Comment on A 7,000-Pound Car Smashed Through a Guardrail. That’s Bad News for All of Us.

342345@feddit.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• db2@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Canyonero!

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  • Rubisco@slrpnk.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The country-fried truck endorsed by clowns!

    Somehow I hadn’t seen it before. Thanks!

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• NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I mean… kind of?

  10 or 20 years ago? I would never have driven an SUV and thought anyone in one is stupid.

  Five or six years ago? I needed a new car and ended up getting a “crossover” (so basically a hatchback on a lift kit). Still tiny compared to a lot of the cars on the road but a lot bigger than what I ever expected to drive.

  Because in a sedan (like my rental a few months back)? My head is literally at bumper level for a LOT of the vehicles on the road. And now we have shit like the cybertruck where the bumper is a jagged metal wedge. I have a lot of faith in modern safety specs but that is still terrifying. In my small suv? I am still grill height for a lot of trucks but at least I am not weaving around monster trucks in a clown car.

  Don’t get me wrong. I very much enjoy the increased ground clearance and ability to haul an entire car worth of camping gear comfortably. But I also know that I am “never” going to go smaller. And… that is kind of the problem. People are dragged kicking and screaming because the alternative is to feel like you are going to die the next time someone decides they are going to ignore a red light.

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  • freebee@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    That it’s a arms race doesn’t make it better for society as a whole. It sucks.

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    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Agreed.

      But also? I care a lot more about me and my loved ones than a nebulous “society”. And I am not going to drastically increase risk to me and my partner in the interest of standing on principle*. Especially when “society” continues to get giant pickup trucks on lift kits with fucking spikes for bumpers.

      *: Although, I WILL be one of those weirdos who does a LOT of research on fuel economy and efficiency so that I can feel better about technically driving an SUV.

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  • techt@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I didn’t realize until now, but I’ve been very fortunate to be able to take the bus to work recently, and the lack of fear of other vehicles on the road is probably a huge contributor to how much better I feel after the commute. I have that anxiety ever-present in the back of my mind while driving a sedan.

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  • 342345@feddit.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You seem ambivalent about the topic. I understand your arguments, but I don’t agree with your solution. That doesn’t need to bother you. We probably have very different requirements for transportation.

    I live in an area where I don’t need a car to get where I want to - bike, bus and train are sufficient. And I don’t normally need to transport so much that I need a car. And if I need a car I get a rental for a short time.

    Sometimes I shake my head a little in disbelief because I find the trend towards more individual transportation within large cars concerning. But then again my lifestyle isn’t for everyone and who am I to judge?

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    • zeekaran@sopuli.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Extremely few Americans live in a place where that is even possible. Few can afford to move to a place like that because they are so rare and desirable. Your comment is not helpful.

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      • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        This is also a bugbear for me. Since even in countries with genuinely amazing public transportation (such as Japan), people who live in more rural or remote areas are still up a creek. You might have a bus but you basically have one or two routes per day and if you need to “head into town” at any other time… you need a car.

        But there are various youtube channels by rich white people who live in some of the more expensive cities on earth that basically say “fuck the poor” under the guise of better city design. And… don’t get me wrong, living in a city with public transportation is amazing and America as a whole REALLY loves unwalkable towns. But there are always going to be situations where private transportation is needed (even if it a few cars that the entire town “shares”).

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      • 342345@feddit.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        It wasn’t meant to deliver a solution. It’s an opinion.

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  • Alto@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    It's honestly ridiculous. My sedan was totaled last year after being rear ended at a red light at maybe 5mph by a big fuck off truck. Minor cosmetic damage to their bumper, completely crushed the rear frame of my cat.

    Thankfully, no one was hurt beyond bruising, which is the most important part.

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    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Part of that is by design and is crumple zones. EVERYONE makes fun of “whiplash” but people really do underestimate the kind of injuries caused by even a simple rear ending. And if your car got that fucked, it was probably for a good reason.

      Of course, then we also have assholes who want cars without crumple zones to drastically increase damage to other vehicles. But… yeah.

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      • Alto@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I'm aware, and I'm more than happy to trade my car for my neck in any situation.

        The issue is the proliferation of big fuckoff trucks. Had it been another reasonably sized car, it likely would have been a simple bumper replacement for both cars. Instead, I'm out a car for a significant period of time in an area where doing anything without a car is essentially just not a thing.

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  • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I'm of the opinion that putting small cars way up in the air as CUVs ruins the driving so much it makes people worse drivers.

    Or maybe it's just that every CUV I see driving acts like they don't know where they are or what they're doing.

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    • TheBat@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Cunt Utility Vehicle???

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      • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        They claim the C stands for "compact" but I like yours better.

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      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Mods haven’t removed this comment yet? I am mentally calling them that from now on

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    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I think that more has to do with the cabin design.

      I personally drive a Subaru Crosstrek which is literally a Subaru Imprezza on a lift kit. So I have good visibility and have gotten used to the blind spots that my frame creates and know to lean forward a bit when approach a roundabout or intersection to make sure a car isn’t coming in from the left at approximately the same speed as me. Same with changing lanes on the highway (and knowing that the headrests on my back seat completely block vehicles in my rearview mirror…).

      That said, my rental a few months back (it might have been a Camry? I forget) had a HORRIBLE interior and my blindspots felt massive because so much of the frame obstructed my view. Some of it was that I only had two or three days to “get used to it” but the frame genuinely meant I could not see traffic when I was doing tighter merges on the highway. Again, I know that means I physically move in my seat but a lot of people never learn that or are used to “check your blindspot” just meaning looking slightly farther back when glancing at a mirror. So they kind of just start changing lanes and get honked at or suddenly see the vehicle they are about to pit maneuver and need to quickly swerve back.

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      • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I think you're right about that, and I also don't think car designers actually care anymore. I see all kinds of vehicles with huge C pillars - like that Camry you rented - and a lot of them have dented bumpers like they backed into something they couldn't see.

        Car companies don't fix the designs, though. They just add more features like BLIS and proximity sensors that beep at you when you're too close to something. This helps, sure, but it also reinforces the idea that drivers don't need to actually look around them.

        With our aging population, we'll have even more people who can't physically turn to see what's around them. And because these folks also have trouble getting into and out of cars of normal height, they buy CUVs which have even worse visibility.

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  • SpeedLimit55@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Same here, drove hatchbacks and sedans until 5 years ago and now have a crossover. It was good for a bit but now these new pickups and SUV headlights are right in my face again. Thinking installing a suspension lift and larger profile tires in the future. I do not want to drive a giant rectangle and can carry extra cargo if needed on my roof rack or cargo basket.

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  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Odd I feel the opposite. I want something small and can change quickly to get me out of danger vs trying to be too big for danger.

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    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I mean… good luck dodging someone who completely ignores a stale red and just floors it through an intersection (almost got jackknifed by one of those dumbasses just last week…) or someone who decides they want to merge into your lane and don’t care that it is “bumper to bumper” on the highway.

      Defensive driving is about minimizing the likelihood of a crash while acknowledging some are just unavoidable. Hollywood stunt driving is the idea of being able to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid getting pti maneuver’d.

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      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        That is a valid point.

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• starman@programming.dev ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Image

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  • Hadriscus@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    haha brilliant

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• WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  That’s why I get everywhere by bus.

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