NYT investigation: Rise of giant trucks and SUVs tied to more pedestrian deaths

Dan Carney89

It is not. I wrote this in 2023. www.designnews.com/automotive-e...

Kate Tuttle41

I'm not sure it's only coming to light now. The Times has launched investigations before that just reiterate things we already knew. (I remember writing about this when I was a mommy blogger, lol, in like 2007.)

FrozenBBQ39

Auto journalism is so screwed, man. There have been numerous articles over the years about this trend, but staying in the OEMs' good graces is far more important, especially with the consolidation of almost every auto journo outlet. This trend is literally killing people, a lot of them children.

Russ Copeland30

Ownership of these vehicles is more about identity politics than practical necessity.

Lora Kolodny29

automotive trades & auto beat / transportation reporters been on this a long while. very good to see more coverage break through.

Shawn Medero29

I don’t know where the Times gets off claiming the data has never been examined before (I’m not giving them an Ad revenue click to determine their data sources) but this issue has been widely discussed and researched for years. 2024 National Safety Council report: www.nsc.org/road/resourc...

Joe Pantuso21

This has been well understood and reported for years

Nicholas Slayton20

I swear I've read at least half a dozen articles on this in the last six years from other outlets.

ToplessTopics.org11

I feel like I have heard about this ages ago. Not Just Bikes on YouTube may have mentioned it, he does a lot of videos about how pedestrian and bicyclist safety is handled in different countries.

Alberto B. Foglia11

I mean traffic safety researchers and advocates have been talking about this for literal decades! There is a ton of scientific literature on this, so it’s weird they are presenting it as new? It’s pretty well known. Maybe they got hold of some non-public industry research too or something?

radgen.bsky.social10

They also give the driver the illusion of being able to see surroundings because of increased height.

Jennifer Grand7

It’s not. People have been sounding the alarm on this issue for years now. I’ve been ranting that big trucks are pedestrian killers for a decade.

Madeleine7

Not just now — there have been studies on this for years usa.streetsblog.org/2022/07/07/s...

Elizabeth Bailey7

Just from my perspective- the federal government doesn’t ask. Industry dereg includes fighting govt reporting requirements. In litigation, these companies fight tooth and nail for confidentiality and resist discovery, so there is no way for litigants to compare notes.

Liz Schiller #DefundthePolice6

yeah this has been known for years, there are multiple articles and videos. for example (with multiple citations and footage from a story on NBC) youtu.be/--832LV9a3I?...

Michel Billard5

I wish they at least required a special permit with some training requirements. That would limit it to people who truly need them and know a bit more about the dangers of driving one.

Kimtentional5

I call these Murder Trucks. My husband has to listen to me rant about the Murder Trucks whenever we go anywhere. In the UK, there is a warning in big trucks and SUVs that the death rate in accidents is much higher than for normal cars. Now the front grills are angled down, too, rather than a wedge.

パンダギリ🐼🍙‧ ˚₊⊹5

They're about 15 years too late. I'm only 4'11", was crossing a road on a walk sign when a giant battering ram nearly turned left on me. They had a "blinking yellow" but traffic laws don't matter when there's a dead person. I was starring into their grill & could smell burnt rubber. I hate trucks.

Ivy5

Vox did a great piece a couple years ago about the federal legislation that promotes Big Car: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The Wokest Ginger4

I bet it has something to do with the automotive lobby

Asschapel Roan4

It's not. It's been well known for years. This is the institutionally transphobic vichy NYT though. Their reporting, as always, is to push an agenda. Why specifically is someone powerful taking interest in this right now? Idk, maybe an independent journalist will investigate 💚

David Stone4

Has anyone studied whether there's a correlation between truck size and "shrinkage" among American males?

Sarah Birnbaum ❌👑4

Everything is gender, part infinity!

andrea dworkin for the weekend4

plain sight thing everyone knows but nobody wants to acknowledge because of the impact it would have on the many many people that like the feeling of driving a mrap

crockadoodledoo.bsky.social4

Having been run over by a Subaru outback and rolling up over the hood, I can assuredly say that had it been a truck/SUV I'd probably be dead.

