A study of 13 years of crashes in Australia finds a link between car height and risk of pedestrian death, particularly for women and children.
    • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
      112·
      2 months ago

      I feel like it’s more of a crossover but yeah that’s basically the smallest car they sell nowadays, at least here in the USA.

          • hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            9·
            2 months ago

            I had to double-check, but the difference seems to be that traditionally SUV has a frame separate from the body construction, and crossover has the body form frame

            But also, that definition is not always followed and people just call the stupidest size cars SUVs, and the less-stupid-but-still-stupid-size crossover

            But for example, by that definition this lada niva is a crossover, not an SUV

            • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
              11·
              2 months ago

              Yeah I also looked it up and it doesn’t really seem like there’s a consensus on whether they count as SUVs. So I guess we’re both kinda right.

              Either way fuck cars that are bigger than they need to be. That’s the ultimate point.

            • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.netEnglish
              1·
              2 months ago

              That Lada is also a lot smaller than that camera angle makes it look. Way smaller than a Wrangler, probably even smaller than a Suzuki Sidekick. People called that a 3-door hatchback when it came out.

              But it came out in Europe, long before the differentiation between body-on-frame vs unibody became a significant cost consideration in America through our domestic CAFE standards legislation.

      • pHr34kY@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        2 months ago

        The smallest car you can get in Victoria is a Kia Picanto or a Suzuki Ignis. We’re talking under 900kg. They’re usually driven by the very young or very old.

        I get around Melbourne in an old Ignis. The government frames us like we’re the unsafe ones. The road blimps are getting out of hand.

        Fun story: I annoyed a guy in a Silverado last month by (gasp) getting in front of it so I could see. He pulls up next to me and starts yelling at my roof. I couldn’t even see the dickhead’s face.

        • caurvo@aussie.zoneEnglish
          5·
          2 months ago

          I drive a Swift and a motorbike in Melbourne. I’m convinced 2 out of three drivers in Melbourne have zero ability to recognise they are part of an ecosystem and that the road doesn’t uniquely belong to them.

          And tell me about being blamed for our own safety. Can’t even go for a decent ride any more because I’ve seen potholes that can swallow a man. And now they have.

          • pHr34kY@lemmy.worldEnglish
            6·
            2 months ago

            The potholes were definitely not caused by motorcycles and Swifts. I can’t believe the hypocricy of people who buy a 3 tonne rolling whale and complain about the prevalence of potholes.

      • ChexMax@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        Wait are you saying they don’t sell sedans in the US? I feel like every 4th car I see is the Toyota corolla

    • myyass@lemmy.worldEnglish
      71·
      2 months ago

      At this point my Jeep is a compact car compared to the whales on the road, sure it maybe taller but I need the square trunk area and height for my back and work.

  • Caveman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    2 months ago

    Bigger cars cause more damage in crashes. How are these cars consumer cars again?

    • myyass@lemmy.worldEnglish
      24·
      2 months ago

      Bro, it hauls groceries so well for me. I thought I ran over a squirrel the other day, turns out it was a 99 Civic. Ooopsies.

  • hardcoreufo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 months ago

    I hate that I walk through a parking lot and half the trucks there have hoods that are above my head height at 6 ft and well above the roofline of my car. They are just driving a brick wall at this point.

  • AnimalsDream@slrpnk.netEnglish
    112·
    2 months ago

    I remember looking up which cars are safest to drive. I remember the article saying, unsurprisingly, the expensive luxury vehicles being the safest, with bigger vehicles being on the safer side too (for the driver and passengers). It also said that it’s only recently that people have been testing the question of vehicle safety as it relates to the vehicles impact on other’s safety, and corroborating this piece here, the answer is pretty obvious.

    My job has a drive-thru that seems to have been built before vehicles started ballooning. I take a lot of satisfaction in seeing people struggle to squeeze their monstrosities through it. Especially when they damage their hunks of junk on the protective barriers.

    Fuck cars.

  • Notyou@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    All the more reason to get one of these bad boys.

    https://www.motor1.com/news/615702/2023-rezvani-vengence-suv-pepper-spray/

    Of course armored body panels and bulletproof glass are on the list, but how about armor for the passengers? Vests and helmets are available, along with gas masks, magnetic deadbolts for the doors, run-flat tires, sirens, ultra-bright lights, a thermal night vision system, and we aren’t joking about shooting pepper spray. It’s also an option, and if you need to find cover for a quick escape, it even has a smoke screen feature.

  • Jiral@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    2 months ago

    And smoking isn’t good for your health! Yeah, I know. Shocking.

    Like with smoking, there is a lot of effort going on to deny the obvious though and a lot of people are in denial.

  • dellish@lemmy.worldEnglish
    43·
    2 months ago

    OK, now do fatal accidents including pedestrian deaths and see how that goes. The size of car you drive doesnt serve as an indication of whether you’re a bad driver, but the damage that can be caused ought to exclude some cars from the road.