all 72 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[โ€“] 38 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Also out of Japan as well, please. We definitely don't need these, especially in pedestrian- and cyclist-heavy areas. (I have seen hummers trying to drive some streets in Tokyo and it's insane).

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 7 points 11 months ago* (1 child)

    A Hummer in Tokyo?! Honestly that's impressive, considering the width of most non-main roads there. But still, why would one need such a car in such a place? Tokyo works even better without a car at all, imho.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 38 points 11 months ago (19 children)

    We need to limit the size of cars that can enter our cities. Seriously.

    It can also be done in an indirect way, e.g. by making smaller parking spaces and give fines to cars that exceed the shapes.

  • source
  • hideshow 19 child comments
  • [โ€“] 18 points 11 months ago (13 children)

    Allow them, donโ€™t ban.

    BUT make owning one so expensive and annoying nobody wants to get one.

    Extra taxes, extra costs, donโ€™t let big gas guzzlers in city centres etc.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 13 child comments
  • [โ€“] 13 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    Nah, just ban them.

    Extra Tax and Fees just makes it a poor people tax, and rich assholes will carry on as if nothing changes. A straight-up ban makes them not appear at all.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [โ€“] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    This is the better option. But, if you're gonna do that, there needs to be some kind of program that allows people to sell their banned vehicle to the government for above market value so they can afford to purchase a comparable, but more suitable vehicle instead. Otherwise, you're gonna have a bunch of pissed off people with six-figure, three-ton lawn ornaments crying about how they couldn't have known their vehicle would get banned and it's now useless.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago

    Another solution is implementing a ban that will get into effect in 10 years, when the value of such cars would be lower anyway.

    This prevents people from buying new big cars in the meantime anyway.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 9 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    Agreed, wasn't it a 'work truck' heavy vehicle tax break after the fuel crisis in the 70s that created these monstrosities?

    (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm late for work.)

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [โ€“] 9 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    AFAIK yes, thatโ€™s the loophole. If a vehicle is heavy enough then the law assumes it must be for โ€œworkโ€ and thus some pollution laws donโ€™t apply.

    Car manufacturers noticed this and thus the massive โ€œSportsโ€ โ€œUtilityโ€ Vehicle was born.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 2 points 11 months ago*

    The solution then is to remove that loophole, by keeping the pollution laws applied there. And those who actually used such vehicles for work? Yeah, sucks, but they should complain at those car manufacturers.

    Or alternatively, we classify them as trucks instead of as cars.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 4 points 11 months ago

    Close. I believe you're referring to the EPA efficiency mandates passed in the 90s that carved out exceptions for "heavy duty" trucks and SUVs, which lead to the creation of "crossover" vehicles, which started as a way to deliver car-like efficiency and features, while still minimizing development and efficiency costs by still having it classified as a "truck."

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    So, pass a ban that only applies to poor people and let the rich continue to do whatever they want still since they can afford the fine?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago*

    You can have an income- and wealth-dependent fine.

    It could be as a % of your total income (bonus included) + wealth (including stocks, full ownership chain included).

    1.5% of income, 5% of wealth in bank account, 10% of stock value. If any of these three exceeds 300x the median of the lowest 10%'s salary (let's say that that's 10k), then it's 80% for all three. That would hit the ultra-wealthy more and so it'd be fairer.


    For a poor person earning less than โ‚ฌ10,000 a year and having โ‚ฌ1,000 in bank and no stocks, that'd be โ‚ฌ200.

    For someone earning โ‚ฌ40,000 a year, having โ‚ฌ80,000 in bank and โ‚ฌ10,000 in stocks, that'd be โ‚ฌ5,600.

    For a billionnaire who has 1 billion, let's say โ‚ฌ2,000,000 per year as "income", โ‚ฌ100,000,000 in "bank account", and the rest of 1 billion in stocks. Then they'd be paying โ‚ฌ 801.6 million.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    Some places are taxing / fining vehicles over a certain weight. That seems like a good solution. The fine should be proportional to the offender's wealth/income though or rich people will just be able to ignore it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago

    Certain weight and size, would be good, imho.

    Have a bit looser restrictions for road freight lorries and vans, but only regarding the back if they're fully covered (instead of open), and owned by actual transport companies, with logs of what they transported, and actually used for that purpose at least 40 x a year.

  • source
  • parent
  • As and American and specifically a New Yorker I absolutely despise cars and I mean all cars. Genuenly I think if any city in America, New York should be the one that bans all cars and replaces the roads with biking/pedestrian roads. The grand majority of people here dont even own a car let alone acturally use one, most drivers here are coming in from New Jersey (probrally because the New Jersey public transportation system sucks.)

    Hell I say we should bring back trams (modern European Trams) to replace the busses and expand the metro system. We dont need cars we need more options for public transportation and a greater biking infrastructure. We are so close yet so far from completely changing the image from a loud city with garbage drivers to a beautiful city with no cars.

    I know many Europeans are feeling the same so for those living in cities I encurage you to demand the same from your city governments. CARS DONT BELONG IN CITIES

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 36 points 11 months ago (12 children)

    As an American construction worker, I'd much rather have HiLux than these monstrosities. It's ridiculous. No need for this shit.

