If you've ever experienced hosting a visitor from outside the United States, you'll find one of the first observations they make is about the size of the vehicles. One Reddit user shared a size comparison between a truck and a child — and it's turning heads.
The Reddit forum was livened by a discussion about the massive size of American trucks. In the photo, the small child barely reaches the bumper of the truck. "This is what's wrong with America," the Redditor wrote in the photo's caption.
Not only does this suggest that a child might be in danger because a driver can't see them, but it also implies that Americans have a problem with large trucks.
Trucks have an important purpose. After all, have you ever seen a Toyota Prius hauling a load of hay or pulling a camper? The problem is more individuals who have these vehicles just for the look of it — sans purpose.
Diesel trucks, like the one shown in the photo, are also environmentally problematic vehicles for leisure. Exhaust from these vehicles, especially older ones, can cause ground-level ozone pollution and worsen the air quality.
While it may be necessary to run a diesel engine to haul something from place to place, opting for a less polluting vehicle for day-to-day travel makes more sense for drivers to both save money at the pump and to limit their impact on the air quality.
Rivian, for example, has an EV truck that gives the same feel of driving a pickup but with the environmental benefit of being an EV. Tesla might even become a competitor in the race to create a pickup that truck drivers love but with less environmental cost.
Some users were flabbergasted by the size of the vehicle and America's obsession with these towering automobiles. One user wrote, "What kind of country is this that we're raising them in?"
Other individuals, many of shorter stature, explained their close encounters with vehicles in crosswalks and parking lots. "I'm an above average height female (5'6") and the bumper height of some of the SUVs/trucks that I encounter honestly frightens me," one user shared. "Even some of the ones without lifted suspensions would hit me right about at chest height."
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