A stunning video comparing two automobiles highlighted a major safety issue with modern vehicles.
The short Instagram Reel was shared in an anti-cars subreddit, and the poster showed how they nearly lost their tiny Mazda Miata behind a massive Ford pickup. It looked like the sports car could fit in the bed of the truck.
"Really puts a perspective on the size of modern cars," they wrote.
Over the last decade-plus, SUVs and trucks have gone from half of new vehicle sales to 80%, Vox reported. The United States has similarly experienced a dramatic rise in traffic deaths, and drivers of smaller vehicles are increasingly likely to be killed by larger SUVs or trucks in crashes.
These bigger automobiles are also creating more pollution and wear and tear on roads. The outlet noted lawmakers could fix these problems by walking back outdated and harmful regulations. Manufacturers are the only ones benefiting by reaping the rewards of a tariff, taxes, and other policies.
"The negative externalities of supersized cars — in emissions, crash deaths, and the erosion of tires and pavement — are what economists call a market failure, since their costs are borne by society writ large, not the people who buy big pickups and SUVs," Vox stated.
Partly in response, people are pushing for pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly infrastructure. Walking and biking are great forms of exercise, and they even benefit businesses. Those who partake in these methods of travel also save money on gas, maintenance, insurance, and more.
If governments can allocate some of their transportation budgets to improving sidewalks, bike lanes, and their ilk, it will only make communities safer.
"Someone recently tried to explain to me that the spike in traffic fatalities doesn't have anything to do with bigger vehicles," said one Redditor who went on to note that "cars are weapons."
🗣️ Which of these factors is your biggest obstacle to purchasing an EV?
🔘 Cost concerns 💸
🔘 Range concerns 🪫
🔘 Performance concerns 😓
🔘 Already switched 😎
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Another user responded: "Kinetic energy is 1/2MV2. So more mass = more energy. More velocity = more energy. More energy = more deadly. I cannot make it any simpler than that."
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