A Redditor perfectly captured the danger of a troubling trend with a photo they shared with the community at r/f***cars.
"POV driving around modern trucks," was the caption written by the original poster, with the picture showing the grille of a Dodge Ram truck at eye level with the passenger windows.
This is generally the result of lifted trucks, which raise the vehicle's suspension dramatically. The change makes for particularly gruesome accidents when they happen. Data shows that lifted vehicles are 45% more likely to cause a fatality in a pedestrian crash, as they impact the upper body and head rather than the legs.
Even without lifted trucks, car sizes in America have increased dramatically. Since 2000, hood heights of pickup trucks have increased by 11%, according to Consumer Reports. This has led to a quiet arms race in which car owners don't want to be overrun by larger vehicles in the case of an accident, and so they make their next car even bigger.
This increase in size also translates to an increase in weight. This can create more wear on public roads, increasing budgetary demands on maintenance. Higher weight also increases the amount of tire particulates being released into the environment. These have negative health effects for those in the immediate area and find their way into our bodies as microplastics.
Larger vehicles equally produce more exhaust. These pollutants carry heat into the atmosphere, exacerbating destructive weather patterns such as droughts, floods, and storms. These trends, in turn, incur steep costs in housing, agriculture, and other sectors.
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Opting for smaller cars can help curb those negative side effects, or, better still, driving a zero-tailpipe-emission electric vehicle or using public transportation when the situation allows.
The Reddit community was equally horrified by the trend of lifted pickup trucks.
"I wish the danger of these things was priced into the cost of ownership," wrote one commenter. "The insurance companies know how much more dangerous they are than normal-sized cars, but insurance rates don't match the increased danger, largely because minimum liability amounts are so low."
"This is terrifying and these vehicle should be illegal," replied another.
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