Orla McCool 🇨🇦4

I thought this was common knowledge. Just stand in front of a big pick up truck and imagine being hit by that, even at low speed. I'm 5'3", I'm dead.

Bruce Wilson3

I've been reading about this for at least a decade and a half.

Jim Lippard3

NY Times catching up to Detroit Free Press 2018. www.freep.com/story/money/...

Horza ☢️🐼3

Also a good video on it youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?...

daughterofwitches.bsky.social3

Its because we have losers who instead of doing something with their lives they can be proud of, take out loans for huge vehicles in order to intimidate others and feel better about themselves. Very few of these monster vehicles are actually needed by their owners.

Disintegration893

LA is now flooded with ride share fleets composed of huge Escalades and Suburbans. They’re a terror on the roads. Hoping some local reporters address this issue.

Justin2

i got into this argument when threads first started by sharing this meme, people thought the pic was fake. I've worked on fleets for nearly 20 years and trucks are definitely getting bigger, to the point i nearly need a ladder to check fluids on one of the new Chevys and I'm 6'.

ladymittens.bsky.social2

I'm 2022, when I was doing for a new vehicle, I saw a video on this by Not Just Bikes on YouTube. It radicalized me. We keep thinking these trucks are safer for our families, but the numbers say the opposite. youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?...

3dlanyard.bsky.social2

The people who design manufacture and purchase these large vehicles don’t give a shit about the planet. Period.

David Patterson2

Keith Bradshear reported on this and more for the Times, and then wrote an excellent book on the subject, a quarter century ago….. www.thriftbooks.com/w/high-and-m...

Beth Ann2

And let’s not forget about the added lift kits they put on these trucks. You need a fking elevator to get in.

Weftage39

I love my 2017 Prius, but it has a similar problem, if in smaller scale. I had to learn to quickly look AROUND the pillar to make sure I'm not running down a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Anastasia ➳❥33

These honestly shouldn’t be legal in my opinion

cynthesizer.bsky.social32

I adore my Honda Fit but A-pillars are bananas big. Checking that blind spot requires shifting my sitting position all over to crane around it. For a small car primarily meant for cities and residentail areas, it's a bafflingly bad design.

supastaaarz24

There was an episode of 60 Minutes (or maybe 20/20?) a few years ago that showed an entire kindergarten class in front of a Chevy Suburban and the driver couldn’t see any of the kids.

Lazlo Toth23

I have this problem with my 2012 Chevy Volt. The A pillar is huge because it houses an airbag.

Curt Milam22

A drive a relatively modest European wagon. Often when I'm at an intersection next to an American SUV or pickup, I can't safely clear traffic b/c I literally can't see around the vehicle. They block out the sun. Usually a 5' mom in a 6,000 lbs Denali

Nic Weyand20

When NYT tries, no one else is better. When NYT is bad, no one else is as awful.

Ennui in Motion15

I drive a bigger delivery vehicle for work but a crossover for daily driving. I recently drove a relative’s Tahoe and was shocked at how dangerous the visibility is. They’re worse than the delivery vehicles which require training to drive because of the blind spots and size. Insane.

Arctic Giantess12

This has definitely obscured pedestrians from my view while turning left (small SUV) but I had no idea it was such a widespread problem. This needs more publicity for drivers and pedestrians alike.

Olli10

I bought a 2009 Kia Spectra in 2010. Great car, got a 2016 Kia Sportage in 2018. I did NOT realize about the A-pillar blind spots until I had almost hit a pedestrian .. TURNING LEFT. I still have it, and I still drive it, but I am super hyper vigilant and go slow, because it made me realize how..

Debra K8

Even in my 2016 Nissan Murano I have to be really careful of that issue. Between the pillar and the mirror, it makes a blind spot big enough to hide a car at the right angle.

