Well said, Lloyd. As a contractor, I've been driving trucks for 4 decades and have experienced first-hand the inflation in trucks size. The current F-150 dwarfs one from the 80's or 90's. In fact Ford now has a "maverick" that's about the size of an old F-150. I had to get a screw-on ladder for the tailgate of my most recent truck because it's so high off the ground I could no longer easily climb in (and I'm 6' tall).
I'm always amazed when I see trucks that clearly are mostly commuter vehicles. My current fleet (a Silverado 1500 and an F-250) get about 16 and 12 mpg, respectively. I would never drive a truck if i didn't have to. A vehicle useless for anything but hauling shit around.
And the reactions you get show how much driving these stupid behemoths are seen as lifestyle signifiers more than anything else. Every SUV ad seems to show them somewhere where no vehicle should be - the conquest of nature is always the subtext in the marketing. Even if a soccer field is as close as the vehicle ever gets to off-road.
Also a contractor driving a 2014 Silverado Work Truck only out of necessity. It's basically my rolling tool shed/hauler. I'm 100% with you Lloyd and I too wouldn't drive it if I didn't need it. Luckily I'm 6'3 so I can still reach over the bed walls but anything in the center 1/3 of the bed is out of reach even for me. Don't get me started on the late model pick ups. When I'm at the stop light next to one I'm looking at the door handles! Luckily I haven't hit any pedestrians but I did turn into a parking lot stanchion at Menards that was totally blocked from view by my hood and A pillar. Took out my electronic steering and broke the suspension to the tune of $6000!
Lloyd I have been following your anti-truck articles for years.
But I have to admit, I agree with you on this. Todays trucks are too big, too high, and too expensive. And while the govt. can take some blame, we as consumers must take the majority of the blame because we're the ones buying them.
Good on you, you may feel like you're a lone voice in the wilderness, but, if you are, so are the majority of us on this point.
"Traffic safety data from the NHTSA consistently shows that about 75 percent of all pedestrian fatalities occur on sections of a road or street without intersections, suggesting intersections are the safest point to cross a road."
"In a remarkable paper, John F. Saylor nailed the problem of competing interests. It is in the consumer, or driver's interest, to have a heavier and higher vehicle 'since vehicle height and weight negatively correlates with increased pedestrian safety and crash compatibility but positively correlates with increased occupant protection.' "
It would seem that since most pedestrian deaths occur in urban areas, and the current policy is to make downtown/urban centers car-free, that this is being phased out for the most part. Second, the uptick in pedestrian deaths is largely because the people who are being hit and killed are (a) addicts (b) mentally ill or (c) both.
Other items of note:
• The IIHS graphic of car fatalities based on year range is fake. Best fit line for 2003-06 models during 2004-07 missed the last data point; it should yield a nearly-flat line when including the last data point.
• *ANY* vehicle traveling >40 mph that hits a pedestrian will result in near 100% fatality rates; this has little to do with the weight of the vehicle and entirely with the speed, since F = m • a, where F is force, m is mass, and a is acceleration.
• Truck sales are slowing because people cannot afford them, especially as inflation continues to bite the consumer in the wallet. If trucks continue to increase in cost, like some of the new models that retail in excess of $100K, fewer people will be able to afford them—especially if MPG is only in the teens.
Can we get your piece on platforms that a lot more people will read, Lloyd? You nail it - and the images, as well as your personal experience with a normal-sized Subaru, add so much to the tale. It is all culture and ridiculousness. Even those teeny tiny women climbing down out of gigantic trucks really don't want to be driving them, I'm sure.
Well said, Lloyd. As a contractor, I've been driving trucks for 4 decades and have experienced first-hand the inflation in trucks size. The current F-150 dwarfs one from the 80's or 90's. In fact Ford now has a "maverick" that's about the size of an old F-150. I had to get a screw-on ladder for the tailgate of my most recent truck because it's so high off the ground I could no longer easily climb in (and I'm 6' tall).
I'm always amazed when I see trucks that clearly are mostly commuter vehicles. My current fleet (a Silverado 1500 and an F-250) get about 16 and 12 mpg, respectively. I would never drive a truck if i didn't have to. A vehicle useless for anything but hauling shit around.
And the reactions you get show how much driving these stupid behemoths are seen as lifestyle signifiers more than anything else. Every SUV ad seems to show them somewhere where no vehicle should be - the conquest of nature is always the subtext in the marketing. Even if a soccer field is as close as the vehicle ever gets to off-road.
A former next door neighbor once said "Big truck, small dick."
Also a contractor driving a 2014 Silverado Work Truck only out of necessity. It's basically my rolling tool shed/hauler. I'm 100% with you Lloyd and I too wouldn't drive it if I didn't need it. Luckily I'm 6'3 so I can still reach over the bed walls but anything in the center 1/3 of the bed is out of reach even for me. Don't get me started on the late model pick ups. When I'm at the stop light next to one I'm looking at the door handles! Luckily I haven't hit any pedestrians but I did turn into a parking lot stanchion at Menards that was totally blocked from view by my hood and A pillar. Took out my electronic steering and broke the suspension to the tune of $6000!
Lloyd I have been following your anti-truck articles for years.
But I have to admit, I agree with you on this. Todays trucks are too big, too high, and too expensive. And while the govt. can take some blame, we as consumers must take the majority of the blame because we're the ones buying them.
Good on you, you may feel like you're a lone voice in the wilderness, but, if you are, so are the majority of us on this point.
"Traffic safety data from the NHTSA consistently shows that about 75 percent of all pedestrian fatalities occur on sections of a road or street without intersections, suggesting intersections are the safest point to cross a road."
You wrote:
"In a remarkable paper, John F. Saylor nailed the problem of competing interests. It is in the consumer, or driver's interest, to have a heavier and higher vehicle 'since vehicle height and weight negatively correlates with increased pedestrian safety and crash compatibility but positively correlates with increased occupant protection.' "
It would seem that since most pedestrian deaths occur in urban areas, and the current policy is to make downtown/urban centers car-free, that this is being phased out for the most part. Second, the uptick in pedestrian deaths is largely because the people who are being hit and killed are (a) addicts (b) mentally ill or (c) both.
Other items of note:
• The IIHS graphic of car fatalities based on year range is fake. Best fit line for 2003-06 models during 2004-07 missed the last data point; it should yield a nearly-flat line when including the last data point.
• *ANY* vehicle traveling >40 mph that hits a pedestrian will result in near 100% fatality rates; this has little to do with the weight of the vehicle and entirely with the speed, since F = m • a, where F is force, m is mass, and a is acceleration.
• Truck sales are slowing because people cannot afford them, especially as inflation continues to bite the consumer in the wallet. If trucks continue to increase in cost, like some of the new models that retail in excess of $100K, fewer people will be able to afford them—especially if MPG is only in the teens.
Can we get your piece on platforms that a lot more people will read, Lloyd? You nail it - and the images, as well as your personal experience with a normal-sized Subaru, add so much to the tale. It is all culture and ridiculousness. Even those teeny tiny women climbing down out of gigantic trucks really don't want to be driving them, I'm sure.
Hear, hear.
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