Lifted trucks are enough of a nuisance to drivers on the road, but their potential to cause problems isn't limited to when they're in motion.
On r/mildlyinfuriating, a Reddit user shared a frustrating photo of what looked at first glance like inconsiderate behavior but, on closer inspection, was actually far worse.
A building was visible in the background, but a lifted truck consumed the center of the frame.
"Cool guy blocking 75% of the disabled path with his truck bed, had to push my wife's wheelchair through the flowerbed," read the original poster's title. That was no exaggeration — and wheelchair or not, the sidewalk was rendered unusable to all by the parking job depicted.
Lifted trucks have been steadily gaining popularity, but concerns about the relative safety of other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians on the road are not unfounded.
In 2024, Consumer Reports cited "a growing body of research" linking an increase in crash fatalities with an increase in the height and weight of vehicles like lifted trucks.
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Collisions aren't the only risk the trend of lifting trucks poses to public safety. Even before these trucks are modified, they're pollution-heavy, particularly diesel pickups. Lifting trucks makes them heavier, further decreasing fuel efficiency and increasing pollution.
Some lifted trucks have enhancements that modify or disable factory-installed emissions controls, known as "deleting a truck." They also generate more microplastic pollution when standard tires are replaced with monster-truck-style tires.
Broadly, drivers and pedestrians aren't keen on sharing the road with these "rolling fortresses" for myriad reasons, and as several Reddit users observed, the truck in the original poster's photograph was also parked in an accessible parking space.
The driver didn't have a "plate or placard" permitting them to park in the space, the poster confirmed.
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No way 🙅 "Oh, that's horrible and worth a tow? I would [have] called the tow company," one user replied. Others agreed with that suggestion.
"At the very least, this is a towable offense in most states," another commenter said. "They will be towed if they are still parked there when someone arrives … Couple of fines and a tow fee, people will stop doing this nonsense."
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