The vehicles on American roads have grown larger — and they are killing thousands more pedestrians, a Times investigation found.
    • SwingingTheLamp@piefed.zipEnglish
      12·
      4 天前

      It’s not quite so straightforward. The United States has a deeply broken culture (hyperindividualism, for one thing), and these giant vehicles offer individual balm for the systemic rot. That’s why we can them emotional support vehicles.

  • arin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    4 天前

    The A Pillar blind zone annoys the fuck out of me when I am driving. So many times i do not see tall adults walking at the crosswalk when they are completely blocked by the modern car A pillars. I had much easier time seeing when driving my dad’s old 90’s Honda compared to a newer car from 2015+. I feel so bad for people walking the streets and hate the American car industry and lobbyist

    • GuyIncognito@lemmy.mlEnglish
      51·
      4 天前

      My understanding is that it has to do with updated rollover safety requirements that came in in the mid-late 2000s. They have to be able to support something like 2.5 times their weight on the roof, making all of the pillars thicker. Combined with additional overall weight from other crash regulations, this means that A-pillars are yet bigger. Cars have become much safer for occupants at the expense of safety for pedestrians, who are not part of the equation as pedestrians are subhuman.

        • GuyIncognito@lemmy.mlEnglish
          4·
          4 天前

          That too. I went from a 1998 sedan to a 2010 hatchback, and the latter feels like it has good visibility because of the tall window, but the A-pillar will block pedestrians in the crosswalk, and even mask whole cars. I have to bob my head around from side to side to be confident I’m not about to hit something while turning.

    • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      4 天前

      Dont worry… electric versions of these behemoths are available, with more weight and more killing power, while the driver gets to feel good about saving the environment while running over children