Between this and the Headlight situation, it's bad out there. One of those issues where the two-party politics are really toxic and prevent any action.
Realistically, we need a new license class for vehicles >3T. This would mean anything from the biggest F-150 on up. It doesn't have to be any harder to get than a motorcycle cert, but we should put some burden on the driver to show that they know how to handle a big vehicle.
That and a common sense rule on headlights could get pedestrian deaths back where they were a decade ago.
You don't understand! I NEED to drive a one-ton pickup every day to and from work! I MIGHT stop by the feed store on the way home to pick up some fence posts and fertilizer for my hobby farm. I HAVE to have the flexibility of a daily driver F350 just in case! It doesn't make sense for me to have a farm truck AND an economical Honda for daily driving!
Between this and the Headlight situation, it's bad out there. One of those issues where the two-party politics are really toxic and prevent any action.
Realistically, we need a new license class for vehicles >3T. This would mean anything from the biggest F-150 on up. It doesn't have to be any harder to get than a motorcycle cert, but we should put some burden on the driver to show that they know how to handle a big vehicle.
That and a common sense rule on headlights could get pedestrian deaths back where they were a decade ago.
You can tell by a comment's content whether the user drives a normal car or monster suv/truck lol.
You don't understand! I NEED to drive a one-ton pickup every day to and from work! I MIGHT stop by the feed store on the way home to pick up some fence posts and fertilizer for my hobby farm. I HAVE to have the flexibility of a daily driver F350 just in case! It doesn't make sense for me to have a farm truck AND an economical Honda for daily driving!
The NYT article they link to is worth looking at, and I believe it's free for everyone: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/06/21/us/trucks-suv...
(this is at the merged thread - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48648727 - and there's an additional gift link in the top text for people hitting the wall)
Dupe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48623347
Ok, since that submission has the original source, we'll merge the comments thither and re-up it.
It is like an arms race :)
people who went to large SUVs got better views and a greater false sense of security. Soon everyone was driving the same size SUV.
So what happens, people way bigger, the everyone is buying bigger. Rinse and Repeat. Something has to be done to stop this.
[dupe]
Discussion on source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48623347