Sat next to one of those stupid big imported US tanks at a traffic light earlier. Had a fleeting thought that the roof of my Mini was about the same height as its bonnet.
The trucks in Europe have to be fitted with mandatory blind spot mirrors. So actually you are able to see a child standing right next to your bumper too:
@dmarti@kentindell@jon@DJDarren@notjustbikes The visibility issues are even worse for anyone in a normal-sized car having to drive behind these monster p/u trucks. Or find themselves parked next to them in a pull in space. It's be great to since those issues, but besides regulating vehicle size, not sure how. Lidar?
Thankfully not many Hummers left on the road these days - driving behind one of them is like driving behind a medieval castle wall.
@ginaintheburg@kentindell@jon@DJDarren@notjustbikes We need more bulb-outs with bollards at crosswalks and bus stops. (Hitting a bollard can be educational for the driver without causing injury to others)
that's why I like delivery robots -- any driver who hits one has to deal with a VC-funded lawyer from Palo Alto. (But local ordinance should require that no robot carries a flag any taller than the shortest kindergarten child)
@kentindell@dmarti@jon@DJDarren@notjustbikes they dont even have bigger engines. The v8 vortec in my silverado is a 4.8l, .2 less than the v8 in my elcamino thats half the height. Engine size is nearly identical. And I can easily put the vortec in the elcamino like changing socks with room to spare.
Its all about being bigger, dumber, and louder. The conservative way. Yeehaw. ><
@DJDarren@notjustbikes we have 3 big white trucks like this that regularly park on our block. It seems like these would be extremely impractical for keeping in a dense city like SF, but folks keep buying them.
@andycarolan@DJDarren@notjustbikes these are brittle ego transportation devices. The bigger and more threatening they are, the more brittle the ego of the owner.
@rysiek Yup. I watched a Citynerd video about them that pretty much matched my own thoughts. Quite why an individual would need something so insane is a mystery to me. @DJDarren@notjustbikes
@DJDarren@notjustbikes I have a friend with a fairly large pickup. It’s a literal farm truck. Because he has a farm. His daily driver is a diesel sedan that gets amazing mileage, his wife’s is a small Subaru SUV they use for shopping, etc.
The trucks are ridic., I have a 2016 Accord Coupe, which is fairly long, but even if I wanted to back into parking spots, I can’t because I have to be halfway out of the spot to see at all going forwards. Backing up, the camera gives me usable visibility.
@DJDarren@notjustbikes I’m surprised these monstrosities are successfully exported into the UK. In the US manufacturers get away with them because of the “light truck” loophole which allows them to be exempted from fuel efficiency and crash safety standards. How do they manage to conform to UK regulations?
@prefec2 Yeah, if I remember correctly, I tried to compare an Escalade to a classic Mini, when @notjustbikes first linked it a few months back, but they didn’t have one.
@DJDarren@notjustbikes it's absolutely shocking even with a modern "mini". And these normal cars are already an issue for example when using a bicycle trailer. They can't see it over their hood. So we attached a flag on a small poll (similar to child bicycles) to the trailer.
@DJDarren@notjustbikes I drive a Mini 5 door and thought the roof looked in line with the bottom of the door glass. Looks like I was not wrong. Luckily I don’t see too many in my Philly neighborhood, but quite a few once I’m out on the highway.
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