There is scientific consensus - to the point of being unanimous as far as I know - that these raised vehicles pose a significantly increased danger to pedestrians and to other vehicles. There is entirely a legal precedent to pass laws that say things like bumpers can be no more than six inches from the ground and that driver visibility must be cleared to within a foot of the front bumper.

In the US, these issues are largely handled at the state level, although there are some federal regulations in place. When I was a teenager in Jersey, they required annual inspections that included testing for operational lights, braking efficiency, emissions, and so on. In New Mexico, there were no inspections at all, and you simply had to pay for registration.

As these quasi-monster trucks become more prevalent, there’s an increasing need for legislation. Manufacturers are driven solely by consumer demand unless regulated, and politicians are more worried about upsetting Dodge Ram drivers than they are about public health and safety. I literally could not imagine a nationwide 55MPH law passing today (there were complications with doing it when they did do it, but it was successfully executed when it happened).

What we need is this generation’s Ralph Nader to go after the industry to get the public to support and demand political action.

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Manufacturers are driven solely by consumer demand unless regulated

I disagree with you on this. Manufacturers are also driven by what makes them the most money. Affordable compact cars don't make much profit, but big, expensive, cheaply engineered trucks make them a ton of money. Body-on-frame construction, cheap suspensions and drivetrains, and ancient engine designs lower their costs to develop a lot, and they just throw some leather and a touch screen in it and can mark it up 20% or more because now it's a "luxury" truck.

Then there's the advertisements which are designed to influence consumer demand. And the ads for big trucks are targeted squarely at people who want to feel powerful. They put them on every ten minutes during sports programs to prime their market into thinking this is a reasonable vehicle for them to own. When they buy it and realize it's actually not that fast, not that great as a commuter, and costs them a ton in gas they get angry and then drive like dickweeds.

[–] PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

I fully agree with you on your response. My attempt at being brief (as a perusal of my post history will show I have a really hard time with), I sacrificed accuracy for brevity.

And just in case you’re hitting your weekend and bored, I am also able to have a full scale discussion on the semiotics of pick up trucks and the surrounding culture in general.

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I don't disagree, however I think there's room for both the state and the consumer to benefit from this by restriction who can use them, this being via a license or certification similar to how non-personnel licenses currently, that would restrict the amount of them on the road as it is and it would also increase the money that can go back into the infrastructure,

Now something that I believe needs to be hard banned would be the halogen lights, we just had a three vehicle pile up in my state where two people died, and the current rolling story is that they believe the car that collided head-on with the vehicle that swerved into their Lane was unable to see whether or not the vehicle was in his lane or the other lane due to the fact that the lights on the vehicle were blinding, and honestly I believe that rumor. Those light bulbs are far more hazardous than any lifted vehicles in my opinion