• @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    It is honestly a major failure of US society (comedians I am looking at you) that people aren’t made fun of for driving these trucks so mercilessly that most people feel too ashamed to drive them.

    I mean lots of other failures too, it shouldn’t be legal especially because there is zero reason for the high hood height from a vehicle function perspective. Unless of course you consider your vehicle being more efficient at killing pedestrians a reason to have them that way. I suppose we have entered that stage of things here in the US haven’t we.

    • @[email protected]
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      291 year ago

      Definitely. Builders and contractors in Europe drive vans; same as everyone else on the planet except the insecure yanks. If you pulled up to a site in one of these in any other country, I fuckin guarantee remarks will be made about your penis size and your penchant for the cock

      • @[email protected]
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        31 year ago

        There are plenty of things vans aren’t suitable for–towing fifth wheels or holding oversized power equipment, for instance. Nor are vans any better for visibility than the trucks on OP’s list. Many start as the same truck frames and then have a different body placed on top.

        • @[email protected]
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          121 year ago

          So you’re saying that contractors in other countries can’t do the same stuff that US contractors do, because they don’t have access to tiny-penis trucks?

          Because that’s what you’re saying

          • @[email protected]
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            31 year ago

            I’m saying they do have those trucks. You may not see them as much because these use cases tend to have them driven to a job site and then stay there until the work is done, which may be weeks or months.

            There are also some farming needs that Europe just doesn’t have. You can go for miles and still be on the same farm in the US. Sometimes, the land is rented and isn’t contiguously connected. Hauling equipment and livestock across all that is the job of a fifth wheel, and you can’t use a van for that.

            • @[email protected]
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              71 year ago

              Literally every livestock farmer owns one of these

              You’re just trying to justify your tiny-penis truck when there is zero justification for it whatsoever

              • @[email protected]
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                1 year ago

                I don’t own a truck. I do know people who do and have some familiarity with farm operations.

                That truck is not adaquate for the number of livestock or equipment an American farmer has. It would force multiple trips over dirt roads. Again, American farms are just plain bigger, and there might be a few changes that are needed to support that.

                Also, I’m not sure why you think that truck is better than any American truck. It simply swaps a bed for a box. Edit: I believe that’s a somewhat older model Man TGL, which has a GVWR of 7.5-12 tons. That puts it in the same ballpark as an F350, so again, I don’t know why you think this is an improvement.

                • Cethin
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                  61 year ago

                  Also, I’m not sure why you think that truck is better than any American truck. It simply swaps a bed for a box.

                  Look at where the window of that cab is positioned. Is there anything in front of it blocking its view? It’s the same difference between an American and European semi-truck. The engine is under or behind the cab, so the view out of the front is unobstructed.

                  As for farming needs, US farmers used much smaller trucks for decades. These massive trucks are actually worse for many/most hauling needs. Consider how much extra effort it takes to load cargo into the bed when it’s 5’ up, rather than when it’s only 2’ or so off the ground. It’s just plain worse, except for making someone feel tough for some reason.

          • @[email protected]
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            11 year ago

            I am now genuinely curious as to the logistics at play for construction companies across the pond.

          • @[email protected]
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            11 year ago

            Depends on the model. Ford Transits are probably better, but an E250 is just an F250 with a different body, and isn’t any better.

      • @[email protected]
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        41 year ago

        I fuckin guarantee remarks will be made about your penis size and your penchant for the cock

        Every country on the planet other than the US will call someone gay for driving a large truck?

    • Ghostalmedia
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      71 year ago

      If you’re relying on comedians to save you, you might want to rethink your strategy.

  • @[email protected]
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    21 year ago

    pedestrian deaths

    I believe they call those “bonus points”.

    Brought to you by someone who ripped the mask right off your face, before the vaccine existed.

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        I have yet to actually be killed by it yet - so far - but several drivers seem to enjoy getting WITHIN INCHES of my body as I walk through a crosswalk, sometimes in heavy snow in sub-freezing temperatures where I struggle to even walk while they enjoy their climate-controlled cockpit with all the comforts of home, yet still want to shave off a few seconds of their commute. This has happened in both areas that heavily lean Democrat as well as ones that heavily lean Republican. In the former it is usually a smaller Lexus or BMW, while in the latter it is usually a giant vehicle, either truck or SUV. Also from what I have been told, the concept of “soccer mom” is a real one - a tiny person who can barely see over the wheel of a vehicle not made for tiny people, who drives perhaps once a month when their rotation comes up, not bothering to adjust the vehicle better for them, or to practice more often to become a safer driver.

        In all of the above, as with the virus, the underlying attitude (whether rich or poor, liberal or conservative, whatever) is the same: I want MY way, the rest of you can deal with it as best you can - or die, whatever.

        Somehow this idea of people abusing their vehicles with extreme negligence in the form of literally running over children like they are in a video game offends people’s sensibilities, yet the same identical thought applied elsewhere gets the opposite reaction. e.g. if you knew that you had COVID, and you visit someone anyway (your >80-year-old grandparents?; crucially: before the vaccine existed) over their explicit objection that you only come if you have no symptoms, and then they die, how is that not “murder”, or at least a form of almost murderous negligence? Not only did MANY people die (or get long-term symptoms) from exactly and precisely this scenario (a wedding, a funeral, a party or church service, etc.), but it also spread the pandemic much faster than it would have otherwise, flying in the face of the “flatten the curve” advice from scientists, affecting whole entire schools, churches, hospitals, and entire communities by the actions of just a few.

