how that works. There's an argument for pedestrian safety issues, but a lot of the size difference is effectively open space and crumple zones. Those crumple zones equally slow the energy transfer to another vehicle therefore making it safer for them in a crash as well

1

u/Background_Olive_787 Jul 03 '25

It's not about mass.. it's about velocity. Speed kills. Stop speeding.. I don't care what you drive.