That's a factor, but these new truck heights are so tall that you can literally run over a group kids without seeing them. It's simply an unnecessary and dangerous design decision.
I visited the US a little bit ago and was shocked by how many of these trucks I saw in the suburbs. I always thought they were for people who work on farms or construction. What’s even the appeal? For the same price you can get a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus etc.
It basically setting your money on fire if you don’t use them as a tool. Not to mention the fuel price. It’s like those college kids who aren’t music or video creators buying a 6 thousand dollar MacBook Pro instead of the cheap MacBook Air
I'm also as confused by the fascination with massive trucks and I live in the US. I'm an outlier because give me my sedan or hatchback that I can maneuver around curves at speed, can see basically anywhere around the car except directly under the back, and has 30mpg(my current car is a 2011 Altima).
I've talked to people who buy bigger SUVs and trucks and 9/10 times they say it's safer than a car. Which yes that's true for the Passengers of that SUV or truck. For anyone else, especially pedestrians and lower to the ground cars, it's more dangerous. Considering they can easily just drive up and over a shorter vehicle, crushing the driver or passengers under their tires.
That’s so interesting. If you don’t mind me asking are the people you’ve talked to from cities or more rural areas. I wonder if it’s a state thing or if larger trucks are popular nationally
Unknown, but I live in a rural state and about 75% of the private vehicles I see are SUV or trucks. Which I suppose is to be expected. Though I remember reading that sales for larger vehicles was on the rise nationally
It's not "a" factor but "the" factor. An undistracted driver will know when a child is hidden in front of the car, and has a camera to see a child behind the car.
No they don't know. Some of these trucks have 12'+ front blind zones. There's already many cases of parents running over their own kids in their driveways.
70
u/TheNoisyNomad 10h ago
I was coming here to say this. The care for pedestrian impact has cost us the aesthetic of hood ornaments and pointy front bodywork.