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The Deadly Rise of Giant Trucks and S.U.V.s (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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[–] 8 points 4 months ago (4 children)

The A Pillar blind zone annoys the fuck out of me when I am driving. So many times i do not see tall adults walking at the crosswalk when they are completely blocked by the modern car A pillars. I had much easier time seeing when driving my dad's old 90's Honda compared to a newer car from 2015+. I feel so bad for people walking the streets and hate the American car industry and lobbyist

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    My understanding is that it has to do with updated rollover safety requirements that came in in the mid-late 2000s. They have to be able to support something like 2.5 times their weight on the roof, making all of the pillars thicker. Combined with additional overall weight from other crash regulations, this means that A-pillars are yet bigger. Cars have become much safer for occupants at the expense of safety for pedestrians, who are not part of the equation as pedestrians are subhuman.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    The A pillar airbags, the old 90's car didn't have it.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago

    That too. I went from a 1998 sedan to a 2010 hatchback, and the latter feels like it has good visibility because of the tall window, but the A-pillar will block pedestrians in the crosswalk, and even mask whole cars. I have to bob my head around from side to side to be confident I'm not about to hit something while turning.

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