I’ve spent much of this year examining car bloat, the process through which smaller vehicles are being replaced by increasingly massive SUVs and trucks.
What I’ve learned: Huge cars are terrible for society, often in ways that are hidden.
Some basic facts:
◆ >80% of US car sales are now trucks/SUVs.
◆ Models keep expanding. For example, the F-150 is now ~800 lbs heavier and 7 inches taller than in 1991.
◆ EVs can make the problem worse due to huge batteries.
Continued (THREAD)
Problem 1️⃣ : Car bloat endangers others on the street
Tall vehicles have bigger blind spots and are more likely to strike a person’s torso or head.
Heavier vehicles exert more force crashing into a person, bicycle, or smaller car. They also have longer braking distances.
Problem 2️⃣ : Car bloat worsens climate change
Heavier cars require more energy to move, which makes them guzzle gas.
When electrified, their huge batteries are so inefficient that the biggest models generate more pollution that some gas-powered sedans.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90854942/the-blatant-greenwashing-of-suvs
Problem 3️⃣ : Car bloat shreds tires
Heavier cars exert more pressure on tires, eroding them faster.
Tire particles are absorbed into water, where they damage ecosystems. They also float through the air, harming human health when ingested.
@mr_enzzo @Marrekoo @davidzipper If certain design decisions make a car more dangerous to pedestrians, the vehicle should be illegal no matter how rich you are, unless there really is a pragmatic need for such vehicles. Then you can require special safety features and a special license.
Making it more expensive can't really be the primary or only solution here.
@mr_enzzo @ids1024 @davidzipper @Marrekoo I’m not as familiar with these risk assessments, but this comment reminded me of environmental health risk assessment issues — that it’s not that the evaluation results are false, it’s that we need to change the metrics for assessing safety.
I’m a driver, and these beasts worry me even in my car — the bumper of these so-called passenger pickups are at the window level of my little Prius c.
@ids1024 @Marrekoo @mr_enzzo @davidzipper Agreed
At a minimum, visibility rules would be a sensible safety addition (e.g. "A small child who stands 1m tall must be visible from the driver's seat when standing within 0.5m of the front of the vehicle")
It'd be a nice simple rule, and easy to test and enforce. And the safety reasons for it are self evident.
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