6 ms·

Pass a higher gas tax. If we paid European gas prices most new cars would get much smaller pretty quickly.

mips_avatar 5y ago
European regulators also take pedestrian safety much more seriously than US regulators. You only see cars in Europe with the pedestrian safe sloping nose.
- thrill 5y ago
  They certainly take driver training much more seriously.
  - nathanaldensr 5y ago
    This is the real solution. The quality of drivers in the United States is atrocious. It's laughable what constitutes "driver's education" here. Every state is different, but likely none of them treats driving as the dangerous, serious-at-all-times activity it really is.
    - jeffbee 5y ago
      Some European jurisdictions also have meaningful vehicle inspections. There doesn't seem to be any US state that will take your car off the road for being jacked up five feet in the air.
    - closeparen 5y ago
      Living in an ordinary US metro area without a car is a punishment we reserve for drunks and the desperately poor; we haven’t the heart to inflict it on those who are merely bad at driving. What are we going to say? “Sorry, kid, if you want to be a functioning adult you’d better move to Manhattan.”
  - pmkiwi 5y ago
    In the US, you bring your own car for your driving exam... And this is barely a joke !!
- jahnu 5y ago
  I'm not sure about that. I see cars like the Cadillac Escalade here in Austria. Not many of them mind you and almost always only outside hotels like the Intercontinental. I assume to ferry wealthy tourists around in what they are accustomed to in the US.
closeparen 5y ago
Even the huge trucks are electric now. https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/ https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/
- Tiktaalik 5y ago
  YEP. Electric cars are something we must do to halt climate change, but we need to recognize it's an example of doing the same broken thing, just better. At the end of the day we will have a more green version of what we have now, carrying over all the existing flaws of automobile oriented infrastructure (ie. pedestrian deaths, traffic).
  - closeparen 5y ago
    Migrating away from automobile transportation solves "traffic" in only the most obtuse sense of the term - there aren't literally passenger cars contending for space. We care about traffic because it deters us from going where we'd like to and makes remaining trips take longer. I think pretty much everyone acknowledges that walking, cycling, and transit are slower than driving and will deter even more trips. We spin that in a positive way, as encouraging the development of more neighborhood-level communities and businesses. But then it's hard to explain why "traffic" is a problem you're solving. Traffic has the same effects as the solution you're selling!
    - Tiktaalik 5y ago
      Traffic is an issue with automobile oriented infrastructure because automobiles are such a space inefficient way of transporting people. In the context of a conversation of how trucks are getting bigger and bigger, it's worth noting that the size gains are having implications on traffic too! The point being though that electric cars will be just as space inefficient as ICE cars. If we want to move more people, more efficiently and avoid traffic jams and new highway construction, we'll have to opt for different solutions.
      - closeparen 5y ago
post_break 5y ago
Not everything needs a tax. Just change crash test ratings and manufacturers will have to adapt.
zip1234 5y ago
Electric hummer on the way--9000 lbs, 0-60 in 3 seconds.
- Skunkleton 5y ago
  Tires go from 100% tread to 0 in about the same amount of time too, I assume?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
mmcgaha 5y ago
Tax is not the answer. People are already paying the stupid tax on the $60k pickup truck (I laugh at your down votes), but that does not stop people from buying them. They know they are overpriced, maintenance costs are higher, environmental costs are higher, tight parking is an issue, and garage space is too tight, yet they buy them any way. It used to be people bought trucks because they were the tool they needed but they are a status symbol now. For gods sake can we please go back to small sporty BMW status symbol?

European regulators also take pedestrian safety much more seriously than US regulators. You only see cars in Europe with the pedestrian safe sloping nose.

thrill 5y ago
They certainly take driver training much more seriously.
- nathanaldensr 5y ago
  This is the real solution. The quality of drivers in the United States is atrocious. It's laughable what constitutes "driver's education" here. Every state is different, but likely none of them treats driving as the dangerous, serious-at-all-times activity it really is.
  - jeffbee 5y ago
    Some European jurisdictions also have meaningful vehicle inspections. There doesn't seem to be any US state that will take your car off the road for being jacked up five feet in the air.
  - closeparen 5y ago
    Living in an ordinary US metro area without a car is a punishment we reserve for drunks and the desperately poor; we haven’t the heart to inflict it on those who are merely bad at driving. What are we going to say? “Sorry, kid, if you want to be a functioning adult you’d better move to Manhattan.”
- pmkiwi 5y ago
  In the US, you bring your own car for your driving exam... And this is barely a joke !!
jahnu 5y ago
I'm not sure about that. I see cars like the Cadillac Escalade here in Austria. Not many of them mind you and almost always only outside hotels like the Intercontinental. I assume to ferry wealthy tourists around in what they are accustomed to in the US.

closeparen 5y ago

Even the huge trucks are electric now. https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/ https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/

Tiktaalik 5y ago
YEP. Electric cars are something we must do to halt climate change, but we need to recognize it's an example of doing the same broken thing, just better. At the end of the day we will have a more green version of what we have now, carrying over all the existing flaws of automobile oriented infrastructure (ie. pedestrian deaths, traffic).
- closeparen 5y ago
  Migrating away from automobile transportation solves "traffic" in only the most obtuse sense of the term - there aren't literally passenger cars contending for space. We care about traffic because it deters us from going where we'd like to and makes remaining trips take longer. I think pretty much everyone acknowledges that walking, cycling, and transit are slower than driving and will deter even more trips. We spin that in a positive way, as encouraging the development of more neighborhood-level communities and businesses. But then it's hard to explain why "traffic" is a problem you're solving. Traffic has the same effects as the solution you're selling!
  - Tiktaalik 5y ago
    Traffic is an issue with automobile oriented infrastructure because automobiles are such a space inefficient way of transporting people. In the context of a conversation of how trucks are getting bigger and bigger, it's worth noting that the size gains are having implications on traffic too! The point being though that electric cars will be just as space inefficient as ICE cars. If we want to move more people, more efficiently and avoid traffic jams and new highway construction, we'll have to opt for different solutions.
    - closeparen 5y ago

post_break 5y ago

Not everything needs a tax. Just change crash test ratings and manufacturers will have to adapt.

zip1234 5y ago

Electric hummer on the way--9000 lbs, 0-60 in 3 seconds.

Skunkleton 5y ago
Tires go from 100% tread to 0 in about the same amount of time too, I assume?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

mmcgaha 5y ago

Tax is not the answer. People are already paying the stupid tax on the $60k pickup truck (I laugh at your down votes), but that does not stop people from buying them. They know they are overpriced, maintenance costs are higher, environmental costs are higher, tight parking is an issue, and garage space is too tight, yet they buy them any way. It used to be people bought trucks because they were the tool they needed but they are a status symbol now. For gods sake can we please go back to small sporty BMW status symbol?