        This is also btw the identical reason why groceries cost so much right now: they want to get THEIR way, so they just… do.

        This is why society has rules: to provide a guiding light showing us how we all need to behave, or else experience the consequences (though anyone can be MORE friendly than those mandate, at any time). Hence why we might want an evidence-based policy on vehicles with higher hoods. Because people are literally dying here. We’ll see if anyone cares, more than simply saying platitudes I mean, in the sense of taking any action to help stop it.

      • @[email protected]
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        31 year ago

        To admit would be letting ‘the libruls’ win. They know, but it will remain a closely guarded dark secret.

  • @[email protected]
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    51 year ago

    I saw a pedestrian get bumped by a city car on a crossing yesterday, she rolled on the hood and had a leg injury.

    With a higher hood, like a SUV, she would probably have been thrown onto the ground and hit her head…

  • @[email protected]
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    551 year ago

    A truck has to have a nose that looks like a big slab of concrete to oncoming traffic. If it doesn’t men will be forced to wear dresses, sing show tunes while sitting to pee. Thems the rules.

  • @[email protected]
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    761 year ago

    , I felt physically threatened just standing next to some of the products

    Yes, that’s why they make them like that.

  • @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    My 5 year old son loves Monster Trucks. We walked past one of these behemoth in stock form and he thought it was a monster truck. He wasn’t far off.

    • @[email protected]
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      41 year ago

      The point being it’s the owners that are buying these cars because they want to kill pedestrians or the designers intentionally create them with higher bonnets specifically to kill pedestrians?

      • @[email protected]
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        271 year ago

        The point being that owners are buying these vehicles to be the “winner” in any collision that may happen, and that includes with pedestrians.

  • @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    Road taxes should increase after certain dimensions and weights. Bonnet/hood height should be one.

    Also, safety ratings should give equal weighting to the a vehicle’s impact absorbtion and impact contribution. It’s insane that something is considered safe solely because the occupant is protected.

  • @[email protected]
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    41 year ago

    Unless the SUV or pickup has a trailer hitch and 4x4 power, it should be classified as a large sedan.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 year ago

      Yeah but who cares what those nutjobs think?

      There’s nothing wrong with cars, especially when they’re backed by a good public transit system and plenty of pedestrian-only paths. It’s the trucks (edit: and SUVs) that are the problem.

      • @[email protected]
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        31 year ago

        The thing wrong with cars was the psyop the oil companies played on North Americans in the 50s that it was the ultimate symbol of freedom, before designing entire metropolises around them and causing everyone to have to sit in their car for 2 hours a day needlessly.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 year ago

        I’d argue there’s nothing wrong with trucks, either. Some folk have a legitimate use for them: fitting construction material and lumber in the back; towing a trailer.

        The problem is two fold, I figure: we’ve got a bunch of folk driving trucks (and SUVs) around that never have a legitimate use for them other than a status symbol. Then there’s the folk that have a partial need for them, but can’t afford to keep multiple vehicles around, so they’re stuck driving the truck they need a fraction of the time.

        I’m in the latter category. If i could reliably rent a truck to haul/tow with, I’d replace my family’s Tacoma with a sedan, and save a bunch of money in the process.

  • SeaJ
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    1 year ago

    No shit? I forget where I saw the comparison but the length of the view that is blocked when being in a big ass truck is absolutely insane. There could be a gaggle of kids in front of you and you would never know until you hit them.

    • @[email protected]
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      51 year ago

      Modern trucks have shitty visibility all the way around. I borrow my dad’s Colorado and my boss’s F-150 frequently and I always feel like I’m driving a school bus and feel like I can’t see shit. They have backup cameras but it’s not that great(and the idea that a backup camera should be required to operate a vehicle safely in the first place is abhorrent to me anyway). I never had any issues with my S10 back in the day and I could fit more shit in the bed.

      • lad
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        11 year ago

        There’s another extreme, when a friend of mine took me for a ride in a two-seat convertible BMW X2 it felt like I was barely above ground. When one of the SUVs was near us at a traffic light it felt like it was going to run over us without even noticing

        • @[email protected]
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          21 year ago

          it felt like it was going to run over us without even noticing

          Yeah that’s because they have shitty visibility. Also the reason I’ll never ride a motorcycle in traffic.

          • lad
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            11 year ago

            Yeah, my friend noted exactly the same about visibility that time 😅

    • @[email protected]
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      111 year ago

      They also seriously injure the people they do hit.

      A car tends to hit low and send people onto the hood. A truck hits high (head and torso injuries) and knocks people to the ground where they get run over.

      • @[email protected]
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        191 year ago

        I mentioned this is another comment, but the crazy thing is that’s the driver’s view from M1 Abrams. Typically, in hatches open operation you’d either have a Crew Commander (and/or gunner) standing with their torso out of the turret for better visibility (and a second set of eyes), or a ground guide watching where you go.

      • SeaJ
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        31 year ago

        That’d be the one.

        On another note, I think your comment is causing the Boost app to crash. :/

    • @[email protected]
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      171 year ago

      Was seriously considering a pickup as my next car until my partner pointed me to similar research a while back.

    • BlanketsWithSmallpox
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      71 year ago

      There could be a gaggle of kids in front of you and you would never know until you hit them.

      Republicans: As long as they’re not white…

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        I’m sorry if you’re short… The truck is the answer to the age old question, “How did the dinosaurs get so damn big!?” Initially they were really small lizards but then as soon as the truck showed up in the form of a truck-like dinosaur, then all dinosaurs started to evolve into taller dinosaurs if they survived… survival of the fittest they say.