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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by vanes@lemmy.world to c/til@lemmy.world
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[-] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 111 points 2 months ago

We’ve never had better technology to build safer cars and streets, and yet here we are. Pedestrian detection and all, installed on a vehicle that’s got a front grille as tall as a person.

I saw someone watching a movie on their phone as they drove the other day, also a probable factor.

[-] DeathsEmbrace@lemmy.world 49 points 2 months ago

Investment in better infrastructure with no profit is a crime against capitalism.

[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 42 points 2 months ago

I met a woman who told me that during the pandemic lock downs she made money driving to legal weed states to spend tens of thousands of dollars on weed and flip it back in her state. She also told me that it was really boring so she'd frequently get above 100 while watching a movie on her phone on her dashboard. So that's who's out on the road with you

[-] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 24 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Fucking.

Wild.

That kind of behaviour should just be an immediate and permanent revocation of the license, car towed on the spot. Fiddling with phone to get directions or dismiss a notification is one thing but actively watching entertainment?

I have ADHD. It’s not super severe but it’s not great. I can drive 16 hrs (with appropriate breaks) without the radio. I will admit, I tend not to be super respectful of speed limits. But driving is enough stimulation for my scatterbrained self. Brain rot is a hell of a drug.

[-] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I also have ADHD, and have also done a 16 hour drive straight through. Audiobooks or podcasts help. Music gets boring after a few hours. Audiobooks or podcasts are constantly changing, so it’s enough mental stimulation to stay engaged, while also not being too distracting.

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[-] hcbxzz@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Punishment for bad driving iof any kind is nearly completely unenforced.

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[-] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 months ago

People like this are why safe drivers’ insurance premiums are still so high. The safe drivers are subsidizing the dangerous ones. We’re being forced to pay more because the risk of being hit by a braindead watches-movies-while-doing-100 driver has increased.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

That's the end result of car centric infrastructure. The bad drivers couldn't afford to pay the full rates they would be charged. If you kick 10-20% of the population off the road, that is a whole lot of people siddenly unable to work

That many people suddenly stopping working would destroy the only thing Americans truly value - shareholder profits

We have no alternatives to driving. As such the worst drivers you've ever seen will continue to drive by necessity

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[-] Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago

Yup. When you look around, everybody is on their fucking phone these days. No wonder they are killing people.

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[-] KindnessIsPunk@lemmy.ca 81 points 2 months ago

Vehicles are getting way too big on average, I mean the F150 is North America's best selling vehicle (*edit: I have since learned as of 2024 that spot actually belongs to the RAV4) since forever. It's a problem of misaligned incentives.

There's an exception carved out for large vehicles in the EPA guidelines that hold them to less stringent emissions standards which incentivizes building larger vehicles 1

Large cars are also incentivized by our crash safety rating system which only takes into account the mortality rate of those inside the car as apposed to average related fatalities. This means it will prioritize safety of those in the vehicle, which has led to our average fatalities increasing. 2

As an unintended side effect this also damages roads much faster because vehicle weight per axle determines the magnitude of the damage a vehicle does to the road. 3 anecdotally this makes me concerned for the additional weight that electric cars add.

Also as vehicles increase in weight the amount of microplastics put into the air as a by product of tire wear increase. 4

As cars increase in size (and therefore weight) the downsides are exponential.

[-] Fuckfuckmyfuckingass@lemmy.world 33 points 2 months ago

All that plus everyone is going 10 over on their phones. If operating a motor vehicle is so disinteresting to you, that you need to look at your phone every 10 seconds, DON'T DRIVE.

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 19 points 2 months ago

Driving is simultaneously the most boring and most dangerous thing people do day-to-day. They want the driving to stop as soon as possible, so they speed. They don't want to be stuck with their own thoughts for even a single second, so they text.

And there's no choice. It's not like they can get anywhere without a car in this shithole country.

[-] Waldelfe@feddit.org 4 points 2 months ago

I didn't drive for many years because I always lived in cities with good public transport. When I drove again for the first time in 2021 I was shocked by how basically everyone went 10 over. I really feel this has gotten way worse in the last 20 years. Going 60 where the speedlimit is 50 seems to be the rule, not the exception nowadays.

[-] TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

huh? i've been driving since the 90s and it's always been that way. speed limits are not typically enforced until you are going 20+ over the limit.

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[-] CainTheLongshot@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Thank you for putting these links together! I'm about to be in the market for a truck and have been researching current models, and noticed the trend of larger and larger vehicles for a few years now, and wondered why. It couldn't just be because of lifted truck culture. I'm about to just go to a junk yard and try to restore an old one.

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[-] espentan@lemmy.world 78 points 2 months ago

I got curious.. In Norway pedestrian fatalities fell by ~73% (from 22 to 6) from 2010 to 2024.

Source, a quick search on SSB.no.

[-] very_well_lost@lemmy.world 41 points 2 months ago

Ah! So Norwegians immigrating to the US are to blame! /s

[-] usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 months ago

And it's all the bad drivers and reckless pedestrians too!

[-] starlinguk@lemmy.world 31 points 2 months ago

And now the States has forced the EU to allow shit cars like that.

[-] falseWhite@lemmy.world 38 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Nobody forced them, EU politicians are Trump bootlickers, cowards afraid to stand up to a bully.

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[-] AshMan85@lemmy.world 30 points 2 months ago

and its 100% from unnecessarily large cars

[-] pumpkin_spice@lemmy.today 22 points 2 months ago

You don't like the 'pedestrian mower' trucks, where the driver can't see anything that's less than 30 feet in front of them? Weird. /s

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 months ago

bah. children are not the future. Ever talk to one? pretty ignorant.

[-] zipzoopaboop@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 2 months ago

In my experience, drivers are getting shittier by the week doing increasingly stupid and illegal maneuvers

[-] ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 months ago

Average car size probably rose approximately 70% as well. I remember when Hummers were considered absurdly large, now they're not even the largest things on the road.

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[-] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 2 months ago

I wonder if it's all of the touch screens? I got in a rideshare vehicle the other day and the driver had fucking youtube on

[-] Revan343@lemmy.ca 31 points 2 months ago

Trucks and SUVs have also gotten bigger with flatter fronts. People used to go onto the hood in a collision, now they go under the vehicle

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[-] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago

The share of pedestrians increased over that period, which may have had something to do with it. I suspect cell phone use while driving makes up a large part as well.

[-] toast@retrolemmy.com 23 points 2 months ago

I agree with you on cell phone use being a contributor. I'm not convinced that pedestrian numbers contribute at all to the increase. I'm not really even convinced that pedestrian numbers have increased at all. Population, yes, has increased but given how growingly hostile most of the US is to pedestrian traffic, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that real pedestrian numbers have decreased.

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[-] Cheems@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

I live in a small town and when I'm walking around it seems as though half of the vehicles that drive by are in their phones

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[-] Zephorah@discuss.online 5 points 2 months ago

Yes. And while walking.

Lack of focus all around.

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[-] Stety@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 months ago

Damn, 23 posts in 4 hours. You sure are posting fast.

[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago

They have to. They're driving.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 8 points 2 months ago

That number is sure to drop soon, as clankers run everyone over instead.

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[-] theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Expand public transportation towards the goal of banning personal cars nothing but giant space hoarding, planet destroying death machines.

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[-] myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 months ago

Seeing the drivers around me, I’d believe it. Anytime I go for a walk or run I almost die. People are willing to hit another human being.

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this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2025
532 points (98.9% liked)

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