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This is what the article should have been: > Maximum length of a truck with a semi-trailer in Europe is 18.75 meters. Some countries have some exceptions, but

This is what the article should have been: > Maximum length of a truck with a semi-trailer in Europe is 18.75 meters. Some countries have some exceptions, but generally that is the rule. In order to use the maximum of this length for the cargo the tractor unit has to be as short as possible. The best way to achieve that is to mount the cabin over the engine. That's it. Headline with a question and that one paragraph. This article to me is an example of why articles on the modern web are bad. All the rest is there to keep you on the page longer and get better SEO.

efficax 5y ago
It's not likely that Europe would move to traditional cab trucks if they relaxed the length rules since they still have to deal with the tighter road and parking conditions of European infrastructure
- ajmurmann 5y ago
  Given the regulation prevents this counterfactual from being tested at all, this is really just speculation.
- was_a_dev 5y ago
  European cabs are traditional. At least in Europe
- Spooky23 5y ago
  Depends on what drives the requirements. The cabin over engine design is probably a bigger PITA to service. If that adds $, people would move away from it. The other thing to consider is driving distance and how it drives design. I would imagine the count of trucks that need sleeper compartments is much higher in the United States, and adopting a design that keeps parts more consistent for sleeper cabin and non-sleeper models probably has manufacturing benefits.
  - ajsnigrutin 5y ago
    >The cabin over engine design is probably a bigger PITA to service not really, the whole cabin lifts up: https://i.imgur.com/pqXW1YH.jpg https://i.imgur.com/pqXW1YH.jpg
    - buildsjets 5y ago
      Where's the engine? That level of access looks absolutely abysmal and a huge pain for the maintenance technician, compared to this: https://www.dreamstime.com/brown-big-rig-semi-truck-open-hood-checking-engine-working-properly-stop-delivery-schedule-image202349214 https://www.dreamstime.com/brown-big-rig-semi-truck-open-hoo...
CountDrewku 5y ago
I guess you didn't read the rest. The fact that European drivers also don't care about living quarters was another big reason. Additionally, regardless of whether there's a legal length requirement in the EU I would assume drivers would still choose the cab over engine design due to maneuverability in tight urban settings (also mentioned in the article). I quite liked the other information provided. You suggesting that an article should contain less information seems quite silly. You know what you could do? Don't read the rest and you won't have an issue....
- ajmurmann 5y ago
  They could have put the answer to the question in the title at the top and follow with sections on pros / cons, history, etc. But that would lower reader numbers. Anything about if the difference would remain if the regulation wasn't in place is just speculation. It's like saying, if C wasn't a hard limit for travel speed, would we have space ships that travel faster than light?
berkut 5y ago
Whilst there is some SEO repetition in the article, there's also a lot more information in there than your "summary", including some of the pros and cons of each and actual descriptions of the different designs.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Pros/Cons don't directly answer the question though. That's just pontificating on the subject to add fluff.
sgt 5y ago
Agree. Reading the whole article was painful. Especially the US trucks that reach "137km/h". Clearly a direct conversion from mph, but it doesn't read great.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
rPlayer6554 5y ago
So why is that rule there? The article describes the cultural and geographic reasons why the eruopean design is feasible and preferred in the EU, but makes less sense in the US.
Consultant32452 5y ago
Let me tell you about how my great grandmother traveled from Germany in the 1930s in a mail carrier to bring this cookie recipe to the new world.
wffurr 5y ago
>> Similar requirements in US have been revoked back in 1986 and trucks now can be much longer. Why did they do that? Ugh. I'd much rather have the shorter and safer trucks around than the current US designs. >> In Europe Semi-trucks are limited to 90 km/h 55 saves lives. >> Cities in US have wide streets and interstate highways are very straight and wide. #notallcities Too bad Boston doesn't have the authority to regulate truck designs allowed in the city. Or maybe they do and just aren't doing it because of the economic impact of requiring transshipping from highway semis to local delivery trucks outside the city. I wish they would anyway.
- hermitdev 5y ago
  > 55 saves lives. No, it doesn't. It was a pointless law that was seldom enforced and blatantly ignored. It really only served as yet another reason for authorities to pull someone over due to profiling. Traffic is much safer if you have everyone traveling at or near the same speed, rather than having a wide differential on the road. It's also why US interstates have minimum speeds. US highways would be safer if the speed limits were set to something that actually makes sense for the road. I gather from your comment you're east coast centric. There are humongous parts of the US after you get west of the Appalachians where 75-85 MPH speed limits are reasonable and would be safe on interstates. Safety is much more than a catchy slogan.
  - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
    > seldom enforced I think that depends on where you lived and drove. In New Jersey it was heavily enforced for a couple of decades.
  - drivers99 5y ago
    The US is lagging behind other countries in lowering deaths. https://data.oecd.org/transport/road-accidents.htm https://data.oecd.org/transport/road-accidents.htm
  - otherme123 5y ago
    I think you are both right. In Europe 55 (90 km/h) saves lifes, with some exceptions. Highways are rarely wide and straight, and they are packed with traffic. I cannot imagine a truck happily cruising at 120 km/h here. Also we pay higher gas prices, no way a truck is profitable cruising at 120 km/h.
Animats 5y ago
In the US, there's a trailer length limit and a limit for the entire consist.[1] Those are separate limits, and the difference between the two allows for a rather large tractor. That's something truck drivers lobbied for. If the limit for the entire length is the main constraint, there's economic pressure to have as much trailer length and as little cab space as possible. [1] https://dot.ca.gov/programs/traffic-operations/legal-truck-access/vehicle-lengths https://dot.ca.gov/programs/traffic-operations/legal-truck-a...

