Vehicles aren’t actually much heavier than they have been for some time. If you look back through the most popular cars in the US by year, you’ll see a lot of land yachts. Every once in a while, you’ll see something actually small, like a VW Bug, but then it’s right back to big ass metal box.
The 1980s did see a lot of smaller cars, but it didn’t take long before the US went back to heft.
Conversely, tires and brakes have improved substantially over the years. The stopping distance of modern cars is actually very, very good. This is somewhat negated by a move towards low rolling resistance tires, particularly on hybrids and EVs.
The height issue on trucks is a way bigger problem. Easy for an adult to be hidden in front of it, to say nothing of kids.
Vehicles aren’t actually much heavier than they have been for some time. If you look back through the most popular cars in the US by year, you’ll see a lot of land yachts. Every once in a while, you’ll see something actually small, like a VW Bug, but then it’s right back to big ass metal box.
The 1980s did see a lot of smaller cars, but it didn’t take long before the US went back to heft.
Conversely, tires and brakes have improved substantially over the years. The stopping distance of modern cars is actually very, very good. This is somewhat negated by a move towards low rolling resistance tires, particularly on hybrids and EVs.
The height issue on trucks is a way bigger problem. Easy for an adult to be hidden in front of it, to say nothing of kids.