Big Cars are killing Americans

[kenmbz]

Since I have had multiple people walk out in front of me while staring at their phone, while watching others drive with their phone in front of their face, the numbers going up is not surprising.
As others have said, the number of cars on the road is also increasing yearly.

I try to look ahead as much as possible, we have deer just standing in the road all the time.
Hard to see and it's mostly just luck that I haven't hit one yet.
The other night I hit the brakes, hard, to stop about 2 feet from a doe.

Now if the deer had cellphones, I might at least see the light from the screen....

 

[nbking]

I definitely can see better in my 3500, going forward and backing up with those awesome mirrors, and the HD back up camera, it still fits in the footprint of my 1500 where I park in the driveway. Only thing I can't go through the drive up atm. Its definitely a car atm lol.

 

[jk96]

As I ride around in my 2003 Suburban, which used to be one of the largest vehicles on the road, I'm dwarfed by the new pickups. Sitting at a stop light next to one, the top of their hood is about level with my eye height. There's no way in heck they have good visibility in front of them, or to the right side while sitting at a crosswalk. It's just not possible. Especially with the larger windshield posts that house today's airbags.

Ram 3500 mega cab. Better visibility over the hood, left, and right than my wife's durango and no worse than my little saturn I drive as a daily driver. I've driven many smaller cars with worse blind spots. Bigger issue is too many people not practicing active driving skills. On the phone, radio, and not actively checking mirrors for situational awareness.

 

[MossRoad]

More worried about people getting hit by silent EVs than big SUVs.

Almost daily for the past year I've seen a young blind woman with a cane learn to navigate our local streets. She has an assistant that walked with her at first, then as the days went by, the assistant walked farther and farther behind her. Now I see her out and about without the assistant, sometimes alone, and sometimes with other people. I can only imagine silent cars being a hazard to her.

Good friends of ours have a toyota hybrid. It's creepy when they drop us off and leave. The car just rolls back out of the driveway silently. A couple times I didn't even notice it moving. If it weren't for the little occasional pebble or sand on the asphalt, it's quieter than me walking out to get the mail from the box.

 

[newbury]

I'm gonna also guess that since I was a kid, the number of vehicles on the road has doubled. That leads to my second guess that the number of car/pedestrian accidents has also grown, given the numbers. I'd like to see what the numbers are per capita of car/pedestrian fatalities has been since 1961 before I make any decisions for myself.

number of vehicles registered now about 300 million
View attachment 727168

couldn't quickly find similar old statistics
BUT
vehicles/1000 people
View attachment 727169
doubled from 1956 to 2012

 

[5030]

Just totsally ban cell phones and accidents would drop like a rock. Distracted driving is a huge issue today. That and excessive speed.

 

[MossRoad]

Just totsally ban cell phones and accidents would drop like a rock. Distracted driving is a huge issue today. That and excessive speed.

Remember when smoking was the cause of distracted driving?

 

[5030]

I can see a helluva lot better driving my F350 Ford pickup than I can see driving my little puddle jumper Ford Focus. Like wise I can see even better driving my International Eagle Conventional long hood pulling a grain trailer than I can see in my pickup. Only issue is, you have to be aware that small cars can vanishi n front of you if you get too close...lol Just another good reason for not tailgating.

28 years of driving long nose Western Stars pulling 45 and 48 foot flatbed trailers and I have a squeaky clean license. Never had a chargeable accident or moving violation.

 

[5030]

Remember when smoking was the cause of distracted driving?

That all depends on what you are smoking...lol

Have hands free in my truck and cars and it's turned off. I get a call, I let it go to voice mail and call back when off the road.

 

[5030]

Without sounding political, I suspect in 10 years, we will all be driving toasters anyway.

 

[fidowanttobe]

Lobbyists would never allow it, but the technology is there on the phone already that it knows when you are traveling in the car, so, why not make it so it won't function while traveling? You can't shut the seat belt alarm off, so kinda the same thing, take the option away unless an emergency. ND voted down mandatory seat belts but the Feds insisted. But seat belts and cell phones don't share the $ sign. Like I said, lobbyists.

I do agree tho that trucks today with the silly "leveling kit", or lift kits have their headlight shine way way out too far. I now need to wear those yellow glasses at night because of the intensity.

 

[Egon]

I'm gonna also guess that since I was a kid, the number of vehicles on the road has doubled. That leads to my second guess that the number of car/pedestrian accidents has also grown, given the numbers. I'd like to see what the numbers are per capita of car/pedestrian fatalities has been since 1961 before I make any decisions for myself.

The article does bring up a good point that new pickups are stupid tall. I'm sure all of you recalling being able to reach over the side of a truck bed and grab something out. That's about impossible today. Why are they so high?

