I just watched a video where they lined up about a dozen small children sitting in front of an SUV, and the driver could not see any of them through the windshield.
If visibility is a problem, then personal cars are too large. It seems like a simple fix. Or we could throw wads of technology at the wall and see what sticks?
Life is complicated. Our country is diverse in population, culture, environment, etc. What's good for some of not good for all.
The fact that there are multiple competing ideas of how to best design a car for safety is case in point. Larger frames and door reinforcement makes sense for intrusion protection, but the oposite makes sense to favor visibility. Which approach is considered so good as to make a legal requirement, and what options aren't included in that choice?
I'd be happy to see our government heavily fund unbiased research and public education. In this example, learn what different car designs do for safety and tell the public. Allows us to make our own decisions, empowered with a better understanding of what our options are.
Post covid, I drive a midsize suv, and am no longer comfortable riding my motorcycle.
What has changed? Simple - the other drivers. I now often witness an accident almost daily. I had a car wipe out in front of me last week. I constantly have drivers blindly merging into my lane.
I don’t know what the long term effects of covid are, but I’m pretty sure they include the removal of awareness that other drivers exist on the road, as well as basic human decency.
I used to joke that when I was driving on the west coast, I’d have to remove my turn signal as I’d have the car behind immediately speed up to cut me off.
Sadly, this has now become the reality here on the east coast also.
This was pre-pandemic response, but for a few years I drove a Toyota MR2 and had a couple motorcycles. I feel pretty damn lucky to never have seen what would have happened to me wrecking any of those vehicles.
I never had issues with it spinning around on my, though I was always very aware of how centered the weight balance was so it was clear when I was getting close to the edge.
I'd take a car like that over a true high performance vehicle any day. Taking a fast turn on public street at legal speeds was more engaging than doing 110 in a Corvette on a track in my opinion.
Thanks for the impression. I'll make sure to test drive one if the opportunity comes up.
RIP Miata/del Sol/Elise/MR2/S2000/CRX era
Crashed it once, bought the exact same model cash the following week.
Oh those were the days. Miatas too cheap to meter.
My personal favorite was a beat-up manual C5 vette. Clutch drops at 6k all day long. Seat sliders were broken so it would wobble around rather alarmingly. Mufflers stolen by some hoodlums.
Incredibly fun.
Really gave me an appreciation for that powertrain...my mom was less appreciative.
Come to think of it, that's probably part of why I loved the thrill of an MR2 when technically driving at legal speeds
I like considering the extreme first, but mostly as a gutted check to see which ends of that spectrum I'd favor when finding the right balance