Looking at the recent news, it's becoming very clear that our cities are having a serious size problem, that is, cars became too large, to the point when they present a serious danger to anyone on the outside of a car.
Just look around you the next time you're out on a street. It feels like at least a third of all cars are "Stadtpanzer", as Germans call them - "city tanks". Their drivers may feel safer, even though this large size doesn't necessarily translate into excellent crash test ratings. However, these massive SUVs are 28% more likely to kill other drivers in a crash (which is still an improvement as it used to be 132% more!).
For pedestrians, these numbers are a lot higher - if you're hit by a small, lightweight sedan, chances are you end up with broken legs and you would be thrown on top of the hood. But if you're hit by a large SUV, your torso gets crushed and you typically end up under the car. One doesn't need to be an expert to picture what is worse.
Then, there are trucks - something Americans just love to death. The death of anyone who happens to end up in front of the hood, of course. American trucks may be dependable workhorses, but unfortunately they were not designed for city use.
The 2020 Chevy Silverado HD (seen advertised during this NFL football game) seems specially-designed to make people in front of this wall of truck invisible. pic.twitter.com/FibNLs2cUF— big trucktural change (@bikepedantic) January 12, 2020
The biggest problem with American trucks are their ridiculously high hoods - often as high above the ground as a roof of regular sedan. This may work fine on an open highway, but is extremely dangerous in crowded cities. The blind zone ahead is simply enormous. In a recent experiment, KidsAndCars.org showed how large this blind zone can be by placing sitting children in front of a typical, large family SUV.
It took 9 kids, sitting in a row, to finally notice the top of the head of the last one of them, from behind the steering wheel. This really gives you a good idea how badly our modern SUVs are designed. And pick-up trucks are even worse.
No wonder more and more cities are planning on banning large SUVs. I read earlier about Berlin limiting access of "Stadtpanzer" into the city center. Then European Transport Safety Council has urged all cities to do the same.
But that's in Europe. Here in America we are still in love affair with cars - the larger the better. And nothing seems like this romance is going to end. Just yesterday, GMC decided to revive the most obnoxious, anti-city tank ever introduced - the Hummer, as a 1000hp electric vehicle. Coming soon to your neighborhood street.