efficax 5y ago

It's not likely that Europe would move to traditional cab trucks if they relaxed the length rules since they still have to deal with the tighter road and parking conditions of European infrastructure

ajmurmann 5y ago
Given the regulation prevents this counterfactual from being tested at all, this is really just speculation.
was_a_dev 5y ago
European cabs are traditional. At least in Europe
Spooky23 5y ago
Depends on what drives the requirements. The cabin over engine design is probably a bigger PITA to service. If that adds $, people would move away from it. The other thing to consider is driving distance and how it drives design. I would imagine the count of trucks that need sleeper compartments is much higher in the United States, and adopting a design that keeps parts more consistent for sleeper cabin and non-sleeper models probably has manufacturing benefits.
- ajsnigrutin 5y ago
  >The cabin over engine design is probably a bigger PITA to service not really, the whole cabin lifts up: https://i.imgur.com/pqXW1YH.jpg https://i.imgur.com/pqXW1YH.jpg
  - buildsjets 5y ago
    Where's the engine? That level of access looks absolutely abysmal and a huge pain for the maintenance technician, compared to this: https://www.dreamstime.com/brown-big-rig-semi-truck-open-hood-checking-engine-working-properly-stop-delivery-schedule-image202349214 https://www.dreamstime.com/brown-big-rig-semi-truck-open-hoo...

CountDrewku 5y ago

I guess you didn't read the rest. The fact that European drivers also don't care about living quarters was another big reason. Additionally, regardless of whether there's a legal length requirement in the EU I would assume drivers would still choose the cab over engine design due to maneuverability in tight urban settings (also mentioned in the article). I quite liked the other information provided. You suggesting that an article should contain less information seems quite silly. You know what you could do? Don't read the rest and you won't have an issue....

ajmurmann 5y ago
They could have put the answer to the question in the title at the top and follow with sections on pros / cons, history, etc. But that would lower reader numbers. Anything about if the difference would remain if the regulation wasn't in place is just speculation. It's like saying, if C wasn't a hard limit for travel speed, would we have space ships that travel faster than light?

berkut 5y ago

Whilst there is some SEO repetition in the article, there's also a lot more information in there than your "summary", including some of the pros and cons of each and actual descriptions of the different designs.

dylan604 5y ago
Pros/Cons don't directly answer the question though. That's just pontificating on the subject to add fluff.

sgt 5y ago

Agree. Reading the whole article was painful. Especially the US trucks that reach "137km/h". Clearly a direct conversion from mph, but it doesn't read great.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

rPlayer6554 5y ago

So why is that rule there? The article describes the cultural and geographic reasons why the eruopean design is feasible and preferred in the EU, but makes less sense in the US.

Consultant32452 5y ago

Let me tell you about how my great grandmother traveled from Germany in the 1930s in a mail carrier to bring this cookie recipe to the new world.

wffurr 5y ago

>> Similar requirements in US have been revoked back in 1986 and trucks now can be much longer. Why did they do that? Ugh. I'd much rather have the shorter and safer trucks around than the current US designs. >> In Europe Semi-trucks are limited to 90 km/h 55 saves lives. >> Cities in US have wide streets and interstate highways are very straight and wide. #notallcities Too bad Boston doesn't have the authority to regulate truck designs allowed in the city. Or maybe they do and just aren't doing it because of the economic impact of requiring transshipping from highway semis to local delivery trucks outside the city. I wish they would anyway.

hermitdev 5y ago
> 55 saves lives. No, it doesn't. It was a pointless law that was seldom enforced and blatantly ignored. It really only served as yet another reason for authorities to pull someone over due to profiling. Traffic is much safer if you have everyone traveling at or near the same speed, rather than having a wide differential on the road. It's also why US interstates have minimum speeds. US highways would be safer if the speed limits were set to something that actually makes sense for the road. I gather from your comment you're east coast centric. There are humongous parts of the US after you get west of the Appalachians where 75-85 MPH speed limits are reasonable and would be safe on interstates. Safety is much more than a catchy slogan.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  > seldom enforced I think that depends on where you lived and drove. In New Jersey it was heavily enforced for a couple of decades.
- drivers99 5y ago
  The US is lagging behind other countries in lowering deaths. https://data.oecd.org/transport/road-accidents.htm https://data.oecd.org/transport/road-accidents.htm
- otherme123 5y ago
  I think you are both right. In Europe 55 (90 km/h) saves lifes, with some exceptions. Highways are rarely wide and straight, and they are packed with traffic. I cannot imagine a truck happily cruising at 120 km/h here. Also we pay higher gas prices, no way a truck is profitable cruising at 120 km/h.

Animats 5y ago

In the US, there's a trailer length limit and a limit for the entire consist.[1] Those are separate limits, and the difference between the two allows for a rather large tractor. That's something truck drivers lobbied for. If the limit for the entire length is the main constraint, there's economic pressure to have as much trailer length and as little cab space as possible. [1] https://dot.ca.gov/programs/traffic-operations/legal-truck-access/vehicle-lengths https://dot.ca.gov/programs/traffic-operations/legal-truck-a...