[alexjplant]

> the current passenger vehicle fleet in the US is increasingly dominated by SUVs and pickups that are substantially bigger and heavier than their predecessors. “Their weight, poor visibility from the driver’s seat, and high, flat front ends prove far more lethal, especially to pedestrians, than smaller passenger cars,” the report reads. Consumers “buy them for their own safety, but in doing so, actually increase the danger to other road users.”

> Kei trucks have the opposite problem: comparatively harmless to other road users; less so to drivers and occupants who tangle with hulking megatrucks.

This seems analogous to motorcycles in the US. If you mention that you ride one in polite conversation there will invariably be somebody that says that you shouldn't because they're dangerous. If you point out that such statistics are skewed by reckless operators and that you don't fall into that category then the response becomes "other people on the road don't pay attention and will hurt you". In a similar vein if you point out people egregiously running stop signals or driving in two lanes or not signaling then the common response is that "nobody is perfect" and that "you shouldn't take it personally". If you have a problem with motorcyclists then replace "motorcycle" with "small car" and much of the same still applies (particularly in rural areas with a higher percentage of truck ownership).

My theory is that as vehicles increasingly larger, more comfortable, and automated they have disconnected people from the fact that they're operating a 4000 lb mini-tank that goes faster than the quickest land animals on Earth. Plush suspension and 10-way sound systems have conditioned people to subconsciously equate auto travel with being in a living room or private train car instead of something that requires immense care to operate safely. The act of driving has been devalued for decades as peoples' attentions shift elsewhere.

It probably doesn't help that owning a car is a practical requirement in most parts of the US but I'm sure somebody more passionate about that than me can speak more effectively to that phenomenon.

[m463]

I'm a motorcycle rider (don't presently own one), and believe people should be able to ride motorcycles if they want.

But I know that motorcycles are dangerous. You can try to say that your demographic/etc is more sane, safer, etc, but the same applies to a car and you come out safer.

My anecdotal evidence is - I have known people killed on motorcycles, and they were safety conscious, sane and were killed by someone else.

That said, I think kei trucks should get a chance on the road.

Wouldn't it be hypocritical, as we allow the smart car and fiat 500 on the road?

on the other hand, if they can't get freeway speeds maybe we should restrict them on freeways.

It's also worth noting that a lot of freeways don't allow trucks. For example highway 85 in the bay area is car-only.

[MrBrobot]

The Fiat 500 and Smart car survive surprisingly well in crash testing. If the IIHS put Kei trucks through fair crash tests and they passed, they should absolutely be given a fair chance. I’m a big proponent of vehicles like this being on the road, and realistically bringing back more small and affordable vehicles to the masses. Realistically, I would love to see the 25 year rule go away so the rest of the overinflated market could have some competition.

[alexjplant]

> But I know that motorcycles are dangerous. You can try to say that your demographic/etc is more sane, safer, etc, but the same applies to a car and you come out safer.

Of course they are, but if you wear gear and don't ride drunk then they go from being an order of magnitude more unsafe to what I would consider a mitigable risk. My point was more that society's prevailing attitude is one of placing blame on prospective victims than punishing conspicuously-bad driving. Small cars are probably a more casually-defensible case since we both mentioned them.

> It's also worth noting that a lot of freeways don't allow trucks.

In my experience this is rather unusual. I've only ever seen lane restrictions for trucks and even then it's usually for actual trucks, not the quarter-ton luxury family haulers that have emerged over the past 15 years.

[potato3732842]

>In my experience this is rather unusual. I've only ever seen lane restrictions for trucks and even then it's usually for actual trucks, not the quarter-ton

Because having heavy trucks clog up the left lane results in less safety because people will instead pass on the right and traffic will generally be less predictable.

You can make the same argument about any rolling traffic obstruction but commercial trucks vs not commercial trucks is a fairly cut and clear distinction and therefore that's where the enforcement line got drawn.

>luxury family haulers that have emerged over the past 15 years.

The SUV craze was a thing 30yr ago and arguably peaked 20yr ago. "Why is it a problem now?" seems to be a question that has no flattering answers.

[alexjplant]

> The SUV craze was a thing 30yr ago and arguably peaked 20yr ago.

This is not the case as less than half as many cars are sold or leased today as the time frame you're talking about [1]. In the same period truck sales and leases have increased by more than half.

> "Why is it a problem now?" seems to be a question that has no flattering answers.

Not sure what you mean by this specifically. It was a problem them and is an even bigger problem now. The vehicles in question use more fuel than cars on average and are substantially deadlier to non-occupants because they keep getting bigger [2]. This is all despite both relative and absolute declines in blue-collar employment in the same period [3]. In short - people are spending increasingly-large sums of money on dangerous, depreciating assets that they have no need for. Every metric involved here is moving in the wrong direction to the detriment of society.

What should be done about this is an open question but I don't think it's controversial to say that it's A Problem.

[1] https://www.bts.gov/content/new-and-used-passenger-car-sales...

[2] https://www.fastcompany.com/91233935/suvs-keep-getting-bigge...

[3] https://cepr.net/publications/the-decline-of-blue-collar-job...