• demizerone@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    A truck drove by me the other day that was so high up and had such a big body there is no way the driver could see anything 10 feet around the truck in all directions.

  • mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca
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    12 hours ago

    I want to know how many are related to drivers blinded by LED headlights. I’ve seen (and been a part of) dozens of near hits in the past few years because of this.

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    I propose we trick our fellow Americans by making smol cars offroady enough to embarrass an F150:

    Look at them! Who would want a rolling brick over that?

    And the Ford Focus is already mostly there.

  • myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip
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    24 hours ago

    Partly the ridiculous sized vehicles. Partly the fact that nearly every single person driving is watching Netflix, while browsing TikTok, while eating a big Mac and running late cause they have no time management skills. And they are driving 20-30 mph over the speed limit, full of road rage, with no concern for anyone or anything. The only person on the road that matters is them.

    • Mossheart@lemmy.ca
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      11 hours ago

      Not to mention poorly aimed LED lights rivaling the lumen output of the fucking sun.

    • Vupware@lemmy.zip
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      19 hours ago

      Reminds me of Fahrenheit 451 and how the youth drive dangerously because they haven nothing to live for.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        17 hours ago

        American here living in a car-only area.

        I didn’t even raise an eyebrow at that previous comment. Sure most drivers are fine, but there are plenty of people who make me wonder what the hell combination of these issues (and others) is going on with them.

        The most common example I get to see is the people speeding through the elementary school parking lot in their luxury SUVs. I especially love it when they start a phone call as they start driving, after they just finished standing around, collecting their kid, and walking back to the parking lot.

  • Fell@discuss.tchncs.de
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    1 day ago

    In Japan, there is tax benefits if your car fits certain dimensions. That’s why there are so many small boxy cars in Japan. I don’t understand why this isn’t a thing anywhere else. It has so many benefits: Fuel economy, parking space, pedestrian safety, …

    But no, “I can see better if I sit higher” is still the #1 killer argument for these urban tanks.

    • zaphod@sopuli.xyz
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      1 hour ago

      I think I can see better on my bicycle than in a car, nothing blocking my view and you also sit relatively high compared to cars.

    • ethnss@ttrpg.network
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      3 hours ago

      I don’t understand why this isn’t a thing anywhere else.

      A lot of it is because companies want to support the macho American image of guns, trucks, and bacon.

      They know these insecure losers will spend more money to look tough in front of their idiot peers.

    • Jolteon@lemmy.zip
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      10 hours ago

      It’s at least partially the American emission standards, which loosen the emissions requirements as the size of the vehicle grows.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        16 minutes ago

        I’m not buying that. Sure, what you say is absolutely true but we’re talking pedestrian deaths. That’s more of the fault of the high steel wall at the front, and that is purely a style choice.

      • ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip
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        10 hours ago

        And their relationship with reality. It always reminds me of that graph that shows a modern tank is less likely to hit a child in the road than a GMC Sierra.

        • mirshafie@europe.pub
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          6 hours ago

          Yeah, for sure. There’s an element of failing to grasp basic concepts of physics here, intertwined with a psychology of not wanting to feel small I suppose.

          I tried to explain to my sister that you don’t actually see more of the road when you sit higher up, it’s just that the road takes up a larger portion of your field of view. You actually see less of the road because the part directly around your car (the most important part) is obscured. She thought I was twisting words and got angry. If we lived in the USA her 150 cm ass would be driving an F-150.

    • JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz
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      1 day ago

      In Finland, car sales tax and yearly tax are based on the Co2 output, and it worked quite well to keep most cars small, light and efficient. Until hybrid and electric cars arrived on the market, that is…

    • justaman123@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      There really does seem to be a kind of social cohesiveness in other countries. In America it’s dog eat dog and fuck everyone else as long as I get mine.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        17 hours ago

        Very much true in my specific limited experience.

        I live in a nice little town here in the US, and I’m a well educated middle aged white guy. It’s safe to say that I get to see a pretty nice version of America even as horrible shit is happening all over the place.

        I’ve gotten to spend a few weeks in Sweden of all places over the past few years. Plus I got to see the insides of some airports in other places luke Belgium and Germany.

        There’s just something different in the air over there, in a good way. I thought of it as a kind of dignity that came from respect for others as well as oneself, but I like how you call it social cohesiveness.

        I think some of the details around food and drink showed it best, and they make good examples because they apply to a mix of the general public.

        The food itself is obviously much better over there. Even things like the hotel breakfast or the cafeteria at a workplace had a huge variety of fresh, real foods as opposed to ultraprocessed manufactured branded products.

        But the dishes and utensils were some of the most interesting to me as an american. In places like an office cafe at work, or a local restaurant, or I think even an airport, they would have actual GLASSES, plates, and silverware. And on top of that, you would often return your dishes to the kitchen or even put them directly on to the dish washer rack waiting for you.

        This breaks my american mind. Fragile non-disposable cups in a public place? Other than coffee mugs on people’s desks or restaurant glasses being dropped off and picked up with at your table, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that within these borders. If you could use glasses and silverware in public places here, I can’t decide what would happen first: somebody would get cut on one of the immediately broken glasses, or so much of the stuff would get stolen that they’d close it down.

        I like to call out their bathrooms too. The way we do it over here is big men’s and women’s restrooms with next to no privacy (it’s one big room with flimsy floating dividers forming the toilet stalls) and stupid culture wars about who should and should not get their genitals inspected or whatever. Over there it’s just several individual doors, each with a small bathroom. Much better privacy, no fodder for the bigots, and much better utilization of the resources.

  • supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz
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    1 day ago

    The real horror is the trend. Between 2009 and 2023, pedestrian deaths rose a staggering 80%, while all other traffic fatalities increased just 13%. In a decade-plus span, pedestrians have been dying at a rate nearly seven times faster than population growth. This isn’t random. It’s the intentional outcome of systems designed to prioritize vehicles over people.

    Shameful and pathetic, what a material abandonment of the social contract.

  • Nomorereddit@lemmy.today
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    18 hours ago

    Can’t see the data, cant see the icon of who is posting the data. Something is fucky here.

  • motor_spirit@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    feels like the tone of this title is forgetting about the shareholders, which I do not take kindly to

  • VirtuePacket@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    I’ll stick with my boring, boomer sedans. I genuinely don’t enjoy driving SUVs and light trucks–primarily due to the blind spot issue and high hoods that the article describes.

    • PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      I’m driving my little Subaru into the ground before I buy a big ass overpriced piece of shit crossover or pickup truck with pillars thicker than my thighs. I like being able to actually see out of my car.