Ethics Gradient7

Always love this helpful graphic

Un Katow para el ojo idiota7

Also the modern desing focus the security on the vehicle driver and passengers. A safer driver is a careless driver. And they add automatic break, so the driver pay even less attention. Put the drivers in a bubble at the front, let them be crushed by any frontal impact. Then the roads will be safe.

El Spotto7

The VW New Beetle has incredibly wide A pillars. The same visibility issues discussed regarding trucks also exists with some regular cars. I regularly have to move me head to make sure the left blind spot is clear which is not ideal to say the least.

Extralife6

getting into an older car (like pre 2004) is like stepping into a glass elevator. just suddenly astonished you can see in every direction

Resolute Rose6

These trucks are also a problem for small car drivers, especially when parked near corners. Can’t see around them to know if any traffic is oncoming before turning the corner. This is my terror every morning going to work.

Devin6

A major part of the problem is that NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO POSITION THEIR SIDE MIRRORS!! This drives me fucking insane. 99% of the vehicles on the road have both side mirrors pointing to the REAR of the car. Folks, that’s what your rear-view mirror is for. Your side mirrors are for your blind spots.🤦‍♂️

Matthew Jacob6

Happened to my sister&2 yr old nephew hit crossing an intersection outside their house. The driver claimed to not see them in the middle of a crosswalk while he was turning likely due to this blind spot. Thankfully they were ok but had my nephew been on the side of my sister facing the car who knows

Kim5

Tax these monster SUVs as if they were commercial trucks, and maybe people would stop demanding these ridiculous vehicles that kill so many, and cause more pollution and help destroy our roads quicker than lighter cars.

So-called scientist5

I’m a level 99 NYT hater but I think they absolutely nailed this article and I hope it gets people thinking

JMFallon5

This is from 2019 www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/u...

Matt Johnson4

Volvo solved this in 2000 (when vehicles were much smaller) and then never advanced beyond the concept phase. IIRC it came from a program when they asked the women on their design team to come up with a safer car www.volvoclub.org.uk/volvonews14....

Socrates Jacques-Ortiz4

The A pillars are vexxing because they at least increase safety for passengers, but there's no good reason for taller hoods. We should absolutely require CDLs for hoods over 36 inches.

Jay3

I've driven a lot of trucks off-road for mountain bike shuttles. The worst are the pavement princess trucks, you have no idea where the wheels are in relation to the terrain. There's no visibility. They fail completely for their intended purpose. Surprisingly the best - a 4wd Kei truck.

fred-decker.bsky.social2

When my relatively modest 2011 Subaru was in the shop recently, insurance covered a rental. Through the vagaries of availability, it was a Durango R/T. Sight lines were shockingly poor, to the point I was utterly paranoid about taking it anywhere. So happy to return it!

drwhofan1.bsky.social2

I arrived at work (a school) one morning a few years ago & witnessed a father running over his 6 yr old son in a giant pick up truck. His son exited the rear seat & crossed in front, but dad couldn't see that he dropped something in front of the truck & had run back to get it. He survived, barely.

vivekgani.bsky.social2

Some more context on where big A-pillars came from (SORB testing), and as other replies mention its not limited to trucks/SUVs: bsky.app/profile/vive... I nearly wrecked one of the smallest modern cars sold in US after I bought it because I wasnt used to the big A pillars.

R.S.Knight2

We had a beloved local attorney killed in our community by a police officer in an SUV. He was moving very slowly, but blinded by the A-pillar. The size of the SUV also contributed to the way he fell onto the curb.

ijw2

As far as I know there has been no adjustment in driver ed to account for the newer designs

ThomasMesse14

Saw similar results from a study in England (I don't have the reference, it was presented at a conference). SUVs and other large cars might be safer for the driver, but are more dangerous for pedestrians. More accidents because the driver can't see them, and more fatalities due to the weight.

hoffsbeefs.bsky.social8

that really undersells all the maiming too

pbasken.bsky.social5

Yep that's the typical "sort of investigating" we've become used to. It essentially details a problem we already know, then fully ignores the clear cause -- massive government subsidization of private motoring, which makes all the incentives go toward creating the very problem the NYT cites.

