this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
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Utes and SUVs kill... (www.hcn.org)
submitted 8 months ago by TagMeInSkipIGotThis to c/newzealand
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Saw this shared on Mastodon and it really made me think of National and their Atlas Network aligned astro-turf organisation the Taxpayer's Onion who campaigned against what they termed the 'ute tax'.

If the results of this 2004 study hold true 20 years later, and in New Zealand, then knowingly or not, they in effect have campaigned for and enacted legislation that will kill more New Zealanders.

"A 2004 study found that for every life saved by a motorist who switched from a car to a light truck (SUV or pickup), 4.3 other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists were killed. "

That statistic also suggests that the safety fears driving people to SUVs are completely overblown and over-egged.

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[–] TagMeInSkipIGotThis 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

OK fair enough I did say that, but I was clear it was based on a quick google only and to be fair it was about 2023 Rangers, and you've pasted spec sheets about 2019 Rangers. So I don't think either of us are getting everything perfectly right.

Meanwhile, this side discussion about whether a Ranger is heavier than a Leaf kinda ignores the finding of the study that prompted this whole discussion.

Namely, every driver saved by switching to an SUV or Pickup was balanced by 4.3 other people dying. And the main reason quoted for that 'While bigger cars typically are safer for their occupants, they pose a greater hazard to anyone or anything smaller they may collide with, a phenomenon known as “crash incompatibility.”'

If you take pedestrians and cyclists out of the statistics, we are still left with: "28%: Percent by which a collision with an SUV is more likely to kill a car’s occupants than one with another passenger car."

[–] thevoyagekayaking -2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

First, stop quoting an article written in the USA, they have a very different road fleet to what we have, and their vehicles are massive.

Second, I proved you wrong in about three minutes while on the can, so you can't have looked very hard.

[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Let's try to bring this back onto productive territory - clearly our vehicle fleet is escalating in size as we emulate the Americans.

Sure, we've got a way to go but there's still way to many dodge ram atrocities or great wall shockers rolling around.

[–] thevoyagekayaking 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

clearly our vehicle fleet is escalating in size

Is it though? Do you have any studies that were actually done on our fleet?

[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Hell, yes. SUVs have gotten hugely bigger in recent years, surely that's painfully evident to anyone with eyes?

I've got no studies for you, but I've seen what our builders keep upgrading to for their company vehicles

Some of the smart ones use vans but most of the others go for the biggest, most obnoxious thing they can find

[–] thevoyagekayaking 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Considering some of the absolute boats that came out in the nineties, including the 80 and 100 series land cruisers, I wouldn't be surprised if the average size of our road fleet has actually shrunk.

The length of a typical Hilux, for example, has increased by 100mm, and width by 150mm. Hardly a colossal increase in size.

https://www.carsguide.com.au/toyota/hilux/car-dimensions/1990

https://www.carsguide.com.au/toyota/hilux/car-dimensions

[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

The 90s hiluxes I remember were tiny, but after searching it seems like this model was 1990 exactly, maybe it started growing from then (which feels like a looong time ago!)

Also, I ink the crucial metric which doesn't seem to be covered is how the grille height has moved from roughly an adults hips towards their upper arm, which seems to me to be far more lethal

[–] thevoyagekayaking 2 points 8 months ago

That's a two wheel drive model, the four wheel drives were pretty much always that height.

The main change has actually been in the styling, they look more aggressive now.