That bumper is eye level with me. He could have probably decapitated me if he reversed with enough determination.
Itโs hard out there for small car people when everyone else is in an arms race to be as big as possible.
You donโt have a small car. You have a normal car.
I have Subaru Crosstrek, itโs like a lifted Impreza (around the size of a VW Golf but a couple inches more suspension and chassis lift, for the parts of the world that donโt have them).
I have trouble reaching the driver thru windows at newer places because theyโve redesigned around these fucking stupidly tall trucks.
normal size car problems*
My wife said itโs a fine size. After all itโs the driving technique that matters, not the size.
Yes. These should be made illegal, or restricted from on-road use. As trucks increase in size and height, there are studies that they become more and more dangerous. They should be banned for safety reasons.
I donโt think banning them but, going the direction the EU did would bd nice, large vehicles require a different class license Iโve been told
Several US states have requirements on a minimum bumper height and restrict things like how far tires can extend from the wheel well.
There is scientific consensus - to the point of being unanimous as far as I know - that these raised vehicles pose a significantly increased danger to pedestrians and to other vehicles. There is entirely a legal precedent to pass laws that say things like bumpers can be no more than six inches from the ground and that driver visibility must be cleared to within a foot of the front bumper.
In the US, these issues are largely handled at the state level, although there are some federal regulations in place. When I was a teenager in Jersey, they required annual inspections that included testing for operational lights, braking efficiency, emissions, and so on. In New Mexico, there were no inspections at all, and you simply had to pay for registration.
As these quasi-monster trucks become more prevalent, thereโs an increasing need for legislation. Manufacturers are driven solely by consumer demand unless regulated, and politicians are more worried about upsetting Dodge Ram drivers than they are about public health and safety. I literally could not imagine a nationwide 55MPH law passing today (there were complications with doing it when they did do it, but it was successfully executed when it happened).
What we need is this generationโs Ralph Nader to go after the industry to get the public to support and demand political action.
Manufacturers are driven solely by consumer demand unless regulated
I disagree with you on this. Manufacturers are also driven by what makes them the most money. Affordable compact cars donโt make much profit, but big, expensive, cheaply engineered trucks make them a ton of money. Body-on-frame construction, cheap suspensions and drivetrains, and ancient engine designs lower their costs to develop a lot, and they just throw some leather and a touch screen in it and can mark it up 20% or more because now itโs a โluxuryโ truck.
Then thereโs the advertisements which are designed to influence consumer demand. And the ads for big trucks are targeted squarely at people who want to feel powerful. They put them on every ten minutes during sports programs to prime their market into thinking this is a reasonable vehicle for them to own. When they buy it and realize itโs actually not that fast, not that great as a commuter, and costs them a ton in gas they get angry and then drive like dickweeds.
I donโt disagree, however I think thereโs room for both the state and the consumer to benefit from this by restriction who can use them, this being via a license or certification similar to how non-personnel licenses currently, that would restrict the amount of them on the road as it is and it would also increase the money that can go back into the infrastructure,
Now something that I believe needs to be hard banned would be the halogen lights, we just had a three vehicle pile up in my state where two people died, and the current rolling story is that they believe the car that collided head-on with the vehicle that swerved into their Lane was unable to see whether or not the vehicle was in his lane or the other lane due to the fact that the lights on the vehicle were blinding, and honestly I believe that rumor. Those light bulbs are far more hazardous than any lifted vehicles in my opinion
Youโre in a regular car, the thing in front of you is a โLight Truckโ
An S10 was a light truck. This is macho over-compensation at itโs finest.
There are quite a few classifications of trucks. In the U.S.:
Class 1: 0 - 6000 lbs
Class 2: 6,001 - 10,000 lbs
Class 3: 10,001 - 14,000 lbs
Class 4: 14,001 - 16,000 lbs
Class 5: 16,001 - 19,500 lbs
Class 6: 19,501 - 26,000 lbs
Class 7: 26,001 - 33,000 lbs
Class 8: Over 33,000 lbs
Classes 1 through 2 are considered โlightโ truck, 3/ through 6 is โmedium,โ and 7 and 8 are โheavy.โ
Classes 7 and 8 require a commercial driverโs license.
Generally, Class 3 starts to have 4 wheels on the back axle, and Class 6 generally starts having multiple axles on the back. At a certain point, youโre up to 18 wheels on a tractor and trailer.
OPโs picture is probably of a Class 2 truck, while youโre thinking of Class 1 trucks.
No, this is overcompensation no matter the drivetrain and weight limit. Open your eyes, no one NEEDS a lift package like that. Itโs bullshit. Especially when you see what real world offroad vehicles look like - hiluxes and shit that wonโt bog down - not this goofy ass bigfoot wannabe.
Thanks for the โclarificationโ that just excuses their idiocy.
I mean, if a โregular sized truckโ is a semi trailer, then of course itโs light, because those trucks weight about 5-10 tons, compared to F150 that weights 2-3 tons.
Fuck that car tho, all SUVs and this one in particular. I always giggle when I see it IRL because itโs comically bad-looking scaled up version of a toy truck.
They also ride my ass and are pretty consistently inconsiderate drivers. Itโs bad enough needing a car at all due to lack ox public transportation, but these people make it a miserable experience all around.
And those after market LED headlights without aftermarket reflection cones make for a fun time driving blind.
Among all the problems mentioned, this one is probably solved by legislation for decades, just not enforced.
Im Europe cops will stop you if you are blinding people (usually like old cars that dont have auto-levelling lights & they carry something heavy in the trunk, so like not actually intentional). What cops donโt react to is some people constantly using front fog lights (at full brightness if not configurable) because it makes the car look โmore sportyโ. I kinda hate that more than it is actually a problem.
Also yearly-ish state regulated check-ups, where there also verify you light (vertical) alignment & possibly adjust it for you. Other than that they test you ICE exhaust parameters, brakes, first aid kit, undercarriage state, etc (like a 10 minute inspection).
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://m.piped.video/watch?v=lpkqALVSRgM
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
Iโm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