Jeri3

Come to Oklahoma. Every other vehicle is a huge truck. Not all of these guys can be farmers. Sick of the waste.

Motorized Vehicle Hegemony2

I guess that 100 people getting killed every day in the US from cars doesn't get any attention.

winkybiker16

Not only do drivers not follow any road rules, they do not consider any of the risks to others associated with their driving decisions, including vehicle choice. Concrete and steel are about the only thing that will prevent drivers from continuing to do whatever the fuck they want.

AdrianR8

Lift kits and oversized tires should be taxed to high hell.

Cardiovascular Whijacker7

A 1/4 ton truck these days is as large and high as my 1/2 ton pick up from 1994 Shit’s insane once you get to the 3/4 and full ton frames

Emily Johnston6

Still thinking about this, and also wondering: am I the only person who sees guys in trucks/cars like these and thinks "what a tell"? I mean, you buy an absurdly massive metal exoskeleton because you feel small inside, right? Work trucks I understand. These? No. Sign me up for the blank Slate!

UWOPS4

Speaking as an R&D scientist who developed systems, I agree. New regs, classify the big SUVs as trucks (they are) that require a trucker's license, and tax the vehicles by weight. That will also catch heavy smaller EVs, and resolve the "pay for the roads" EV conundrum.

Stoned Feminist2

Maybe we need to start making the argument that these gigantic vehicles are costing everyone more in the form of rising insurance premiums. Americans don't care when people are being killed but when they realize it costs them money, they see its a problem

Michael Druker 🇨🇦5

This project was really well done. Kudos and thank you for highlighting this problem!

hikeitup.bsky.social2

The extra shitty thing about this is that those buying huge trucks, that burn through gas and harm others, typically have NO intention of ever getting them in the dirt or using them for what pickups used to be for. That's not what they're about. They're about weak men compensating.

Amber Sparks27

(I also have crazy person thoughts about gentrification and who lives in cities now and can afford to live in a city exactly as if they were living in a suburb but people REALLY do not want to hear that I know)

Nancy Arrgh10

As a 5-foot, older adult, I can confirm. When I cross, I generally wave to make eye-contact with the driver. I've had too many close calls and -- at 73 -- I'm not getting any faster...or taller.

Ilana Masad7

A journalist friend of mine investigated this whole series of cars and trucks that were so tall that multiple parents had killed their own children in them by accident and it radicalized me more than anything else about cars ever had.

Jane French7

People take out 7+ year loans on SUVs and pickups that are too big to fit in their garage! Crazy to me.

McCallStacy 💦🥩4

Parking lots and garages are also not designed for vehicles this big which creates additional hazards even when they're parked!

Cait_onthe_luce2

Exactly. These trucks freak me out. Why do people need to drive them in cities?

Mike Puke2

The perfect symbol for everything that is wrong with the human race.

Chris Williams2

Here's my late wife's 1995 Toyota Corolla, a perfectly normal sized sedan, surrounded by rolling midlife crises. As you can see, the roof didn't even come up to the bottom of the windows of these idiotic things.

Bill Mauldin2

THIS is why millions hold their nose and vote Republican instead of democrats who want to limit freedom

St Rogers2

Just add 10 cent gasoline tax on any vehicle that gets less than 25 mpg combined.

njars.bsky.social3

I'm not sure who is worse. US auto makers for pushing these monstrosities, or the American public for wanting more "masculine/tough guy" transportation.

Raymond Guiteras2

"There are two reasons bigger vehicles are deadlier: They have taller hoods. And they tend to have larger blind zones." These seem like plausible contributors but surely mass is the first-order problem?