For those interested in this topic, there are better sources of info than a NJB youtube video. In my experience, NJB is more interested in clicks than accuracy, and this video is no exception.
In particular, the complaints about oversized firetrucks is a bit overblown because any halfway competent bike planner can work around that when designing bike facilities. When cities say they can’t do a bike project because of FD concerns, it usually means they just don’t want to do an otherwise popular project, and are using flimsy FD excuses as a convenient way to kill a project.
Could anyone do a Too Long, Didn’t Watch?
I’m interested in what this is about but am not able to watch a video right now…
Tldw. It’s not the firedepartment. It’s roads are too wide so vehicles go fast. The FD happen to have large trucks.
That’s not an accurate TL;DW. A more accurate one is: Fire department specifications in the US mean that the trucks are wildly oversized for no reason, while European and East Asian ones are smaller, more maneuverable, and safer despite serving the exact same purpose and having the exact same gear. These needlessly oversized trucks are a detriment to safe urban design because fire departments lobby local governments to keep streets ridiculously wide because their trucks can’t properly drive through reasonably sized streets. The size of fire trucks could be reduced and more specialized vehicles used for EMS (which makes up the overwhelming majority of fire department responses), and it would have no impact on the readiness of fire departments at worst or, at best, it would make response times quicker.
@Rexelpitlum@discuss.tchncs.de, hopefully this suffices.
Thanks a lot, this is really interesting and seems to be my TIL! I will definitely watch that video later.
And this also shines an interesting light on the unusually wide street layout of the city quarters I am living in. I’ve been always wondering about that…
Thing is, my part of town has been the living quarters of GI relatives of an adjacent US military base (up until about 25 years ago). Whole part of town basically has been “Little America” back then, complete with (at least partial) US jurisdiction. And they had their own fire department at the base…
Which leads to the question of why… Why are the US (and by extension, Canadian) fire trucks such yo momma fat ass large? I never understood that.
Also, why are fire truck always first responders to incidents that require an ambulance instead? It s like sending a fire truck to a bank robbery. Thanks, cool, but you’re the wrong department here.
Then while talking about ambulances too… Why are usi ambulances also such oversized monster trucks? Again, look at European ambulances which are awesome and small.
USA needs to change its paradigm “bigger is better”.
Bigger monuments, bigger buildings, bigger cars, bigger soda cups,… -_-
Human being needs to learn to use what is necessary and cooperation, not excess and stupid competition.
Love the content, hate the headline shifting blame away from the actual vehicle. The blame isn’t really with the roads, or the lifesaving people driving who actually do have to get there fast, is it?
@beefbot @TheTechnician27 Firetrucks are inanimate objects. Humans make decisions about how to design, deploy, market, and accommodate them. A local fire chief just parroting industry dogma may be less responsible than someone with more power who chose not to sell reasonably sized fire trucks for suburbs and small towns in the US, but the trucks aren’t buying themselves or testifying against safe street designs at the planning board.
