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As someone who occasionally walks and often cycles, I really hope batteries that are even heavier than lithium don't become commonplace.

quonn 4y ago
Why? compare the weight of SUVs or trucks. It's more than the battery weight, so better hope for smaller vehicles.
- DangitBobby 4y ago
  I hope for smaller vehicles as well. It's hard to separate "big" and "heavy" statistically because they are highly correlated, but in general, heavier vehicles means higher likelihood of fatality in a crash 1. I suppose we will be doing a natural experiment to tease out the difference over the years as heavy EVs become more commonplace and pedestrian fatalities continue to increase. > It’s also about weight. Trucks today averaging around 5200 pounds -- that’s a jump of more than a half ton since 2000. And things get heavier as electric vehicles look to become our new normal. > On average electric vehicles are 10 percent heavier than gas powered cars. For instance, the new electric Hummer weighs in at a staggering 9,100 pounds or more than 4 and a half tons. All that weight can have deadly consequences. Researchers have found that for every 1,000 pounds a car puts on, a pedestrian is nearly 50 percent more likely to die if they’re hit and the more a truck weighs the longer it will take to stop. 1. https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2022/08/08/size-does-matter-as-trucks-and-suvs-get-bigger-more-pedestrians-are-being-killed/ https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2022/08/08/size-does-mat...
solardev 4y ago
I dunno that "lighter cars" is a realistic thing to hope for at this point. I do hope to see better bumper crush zone designs, more protected bike lanes, blinking crosswalks, better in-vehicle collision detection systems, etc. Even if a "lighter" car hits you, it's gonna be a bad day. Better to avoid the collision altogether, no? :)
- DangitBobby 4y ago
  I "hope" for lighter cars in the same way I "hope" we start taking necessary drastic measures to combat climate change, which is by knowing that it won't happen and advocating for change anyway. On the other hand, I think maybe hoping that vehicles become no heavier than modern EVs is at least somewhat realistic.

quonn 4y ago

Why? compare the weight of SUVs or trucks. It's more than the battery weight, so better hope for smaller vehicles.

DangitBobby 4y ago
I hope for smaller vehicles as well. It's hard to separate "big" and "heavy" statistically because they are highly correlated, but in general, heavier vehicles means higher likelihood of fatality in a crash 1. I suppose we will be doing a natural experiment to tease out the difference over the years as heavy EVs become more commonplace and pedestrian fatalities continue to increase. > It’s also about weight. Trucks today averaging around 5200 pounds -- that’s a jump of more than a half ton since 2000. And things get heavier as electric vehicles look to become our new normal. > On average electric vehicles are 10 percent heavier than gas powered cars. For instance, the new electric Hummer weighs in at a staggering 9,100 pounds or more than 4 and a half tons. All that weight can have deadly consequences. Researchers have found that for every 1,000 pounds a car puts on, a pedestrian is nearly 50 percent more likely to die if they’re hit and the more a truck weighs the longer it will take to stop. 1. https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2022/08/08/size-does-matter-as-trucks-and-suvs-get-bigger-more-pedestrians-are-being-killed/ https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2022/08/08/size-does-mat...

solardev 4y ago

I dunno that "lighter cars" is a realistic thing to hope for at this point. I do hope to see better bumper crush zone designs, more protected bike lanes, blinking crosswalks, better in-vehicle collision detection systems, etc. Even if a "lighter" car hits you, it's gonna be a bad day. Better to avoid the collision altogether, no? :)

DangitBobby 4y ago
I "hope" for lighter cars in the same way I "hope" we start taking necessary drastic measures to combat climate change, which is by knowing that it won't happen and advocating for change anyway. On the other hand, I think maybe hoping that vehicles become no heavier than modern EVs is at least somewhat realistic.