  • source
  • hideshow 12 child comments
  • [โ€“] 8 points 11 months ago (11 children)

    The worst part is you can't see children and teenagers walking Infront of them. Which means you can't see normal cars Infront of you either. They are essentially worse than semi-trucks because they have slanted hoods, mirrors and better designed visibility and laws.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [โ€“] 5 points 11 months ago (10 children)

    Part of why these monstrosities are possible is that pickup trucks, and most SUVs, are regulated as "trucks" not "cars" and so they don't have to follow all the same safety rules as cars.

    There are some that actually have a camera in the front so you can look at a camera view of what's in front of you and blocked by the monstrous hood. I suppose that's good, but it seems like if they have to put a front-facing camera in a vehicle, they're admitting that the view out front is so obstructed that the vehicle shouldn't be legal.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
  • [โ€“] 3 points 11 months ago (9 children)

    If they do have a camera, that camera works only under 10-15mph, above that it's disabled.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [โ€“] 0 points 11 months ago (8 children)
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago (7 children)
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago (6 children)

    Sure, but is it a major issue? When the vehicles are going quickly there's less of a chance of something sneaking up in front of them. The big danger is when they're going slowly so something could come from the side and get in front of them with the driver unable to see it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago* (5 children)

    The major issue is that they have such a big blind spot and can't see what is right in front of them, fast moving or no.

    Things aren't sneaking up on them, they're running over shit they can't see.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago (4 children)

    The big issue is when they're moving slowly and things can move from the side (where they're not seen) into the blind spot. When they're moving forwards at a reasonable speed, the only way to get into the blind spot is from the front, where they're very likely to be seen.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago (3 children)

    Imagine they look down for a sec to change the radio and miss the thing that is now in front of them.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago (2 children)

    That can happen in any car. Look down for a second and you hit something.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago (1 child)

    Now you've got the right of it

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 1 point 11 months ago

    The point is, in most cars when a driver is proceeding at a reasonable speed they're looking at the road in front of them. If something is going to end up in front of their car, it has to pass through an area where they're looking. If there is a 5m blind spot directly in front of their vehicle, that only blinds them for the last 100ms before they hit it, so it doesn't really affect the safety of the vehicle.

    But, when a car is stopped at a light or something, the driver may be looking away because they're not moving. Same if they're in slow moving traffic. In slow-moving traffic something can enter that zone in front of the car from the sides. In fact, that's one of the most likely scenarios: someone crossing in front of a stopped car, for example. That's when it's essential to have visibility of what's in front of you, which you get with a normal car having a reasonable hood shape, but which you can sort-of get away with using a camera on a i-have-a-small-penis truck.

    The camera not operating when the vehicle is moving quickly is fine, because that's a time when the driver should have their eyes on the road via the windshield, and not be looking down at a camera that shows them a 2-d, low resolution view of essentially the same thing.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 29 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    You see a few of them here-and-there in Korea these days. They're extra infuriating here because they don't fit in most parking spaces and they'll straight-up turn a lot of two-way roads into one-way. I don't think I've ever seen one with something in the bed. Purely for show.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 22 points 11 months ago

    Wish we didnโ€™t have these big stupid things in Canada. Every dumb asshole you could ever meet has one and they all drive and park like the dumb assholes that they are.

  • source
  • [โ€“] 17 points 11 months ago

    Came back to my car the other day to find one of the trucks parked to me. Could barely squeeze into my car then it was 2m longer than my car and so much higher i literally couldn't see a thing to drive out.

    Had to creep forward but i had zero visibility until my driver window was past the front of the truck. It then stuck out the space so much i needed a 3 point turn to get around it due to cars parked opposite.

    I was at end of the row so had to turn across it to get out. Just totally unsafe for anyone not inside it!

  • source
  • [โ€“] 11 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    Are these trucks classified as cars or trucks in most EU country?

    In Norway (EEA but not EU) they are trucks (due to weight and carry capacity), and require a C1 truck driving licence. Which helps keep the numbers low. Though there have been cases of importers downgrading the suspension to lower the maximum carry capacity to reclassify them so they can be driven on a normal car class B driving license.

  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [โ€“] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    In the USA (and I think Canada, and maybe Mexico) pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans are classified as "light trucks". That's a different category from cars. That exempts them from a lot of regulations that would seem like they should apply to every vehicle. For example, you'd think that every vehicle on the road would have to have their bumpers at the same height, otherwise when two vehicles collide their bumpers might miss. While it's true that cars have to have their bumpers at a certain height, "light trucks" don't have to follow that same regulation, and often have higher bumpers, meaning they go over the bumpers of cars and directly impact the bodywork. They also get away from having to follow emissions standards, etc.

    I don't know what EU regulations are like, but I really hope they prevent the US manufacturers from exporting that loophole to Europe. They'll probably get away with classifying them as a kind of vehicle that requires the same license as a normal car. However, hopefully the EU will require that they follow other car-like regulations too, like bumper height, safety systems, etc.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 2 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    The bit that's so perplexing is that in north America they are not "cars" but "light trucks" , yet they can be legally driven on a normal "car" driving licence.