As I ride around in my 2003 Suburban, which used to be one of the largest vehicles on the road, I'm dwarfed by the new pickups. Sitting at a stop light next to one, the top of their hood is about level with my eye height. There's no way in heck they have good visibility in front of them, or to the right side while sitting at a crosswalk. It's just not possible. Especially with the larger windshield posts that house today's airbags.

Anyhow, to each their own. Pedestrians, be careful. They can't see you.

Gotta put on bigger tires to fit the brake disks that are required for the high horsepower and tow rating.

 

[Hay Dude]

"The real problem that I see is the loss of situational awareness of the driver. Most accidents that I’ve seen in the last 5 to 10 years are caused by the driver paying attention to their phone or other entertainment devices while driving. It doesn’t matter what size the vehicle is, it’s the operators skill and attention that should be of concern.
Just my opinion based on what I have seen and had to repair over the last 40 years of my life." Hemihup27
agreed

Yeah really.
I don’t see tractor trailers regularly running over pedestrians.
My best friend was killed by a car. He was crossing a crosswalk and a 18yr old drunk kid went through a red light and killed him in Palm Springs, CA.

 

[Cougsfan]

In 2018 I decided to buy a small truck so I went down and bought a Toyota Tacoma, just "like" the one I owned 20 years earlier. As I drove it for a while, it became more and more obvious there was nothing small about this truck. Worse yet, it got no better mileage than my old 1 ton Dodge. It took less than a year for me to figure out it was pointless to own two large trucks, so the Toyota went down the road. They just don't make small trucks anymore. All political BS aside, I would like to have a small truck, but unless I want to buy one that is 20 years old, I just can't. Seems strange to me.

 

[k0ua]

last thing i intended was the thread to devolve into politics. apologize to those who may take it that way. just an observation on highway safety. happy new year to you all

If a thread ever needed closing this is one.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Well, I have noticed that most young ones walking on sidewalks, and crossing at crosswalks, don,t even have the brainpower to lift their heads for a moment to actually check out where they are at, in regards to their surroundings. Maybe there should be a law for pedestrians stating that they cannot use their smart device while walking within a 100 ft. radius of any moving vehicle. To help them, maybe there needs to be an app, which would shut the phone off, if it is on, and senses motion. 99.9 % of the crap being looked at does not need immediate attention.

 

[npalen]

In 2018 I decided to buy a small truck so I went down and bought a Toyota Tacoma, just "like" the one I owned 20 years earlier. As I drove it for a while, it became more and more obvious there was nothing small about this truck. Worse yet, it got no better mileage than my old 1 ton Dodge. It took less than a year for me to figure out it was pointless to own two large trucks, so the Toyota went down the road. They just don't make small trucks anymore. All political BS aside, I would like to have a small truck, but unless I want to buy one that is 20 years old, I just can't. Seems strange to me.

Check out the 2022 Ford Maverick pickup.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Well, here’s my 2cents worth. I’ve been working in the automotive collision industry for about 40 years and have more certifications than I can count.
This article is very biased to say the least, if not completely misleading. I agree that trucks are getting a bit on the tall side, but the whole gaining weight is not at all correct. For several years now manufacturers have been working to lighten up all vehicles . Through the use of aluminum, composites, plastics, and advanced steels,they have gotten lighter. Through the use of breakaway and collapsing mounts on critical front end parts, they’re reducing potential injuries to pedestrians. Passenger car’s use this technology as well. Plus you add in the ADAS ( advanced driver assistance systems) vehicles are becoming much safer for other drivers and pedestrians.
The real problem that I see is the loss of situational awareness of the driver. Most accidents that I’ve seen in the last 5 to 10 years are caused by the driver paying attention to their phone or other entertainment devices while driving. It doesn’t matter what size the vehicle is, it’s the operators skill and attention that should be of concern.
Just my opinion based on what I have seen and had to repair over the last 40 years of my life.

I like to look at data or hear from people that work in the field to hear what they say about an article like this. Hemi27 thanks for the information.
I think the article is very biased also.

Also, I have never heard of the website containing the article before. tried to google who (DELETED WEBSITE NAME) they are so I could get an idea if they are credible. ???? Can't believe everything you read on the internet comes to mind.

 

[RickB]

Can't believe everything you read on the internet comes to mind.

Proven hourly right here.

 

[shooterdon]

It is part of evolution. Darwin's ideas are not totally incorrect. Some stupid people need to be weeded out of the gene pool or the human race devolves into....well...

It is regrettable when those doing the "weeding out" are those who should be "weeded out".

I agree with the poster who suggested cell phones should be disabled in a vehicle unless dialing 911. I suspect more people in accidents using cell phones than any other cause.

Pedestrians on cell phones that get hit by a vehicle...see Darwin above.