[david-gpu]

> My evidence is that you need a special endorsement already to drive things that are more powerful or complex than a car

In Canada, a standard car license allows driving vehicles up to 11,000 kg (24,250 lbs) [0], including pickup trucks and SUVs that are larger than a WWII Sherman tank [1], such as the Ford F-350 or the Cadillac Escalade [2].

Thus, we are allowing people to drive things that are far more powerful than a car without special licensing requirements -- and without a speed governor.

So it is already pretty lax in terms of licensing requirements for vehicles that kill and maim our neighbors every year. We should be even stricter than we are.

[0] https://drivetest.ca/licences/licences-overview/

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_Sherman

[2] https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/cadillac-escalade-2...

[singleshot_]

A Sherman tank is something like ninety thousand pounds, for anyone unfortunate enough to have read this post.

[potato3732842]

Except perhaps overall length there is no metric by which any vehicle on the roads today is larger than an M4.

[david-gpu]

No need to speculate: links with the actual data were provided; you can check for yourself that the comparison really isn't all that crazy. Both vehicles have comparable engines, but with the F-350 being much lighter it can achieve much higher accelerations and top speeds. In terms of dimensions they are quite similar as well.

ChatGPT-produced summary for the lazy:

    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Feature              | M4 Sherman Tank      | Ford F-350 Crew Cab  |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Mass                 | 66,800–84,000 lb     | ~7,000–9,000 lb      |
    |                      | (30.3–38.1 tonnes)   | (3.2–4.1 tonnes)     |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Length               | 19 ft 2 in–20 ft 7 in| 20 ft 11 in–23 ft 11 in |
    |                      | (5.84–6.27 m)        | (6.27–7.28 m)         |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Width                | 8 ft 7 in–9 ft 10 in | 6 ft 7 in–7 ft 11 in  |
    |                      | (2.62–3.00 m)        | (2.03–2.43 m)         |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Height               | 9 ft 0 in–9 ft 9 in  | 6 ft 4 in–6 ft 9 in   |
    |                      | (2.74–2.97 m)        | (1.93–2.06 m)         |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Engine               | Gasoline/Diesel:     | Gasoline/Diesel:      |
    |                      | 350–450 hp (260–336 kW)| 385–475 hp (287–354 kW)|
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Power/Weight         | 10.46–13.49 hp/ton   | ~43–53 hp/ton         |
    |                      | (8.60–11.09 kW/t)    | (36–44 kW/t)          |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

[potato3732842]

Let me be more clear:

These are not really comparable vehicles anymore than a wheelbarrow and a sailboat are comparable. Sure you can compare them but there is no useful purpose to doing so. You are actively being dishonest and misleading by trying to push this comparison.