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Comment by walletdrainer | Hacker News Reader

Why do they need to do this? Is this a real problem in Europe? Are lots of people being killed by these imported trucks?

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As the article states, US pedestrian deaths are UP 80% since 2010, while EU deaths are DOWN.

You can’t probably blame 100% of that difference on the design standards of US vehicles. But probably a high proportion of them!

Such vehicles have been very common in the us long before 2008. You’re making the opposite point you think you ate.

A 2025 GMC Sierra 2500 is a way bigger vehicle than a 1995 Ford Bronco. 7,417 lbs vs. 4,616 lbs. and hood height of 6.6 feet vs. about 3.7 feet. And the "light trucks" category has risen to 65% of the market from 36% of the market back then. There are a lot more of them, and they're a lot bigger.

A GMC Sierra doesn’t have a 6.6 ft hood height, unless this guy is 8 feet tall: https://share.google/iuCAMEsNEgN0rBGFK

What an odd comparison. Heavy duty trucks with dual rear axles absolutely existed in the 90s. Not sure why you chose a random mid size SUV.

Why not compare with the GMC sierra 2500 of whatever year?

Because "pavement princess" massive trucks driving around cities become much more common recently.

Which has resulted in trucks become more useless as actual trucks, since they've evolved into SUVs with a tiny bed you can't fit a sheet of plywood into.

I would say that since ~2008 there have was a large increase in distractions for both drivers and pedestrians in the form of screens with a further additions in vehicles later aa well.

Add in the absolutely stupid design of larger passenger vehicles and you get the current trend.

Do Europeans not have smartphones?

So what? You can already go on mobile.de and buy all of these US vehicles today from specialist importers.

Approximately nobody wants these cars in Europe! Everyone who wants one and can afford one already owns one, there’s no lack of supply.

Implicitly you appear to be saying that we need to reach that point before action is taken?

We need to have a reason to take aution before we take action, sure.

This is an incredibly niche product in Europe, so far I’ve seen no evidence that the current state of affairs isn’t perfectly fine.

No need to fix things that aren’t broken, or don’t even look to be trending in that direction.

The question seems legit to me.. Otherwise worded it's essentially whether there's correlation between both. Without evidence it's more difficult to justify regulation. At the end of the day a pickup is adjacent to a midsize van. To me, both seem like you're essentially getting hit by a wall...

The difference is visibility, with a van you can often see as close as 1,5 m in front of you due to the short hood. The problem is a lot of the newer trucks and SUVs are so tall that a full child (or 5) just disappear in front the car.

For the UK it is a problem that many of our roads were built for a horse and cart. People like the aesthetics of these narrow, hedge-lined roads, so they won't change. An F150 or Ram is a very large vehicle to be putting down these roads.

Probably safer actually since you can’t go as fast and have to pay far more attention.

It is fine as long as people are good at reversing...

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