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Comment by rocgf | Hacker News Reader

> you're an idiot helping to accelerate the problem as this now becomes a weapons race on the road

This is a very harsh take for something that is legal and widespread everywhere across the world (at least Western world).

You have to try really hard to pretend you don't understand why this is happening. It's a race to the top of the safety spectrum, and for good reason. Traffic accidents are among the single biggest sources of preventable deaths and grave injuries, and getting a bigger car is one of the single most important aspects you can control in this equation. It's actually super simple.

If this is truly a problem, and I guess it is, then there should be some form of legislative intervention against it. The people buying them are not the problem, the environment which encourages this is.

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It's not a race to the top of the safety spectrum. That's just a disguise and also only for some people. It's a race to the top of the "social" and $ spectrum where you have to show how little you care about the others and the environment and also how much money you can dump on vanity and impractical things

I think it's actually both. Some people buy bigger cars for looks/status, and then others (esp. parents of small children) feel compelled to buy a larger, safer vehicle in response. In the case of minivans, they are choosing a less cool, but safer, vehicle than smaller alternatives.

Occupants of the largest vehicles on the road experience less than 1/10 of the fatalities than those in the smallest. We desperately need new regulations/legislation to address the vehicle size arms race.

https://www.iihs.org/api/datastoredocument/status-report/pdf...

Safety for me, but not for thee...

Some people don't even get to make a choice, they just suffer the consequences (e.g. children and others that can't drive for whatever reason). As vehicles have been getting bigger, pedestrian deaths have been going up. I don't think it's mere coincidence.

I don't really understand why everyone in this post is so hung up on this.

As long as there is no regulation in a particular area, obviously each actor will look out for their own interest. I wouldn't even call it selfish, it's just the natural order of things and an example of the tragedy of the commons. Nothing more, nothing less.

The fact that people here act as if learning how to drive better and getting an SUV is an either/or choice is ridiculous.

It's a race to the top of the safety spectrum in which my 8 year old son on his bicycle can only participate as a guaranteed loser.

In fact its all a long con to bring the Penny Farthing back into style so drivers of modern land barges can see your child on his bicycle over their own 1.5m high hood/grille.

This just needs to reframed so that political actors / governments can actually legislate this away.

The reality is that large SUVs do make everyone on the road less safe, and that should be impressed upon people buying these things. Buying an SUV might make you the driver safer, but your kids, neighbours, relatives etc. less safe.

People are more communally conscious than you give them credit…

Sounds like you're one of the idiots

It only sounds like that because most people are not able to look at things objectively.

But, obviously, you're wrong. I don't own a car and haven't for many years. I never intend to own a car ever again. But just because I don't want to own a car, that doesn't mean that anyone who does is an idiot.

Hope that settles it.

So youre not even a pert of this conversation. Only car buyers determine which cars are sold.

That makes absolutely zero sense, regardless of how much I'd look at it.

> This is a very harsh take for something that is legal and widespread everywhere across the world (at least Western world).

No, he is absolutely right. 99% of all people do not need a bigger car, they need better driving skills. But hey, its capitalism so of course we solve our issues with money

I highly doubt that safety is on the mind of SUV and truck buyers. Perhaps that is the reason they give after the fact, but really it is all about looks.

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