I am preparing arguments for stronger regulation around vehicle size/weight. Focused on non-commercial usage.
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The road to hell is legislated with good intentions.
"Oops we created this bad side effect, let's narrow things down further" in the same way that we'd patch a security hole introduced by a new product feature.
Saying "the answer is to just stop trying to prevent bad things" is nonsensical on the face of it. The problems that caused people to care enough to want regulation didn't just magically go away!
I don't understand what you're saying here. Are you implying SUVs have better fuel economy? Because they don't? Also generally safety regulations are tougher in Europe, but cars are smaller, so I don't believe that SUVs comply better with safety regulations either.
In EU car makers are paying for extra g of CO2/km on every vehicle. And that g/km is calculated based on weight of the vehicle. I don't have exact numbers, but basically 2 ton SUV can have something like 140g/km without penalty, while 1.3 ton hatch has to have 70g/km which is impossible.
Why don't we see this in europe, or japan, or any other first world urban area where you see a proliferation of tiny trucks, tiny vans, tiny vehicles, mopeds, etc? Surely these other places also chased fuel economy savings and safety, but they ended up with a market that looks (and weighs) a lot different. I doubt these cars are any more dangerous or less fuel efficient than some American market car. What sort of policies were enacted in these places that lead to the markets for these small vehicles, which we don't see here?
I've moved with it, put a rack on the top, and drive friends around.
It's got CarPlay, cruise control, even stupid LED lighting for my cupholders.
If that's not punching above its literal size and weight, I don't know what would. Unfortunately this car has been discontinued now.
Nothing in today's market is comparable.
Regulation on size/weight will give cars like this the opportunity to survive.
Pretty much every product line has received this treatment over the last 20yr. Your car would exist without modern safety/fuel economy regulation. It would just look like a 2003 Ford Escort that puts down performance numbers that are more befitting the year 2021.
I'm sorta tired of people regulating or trying to regulate every aspect of life. Maybe just let people make their own decisions.
Even if regulation is the only solution (I do not believe it is) there's ways with better locality like limiting access to the roads, providing better pathways for pedestrians, better guard rails, lighting, etc. Regulating the vehicle is a sweeping change that assumes that people who own these vehicles have absolutely no need for them in the first place.
I live in an area where a high clearance SUV or other large vehicle is a necessity for navigating many of the roads. Why should I, and others like me, suffer for the externalities occurring in cities (this seems to pertain to) where I will never drive?
I think other solutions would work just as well, just add sidewalks so roads become smaller, or make users of large SUVs pay for the cost of killing pedestrians.
>I live in an area where a high clearance SUV or other large vehicle is a necessity for navigating many of the roads. Why should I, and others like me, suffer for the externalities occurring in cities (this seems to pertain to) where I will never drive?
I don't know where you live but most SUVs are not really made for off-road use either and there are plenty of high clearance smaller cars around. Moreover, let's turn the question around, why should pedestrians pay (with their lives) so that some people in remote areas and many city people who want to feal like a outdoor cowboy can drive SUVs?
The same way you're responsible for anything you do around other people. Pay attention to who and what is around you, how exposed to danger you are currently. I don't walk around parking lots or other busy areas assuming drivers can always see me, do you?
> I don't know where you live...
It's fine if folks want to regulate their cities like this, by all means. Make vehicles over some size/tonnage illegal in the city limits, do whatever in the city. But why choose a pathway that effects people who live far from them? I struggle to follow the logic.
I don't live in Montana, fwiw.
Implement standards for pedestrian safety. Ban personal vehicles that don't meet them from urban streets.