    Here "light trucks" are a separate, expensive, license, which is usually only taken for occupational reasons. Which is a good thing, since weight (and securing loads etc) has a massive impact on road safety.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 2 points 11 months ago

    Yeah, I seem to remember that it was lobbying by farmers that had something to do with it. Like, farmers who used light trucks on their farms wanted to be able to drive to down in those trucks too without needing to get a special license. But, that might be wrong. Either way, it smells like corruption to me. They should either be cars and have to meet all the standards applied to cars, or be trucks and meet the standards applied to trucks. Allowing them to avoid the fuel efficiency standards and safety standards applied to cars, while also avoiding the special driver's license needed for trucks is unfair (or even dangerous) to everyone else on the road.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)
  • [โ€“] 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    How can people stand to drive these. You are so limited with how you can navigate the environment with barely any benefit.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [โ€“] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    The excuse I've heard is that they want visibility because everyone else has tall ass jacked up trucks they need to be jacked up too.

    With that mentality, we should fit all of our toddlers and preteens with stilts and hivis vests so these poor truck owners will see them over the massive hood.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 0 points 11 months ago

    The other excuse is that they want to be protected in a collision. And, there's some truth to that. If you're in a small car and you're hit by a huge truck, you're probably in a lot of danger. But, if you're also in a huge truck you might not be hurt as badly. But that's also a race to the bottom.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 7 points 11 months ago*

    Not so fun fact: For every 10cm in car hight theres a corresponding increase in fatalities by 22% (source)

    These machines maim us, they kill us, and they cause permanent bodily harm to us. However in exchange they make us fatter, more depressed, less connected, more lonely, angrier, allow us to waste time in traffic, and enjoy cities with less green spaces.

    But on the bright side when you spend a significant portion of your paycheck on these horrid machines, and some child in Africa dies for the raw resources needed to make them you can sleep easy at night knowing an automobile CEO can afford his sixth mansion and his eighth mega yacht.

  • source
  • [โ€“] 10 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Hey, I know they are dumb, ugly, dangerous and annoying, but some people in Europe have micro penisses too! Oh wait, we have Porsche for that. Never mind, fuck off with those testosterone tankers.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 5 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    If nobody buys them, then they'll exit the market. American companies value profit.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

    I wish I could ride my bike like a Scythed Chariot and destroy all these death machines that have the gall to ride on the bike path.

    I mean fuck! I hate cars and pretentious drivers so goddamn much. The only thing they have to do to accelerate is push a pedal once with less effort than moving a feather of a newborn chick, yet they for some reason consistently claim the right of way, or get it by law even. Topsy-turvy society.

    โ€œI reduced the insolent crowd of carriages which cumber our streets, for this luxury of speed destroys its own aim; a pedestrian makes more headway than a hundred conveyances jammed end to end along the twists and turns of the Sacred Way.โ€ โ€•Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (1903โ€“1987)


    Scythed Chariot - Wikipedia illustration

  • source
  • [โ€“] 2 points 11 months ago

    They're compensating their small dicks with big cars

  • source
  • [+] -37 points 11 months ago (12 children)

    At least trucks are useful for farmers and construction workers. What you need to focus on is making your transit network better so nobody needs a small car at all, and these trucks are only used by the few people who need a big truck.

  • source
  • hideshow 12 child comments
  • [โ€“] 32 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    these trucks are only used by the few people who need a big truck

    Did I miss your sarcasme or are you not connected to reality?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 22 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    You mean serious farmers and construction workers are better off with an american style "truck" (60% comfy family and passanger space, 40% bed for your construction stuff) than with a van or a "classic" truck (two seats and a big bed for all your stuff)?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [+] -9 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    That will depend on what they are doing. a lot of construction crews need a seat for everyone on the crew, and the small bed is enough. The reason trucks cabs have got much larger as we no longer accept people riding in the bed of the truck, or in front with no seat belt. This is overall for the better, but either the truck needs to be longer or your need a shorter bed.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 17 points 11 months ago*

    The only people who can afford these 100kโ‚ฌ rams and f150s are rich assholes. Farmers drive around in their toyota hilux or ford ranger that is small in compariaon to these massive american trucks and all of the construction workers use vans.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 13 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    No you donโ€™t need a truck like that as a farmer. As a farmer you have a tractor and other farming equipment. You donโ€™t need them at all.

    Construction workers use a classical bus or speeder they donโ€™t need them either.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [โ€“] 11 points 11 months ago

    As a farmer in Japan, not all tractors are even road legal here. It would also take me hours on a tractor to go get anything of size. That said, I also don't need or want american-sized trucks for that. We have kei trucks.

  • source
  • parent
  • 87 comments in c/fuckcars@lemmy.world view that post
    9 comments in c/fuckcars@lemmy.world view that post
    9 comments in c/fuckcars@lemmy.world view that post
    8 comments in c/notjustbikes@feddit.nl view that post
    8 comments in c/moinsdevoitures@jlai.lu view that post