Note to the guy who took up two parking spaces with your big-ass vulgar truck: Big isn’t always better. For example, you know that foaming rash you have in your groin area? You don’t want that to be bigger.
It’s like there has been an explosion of big trucks on the road. They’re bigger, they’re longer, they’re wider, and they’re louder. Perhaps the second-worst thing of all is that they sit up so high that people who, like me, drive human-sized vehicles get the full four-light blast from the should-be-illegal headlights. The worst thing, by far, is that they’re far more deadly than their quaint predecessors.
America has always led the world in traffic fatalities per miles driven. In fact, our roads are twice as deadly as those in the rest of the First World. (You’re not supposed to say that anymore. It’s now supposed to be “rich world,” which sounds way worse.)
And, it’s getting worse as more and more big trucks and SUVs take to the roads. Recent studies have shown that for every 10,000 crashes that big trucks and SUVs are involved in, 37 people die in the other vehicles. For medium-sized vehicles, 5.7 will die in the other vehicles. And, for light vehicles, the kill rate is just 2.6. The sheer size of trucks makes for a longer stopping time and distance, which is a contributing factor to the fact that pedestrian deaths on American streets has doubled in the past 15 years.
Anyone with two eyes can see that the situation is becoming more severe. A full one-third of all new vehicles bought in the United States weigh over 5,000 pounds each. That’s a ridiculous number. Just six years ago, it was only one in five vehicles that were that massive. In the MAGA world we live in, flashy displays of machismo help to mask the absence of any real maturity. So, the bigger... the bigger.
Please don’t think that the eventual electrification of America’s fleet will make things better. The batteries necessary to run these things are massive and quite heavy. The Ford F-150 Lightning EV weighs a stunning 40% more than the fossil fuel version.
Many Americans would rather remain oblivious than confront numbers that depict a reality they dislike. For instance, a person who owns a gun is far more likely to get shot than someone who doesn’t. Try telling that to a gun owner.
For truck owners, it has been proven that a vehicle that weighs 4,000 pounds is just as safe for the driver and passengers that are cocooned inside as one that weighs 5,000 pounds and it’s much safer for the people in other vehicles. For every added 1,000 pounds in weight for one vehicle, the fatality rate in the other vehicle goes up by 47%.
This is America, and you can’t tell someone what they should drive. However, the increased tonnage and the corresponding rise in carnage should come with a price tag. In the past, owners of heavier vehicles have had to pay an extra tax for the additional damage their vehicles cause to the roads. While some may find it heretical to try something that has worked in other countries, it could be worth considering.
In France, for example, there is an additional surcharge of about $11 for every kilogram (2.2 pounds) that a vehicle weighs over 4,000 pounds. In Norway, owners are taxed for every kilo that exceeds just 1,100 pounds!
That may not catch on here, but it makes sense. The person who owns a 2,200-square-foot home is going to pay more in property taxes than someone in a 1,300-square-foot home. The same principle should apply.
Adding to the problem is speed. Truck drivers cause more crashes per 1,000 vehicles than people who drive cars. They tend to drive faster and less safely.
For some, it’s the sense of security that comes from being surrounded by tons of metal. I think that for others, the rumble coming up through the floorboards is the only time they’ll ever feel any real power between their legs.
The destructive force of a moving vehicle increases sharply with its mass and rises with the square of the increase in its velocity. Enhanced speed enforcement could significantly reduce the number of traffic fatalities. A promising sign is that some communities, including Scottsdale here in Arizona, are reviving their speed cameras and putting them back into operation.
In my long life, the most frustrating and torturous excuses to hear were those offered by lawmakers and other assorted jackasses regarding the removal of speed cameras. Everyone who wanted the cameras taken down simply wanted the freedom to exceed the speed limit. Period.
There are other ways to lower the death rate. In addition to lower speed limits (and enforcing adherence to them), better road designs could be beneficial. Driving the mile on River Road between La Cholla and Shannon, one can almost hear a Sammy Hagar cover band singing, “I Can’t Drive 45.” Traffic circles reduce crashes.
But when it comes down to sheer physics, there is no denying that America’s trucks are becoming ever more dangerously heavy.