5 HN users recommended this explainer5 months2024–2026score 5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN people cite it in threads on vehicle size and safety as a clear explanation tying grille height to deaths.
FortNine looks at the data on why newer pickup trucks with tall, blunt grilles kill so many pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. It argues that lowering hood height would substantially cut fatalities.
“This guy ties grill height directly to fatalities.” (HN, 2024)
This guy ties grill height directly to fatalities. They really are a menace, but it's by design. Quoth one designer, "I want it to look like a fist coming through the air." [this video]
CAFE standards were written in such a way as to encourage large vehicle footprints to work around the requirements of the standards. Motorcycling youtuber fortnine offers a good view on some other aspects of the situation. [this video]
Offers a good view on other aspects of vehicle size trends.
It isn't about weight, it's way stupider than that: [this video] Tall grilles are a purely aesthetic choice. We could create safety standards for pedestrian impacts and end this inane trend. And still drive trucks!
Explains tall grilles are an aesthetic choice that safety standards could fix.
I wish car testing was less about the safety of the people inside of the car and more about the safety of the people outside of it, like pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles. After all, people buying a car already have a strong incentive to purchase something that is safe for themselves, but how many people put any thought into reducing the risk that the force upon others? For context, pedestrian and cycling deaths have increased for the past decade in North America [0] and it is known that tall blunt hoods increase fatalities [1]. Yet, nothing is being done about it in NA as far as I know. [0] [link] [1] [this video]
And yet, observational data suggests that driving a huge car makes it harder for you to get injured an easier for everyone else. For example: "First off, the vitriol against large vehicles is misplaced. The larger the vehicle, the safer for its occupants". [this video] "American roads are deadliest than ever for pedestrians, cyclists, and, most of all, motorcyclists". [this video]
Pickups are about 10 inches taller now than they used to be. That seems like a lot to me. According to the youtube video that a different commenter linked ( [this video] ), lowering the hood height by 10 inches will make the truck 81% less likely to kill a kid in a collision.
Lowering hood height 10 inches makes truck far less likely to kill a child.
The Grille Trend that Kills 509 People per Year [this video] video discussed previously [link] These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us [link] The original designer wanted the truck to feel like you were driving a fist, punching through the air. So we are killing people so that the driver can have an aggressive aesthetic. And the design has spread like a contagious meme, even BMWs have it now.
These are the epitome of individualism. It's a Fuck you I'm safe . They're even designed to look like fists. Here is a quote from General Motors truck designer Karan Moorjani: “I remember wanting it to make it feel very locomotive… my first week in Detroit I was driving through downtown and seeing the fist of Joe Louis, and remember thinking that’s what this truck should look like – a massive fist moving through the air.” ... we spent a lot of time making sure that when you stand in front of this thing it looks like it’s going to come get you. It’s got that pissed-off feel, but not in a boyish way, still looking mature. It just had to have that imposing look,” explained the GM designer." The design of these things is deliberately antisocial. The huge hood is not even needed since it's possible to stand inside the mostly empty engine bays of these things as FortNine showed: [this video] But it's not just the hood heights wrong with modern vehicles. Multiple design trends are hostile to other road users and reduce safety equality if you will. - Headlight hues are white and blinding - Headlight positioning has increased with the hood height which tends to blind people. - The pillars in vehicles are really thick and raked which is safer for the occupants but also means visibility is reduced. Great, so now people in bigger, newer, safer vehicles are more likely to hit pedestrians and people in older, smaller vehicles. - Windows are more tinted and often smaller meaning vehicles are opa
Shows engine bays of tall trucks are mostly empty.
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