5 ms·

There was a case recently where a little girl was crushed by a SUV making a right turn at a pedestrian crossing. She was walking right behind her parents, but

There was a case recently where a little girl was crushed by a SUV making a right turn at a pedestrian crossing. She was walking right behind her parents, but the driver could not see her because the vehicle was too high, so thought the road was free when the parents had passed through. The court decided that the driver was at no fault as it was impossible to see the girl from his position.

krisoft 2y ago
> The court decided that the driver was at no fault as it was impossible to see the girl from his position. I hope that means that the vehicle manufacturer is on a murder trial then. But I do not have illusions that this will lead to actual change.
- eru 2y ago
  Well, the driver should also be on the hook for driving such a dangerous machine in the first place.
  - bhickey 2y ago
    The manufacturer should be jointly liable for producing a defective vehicle.
    - erikw 2y ago
      I don't think you can legally sell a new small vehicle in the US, so the root cause is legislation that prevents this. I believe that if you could legally produce kei sized vehicles in the US, there would be a massive market for it, especially in urban environments. And I'm sure US manufacturers would be happy to sell them to all comers. Edit: Basically any car from Suzuki would be a hit in the US: https://www.suzukiauto.co.za/new-cars https://www.suzukiauto.co.za/new-cars
      - hiatus 2y ago
        > I don't think you can legally sell a new small vehicle in the US This is blatantly false. See: the Mitsubishi Mirage as just one example.
        eru 2y ago
        The Mitsubishi Mirage might be a small car by American standards, but it seems quite a few weight classes above Kei cars. (I don't know about erikw's claims about small cars being illegal in the US. So I don't want to express an opinion on that.)
        hiatus 2y ago
        The Honda N-box is listed as an example of a Kei car and is larger than a Mirage in some dimensions and also heavier.
        eru 2y ago
        Thanks!
        anovikov 2y ago
        Mitsubishi Mirage isn't a small car by EU standards. It's a typical, average sized one.
      - Amezarak 2y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Fortwo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Fortwo They are perfectly legal to sell. There's just little demand and most manufacturers have discontinued sales. I own a not-quite-that small car and the manufacturer discontinued US sales for the same reason - the lack thereof. That's why the Smart Fortwo discontinued sales in the US in 2019. The US market for good or for bad just does not want small cars. Many manufacturers are even dropping their sedans for sales reasons; e.g., Ford dropped the Fusion and Focus.
      - umvi 2y ago
        I thought it was just that you get hit with fines if your vehicle doesn't have a minimum mpg fuel efficiency and it's hard to make smaller trucks and SUVs with enough efficiency to avoid the fines
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - badpun 2y ago
    The vehicle was cleared for use on public roads by authorities. Perhaps the laws should change so that such cars are no longer allowed.
CalRobert 2y ago
Similarly I enjoy going hunting at playgrounds and don't see the problem if I shoot a kid because I didn't see them \s.
aswanson 2y ago
https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=2VnfQw_rMsZckB1I https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=2VnfQw_rMsZckB1I
monkeyfun 2y ago
Can you link to an article or source on that story? I can't seem to find it, just irrelevant ones about near-misses or not involving right turns etc.
- pantalaimon 2y ago
  https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/ermittlungen-nach-toedlichem-verkehrsunfall-eines-kindes-in-mainz-eingestellt-100.html https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/ermittlu...
  - monkeyfun 2y ago
    [dead]
GJim 2y ago
> driver was at no fault as it was impossible to see the girl from his position WTF ! Pedestrian mirrors (allowing lorry drivers to see any pedestrians immediately in front and to the side) have been a legal requirement for years in Blighty. https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/images/safer-lorries-scheme-mirror.jpg https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/images/safer-lorries-schem...
Grimblewald 2y ago
but they banned that type of car for being unsafe right?.... right?

krisoft 2y ago

> The court decided that the driver was at no fault as it was impossible to see the girl from his position. I hope that means that the vehicle manufacturer is on a murder trial then. But I do not have illusions that this will lead to actual change.

eru 2y ago
Well, the driver should also be on the hook for driving such a dangerous machine in the first place.
- bhickey 2y ago
  The manufacturer should be jointly liable for producing a defective vehicle.
  - erikw 2y ago
    I don't think you can legally sell a new small vehicle in the US, so the root cause is legislation that prevents this. I believe that if you could legally produce kei sized vehicles in the US, there would be a massive market for it, especially in urban environments. And I'm sure US manufacturers would be happy to sell them to all comers. Edit: Basically any car from Suzuki would be a hit in the US: https://www.suzukiauto.co.za/new-cars https://www.suzukiauto.co.za/new-cars
    - hiatus 2y ago
      > I don't think you can legally sell a new small vehicle in the US This is blatantly false. See: the Mitsubishi Mirage as just one example.
      - eru 2y ago
        The Mitsubishi Mirage might be a small car by American standards, but it seems quite a few weight classes above Kei cars. (I don't know about erikw's claims about small cars being illegal in the US. So I don't want to express an opinion on that.)
        hiatus 2y ago
        The Honda N-box is listed as an example of a Kei car and is larger than a Mirage in some dimensions and also heavier.
        eru 2y ago
        Thanks!
      - anovikov 2y ago
        Mitsubishi Mirage isn't a small car by EU standards. It's a typical, average sized one.
    - Amezarak 2y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Fortwo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Fortwo They are perfectly legal to sell. There's just little demand and most manufacturers have discontinued sales. I own a not-quite-that small car and the manufacturer discontinued US sales for the same reason - the lack thereof. That's why the Smart Fortwo discontinued sales in the US in 2019. The US market for good or for bad just does not want small cars. Many manufacturers are even dropping their sedans for sales reasons; e.g., Ford dropped the Fusion and Focus.
    - umvi 2y ago
      I thought it was just that you get hit with fines if your vehicle doesn't have a minimum mpg fuel efficiency and it's hard to make smaller trucks and SUVs with enough efficiency to avoid the fines
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- badpun 2y ago
  The vehicle was cleared for use on public roads by authorities. Perhaps the laws should change so that such cars are no longer allowed.

CalRobert 2y ago

Similarly I enjoy going hunting at playgrounds and don't see the problem if I shoot a kid because I didn't see them \s.

aswanson 2y ago

https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=2VnfQw_rMsZckB1I https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=2VnfQw_rMsZckB1I

monkeyfun 2y ago

Can you link to an article or source on that story? I can't seem to find it, just irrelevant ones about near-misses or not involving right turns etc.

pantalaimon 2y ago
https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/ermittlungen-nach-toedlichem-verkehrsunfall-eines-kindes-in-mainz-eingestellt-100.html https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/ermittlu...
- monkeyfun 2y ago
  [dead]

GJim 2y ago

> driver was at no fault as it was impossible to see the girl from his position WTF ! Pedestrian mirrors (allowing lorry drivers to see any pedestrians immediately in front and to the side) have been a legal requirement for years in Blighty. https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/images/safer-lorries-scheme-mirror.jpg https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/images/safer-lorries-schem...

Grimblewald 2y ago

but they banned that type of car for being unsafe right?.... right?