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Comment by paganel | Hacker News Reader

> it's even a declaration of war.

Yeah, it is a declaration of war against pedestrians. Thankfully this thing will never catch on here in Europe and I'll continue being safe while crossing the street.

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IIRC there is a regulation in the US that ensures the front of a car is designed so that a pedestrian is thrown over the car instead of under it. It is one reason so many new cars look alike.

Does a truck have any such requirements for pedestrian safety ? Is the highest part of the Cyber truck's front end any lower than a F-150 for example ? That could make for a safer design.

> Is the highest part of the Cyber truck's front end any lower than a F-150 for example ?

They look like they're the same height, although it's a bit difficult to compare. The top of the F150's grill does look a bit more curved; not sure how much of a difference that makes.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1198751258384818176

I agree. The edges look awfully dangerous for anything that's not another Cybertruck. I'm sure they are planning to build and sell them as often as possible but I wouldn't underestimate the butt-kicking idea that I mentioned. I think at least part of the goal is to make other companies produce electric pickups too.

How is a Ford F150 safer for a pedestrian?

Because they're absent from most of Europe, because of their huge cylinder-volume the tax-related costs are pretty big in many European countries (there's only 2 F150s that I know of in the 2-million European capital I live in). This being an EV car will probably have close to no taxes attached to it so chances are some EV-enthusiasts will buy this instead of a Model 3 or Model S.

Is that really a problem? Most of the pedestrian fear of trucks in europe is likely just fear of the unknown.

I've had cars slightly touch me while I was crossing the street, but because they were generally small cars they were only touching my feet. Not at all a pleasant feeling but survivable. A truck, well, it would go straight for the belly/chest, a lot more vulnerable area.

There’s a much bigger problem if cars are touching you while you are walking than a big flat front end.

It's really a problem.

Fear of large cars is justified in Europe and anywhere else because they kill more pedestrians[1].

1. https://www.curbed.com/2018/9/27/17909270/pedestrian-deaths-...

I live in Europe (Ireland) and F150s, Rangers, and other pickups are very common as work vehicles here. There's also a lot of 4x4s like Land Cruisers and Defenders with bull bars, which are presumably less safe for pedestrians.

Hearing a lot made of this pedestrian problem. Are trucks more likely to hit pedestrians? I was not aware of big vehicles being more dangerous. Personally, I don’t want to get hit by any motorized metal no matter the size.

Not necessarily, but hitting your body and especially your head on a sharp edge is much more dangerous than a flat or curved surface. Compare hitting your head on the edge (or even corner!) of a table vs. hitting it on the bottom of the table.

Big vehicles are more dangerous, obviously. They have more mass, so they hit people with more force.

https://www.curbed.com/2018/9/27/17909270/pedestrian-deaths-...

> Yeah, it is a declaration of war against pedestrians. Thankfully this thing will never catch on here in Europe and I'll continue being safe while crossing the street.

Speed is what kills, not a slightly harder body.

Even the lightest car has enough mass that it's going to really hurt pedestrians if it hits one at speed.

And if any car - even this one - hits someone at 5 mph, it's not going to do that much damage.

There's a huge difference between hitting a pedestrian with a small hatchback at city speeds (which, in my congested city, means between 15 and 25 kph) and hitting it with a vehicle like this.

why? the difference in mass between a small hatchback and a human is still an order of magnitude larger than the difference between the same car and a cybertruck. they are both so much heavier than the pedestrian that they should transfer about the same energy into the poor fellow.

Because when a hatchback hits you chances are that you’d get thrown on its hood or windscreen, while when a truck hits you chances are you’d be thrown behind its weels. The first scenario gives you bigger chances of survival as a pedestrian. It’s not a question about mass, it’s about the shape of the car. Of course, this whole scenario applies to speeds generally met in cities/towns (maximum 30-40 kph).

> And if any car - even this one - hits someone at 5 mph, it's not going to do that much damage.

About 2% of auto or light truck vs. pedestrian collisions under 10mph produce severe injuries, and at all speeds light trucks are more dangerous than autos, so I think you are overgeneralizing here.

5mph != <10mph

> and at all speeds light trucks are more dangerous than autos,

Citation needed.

There is a big difference between someone rolling over the hood of your sedan and hitting them with a huge "wall" of a pickup truck.

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