[HN Gopher] Bigger vehicles are directly resulting in more death...
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       Bigger vehicles are directly resulting in more deaths of people
       walking
        
       Author : tonyedgecombe
       Score  : 29 points
       Date   : 2021-08-22 20:34 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (smartgrowthamerica.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (smartgrowthamerica.org)
        
       | barney54 wrote:
       | Did I miss the part where they show that pedestrian deaths have
       | actually increased? They show that the proportion of SUVs hitting
       | pedestrians have increased which makes sense because there are
       | more SUVs, but I didn't see that the actual deaths have
       | increased. Maybe I missed it!
        
         | jdavis703 wrote:
         | I can't find data going up until 2020, but there are easily
         | searchable news articles reporting on 2020 being a record year
         | for deaths. Here's some data, but it only goes to 2018:
         | https://www.ghsa.org/resources/Pedestrians19
        
         | wgjordan wrote:
         | The linked Dangerous by Design 2021 report [1] shows the data
         | on increased pedestrian deaths:
         | 
         | > The number of people struck and killed by drivers nationwide
         | while walking increased by an astonishing 45 percent over the
         | last decade (2010-2019).
         | 
         | [1] https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/
        
       | grawprog wrote:
       | I know it's not science, there's no data or anything. But, i've
       | almost been hit as a pedestrian just under 10 times. Every single
       | time it was by either a Mercedes or BMW sedan. My sister was hit
       | by a BMW sedan driver, her back's been fucked ever since. Almost
       | everyone I know that's been involved in an accident as a
       | pedestrian has been hit by either a Mercedes or BMW sedan.
       | 
       | ETA: Seeing as I'm getting downvoted, might as well keep going
       | they've also always inevitably hit and run, or been incredibly
       | rude and scream at you as they almost kill you with their half
       | ton of plastic and metal when they're not paying attention to the
       | road.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | FridayoLeary wrote:
       | Which is ironic since cars needs to be bigger today in order to
       | conform to safety regulations, which include pedestrian safety.
        
         | Causality1 wrote:
         | You're getting downvoted but that's a valid point. If you spend
         | any time around older vehicles you notice how "chunky" modern
         | cars are, how little passenger volume they have compared to
         | their outer dimensions. I'm not saying those measures aren't
         | worth it, but they are making cars bigger.
        
         | newacct583 wrote:
         | I don't think that's responsive. Regulations are forcing up the
         | size of the _smallest_ vehicles. The median vehicle in the US
         | is a SUV with almost twice the curb weight of those  "larger"
         | compacts.
         | 
         | The change in median vehicle weight is absolutely not being
         | caused by safety regulations.
        
         | Someone wrote:
         | FTA: "federal policymakers have so far failed to make any
         | significant changes to the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) to
         | include testing, ratings, or safety standards for people
         | outside a vehicle, whether on foot, bike, or using assistive
         | devices.
         | 
         |  _Read that again: we do not test for, or even consider, the
         | impact of a new car's design on potential collisions with human
         | beings not in a vehicle--an action that results in a death more
         | than 6,200 times per year and increasing almost every year._ "
         | 
         | = I don't think what you say is true in the USA.
        
         | wyager wrote:
         | The front ~1foot of my car is 90% air, presumably to create
         | some crumple zone. Very space-inefficient.
        
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       (page generated 2021-08-22 23:00 UTC)