A rising road toll in the US. A rising road toll in Australia. Journalists give 1000 reasons why it could be happening.

And they studiously avoid mentioning the growing proportion of massive SUVs and pickup trucks on the roads. If they mention it at all, it’s only in passing: https://youtu.be/Hb5_RUNeC0g?si=uuns6D1I6fGINdpU

But.

If you have larger and heavier cars, with larger blind spots, of course you’re going to have more fatalities!

Remember kids: Every 10cm a vehicle’s hood height increases, the risk of fatalities grows by 22%: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212012224000017

#car #cars #urbanism @fuck_cars

  • AJ Sadauskas@aus.socialOP
    2·
    8 months ago

    @Godfrey642 @fuck_cars You raise a really good point — it’s not just the size and weight of the massive SUVs and pickup trucks that’s the issue.

    It’s also that they encourage the people who drive them to be far more reckless than they would be if they were driving — say — a small sedan or hatchback.

    • Steveg58@aus.social
      1·
      8 months ago

      @ajsadauskas @Godfrey642 @fuck_cars
      There s some really old research out there originality focused around Volvo cars that came to the conclusion that people drive to a constant level of personal risk. Put them in a safer car and their driving will be riskier. This lead to memes about spikes on steering wheels that threaten drivers.
      Also many younger people have never seen a police patrol on the roads so they feel that their behaviour carries no risk.