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These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us

Not Just Bikes · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Transit, cities & urban planningCars, EVs & motorcycles

What it is

Not Just Bikes explains how SUVs and light trucks have grown in size and share of US sales, and why that is dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and city life. He covers the regulatory loopholes, such as fuel economy rules and the chicken tax, that favored them.

Why Hacker News recommends it

It is HN's default link whenever vehicle size comes up, with commenters recommending it for the history of the light-truck loophole and the safety effects of tall bumpers.

  • 11 people recommended it
  • 5 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2023, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “This documentary was quite eye-opening for me”

    Explains why SUVs are popular in the US

    eska, 2023-03 · Strong recommendation · in “Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice”

  2. “Just do yourself a favour and watch this video[0]”

    Why tall bumper heights make cars more dangerous

    pastacacioepepe, 2023-04 · Strong recommendation · in “SUVs more dangerous to cyclists than other cars, study suggests”

  3. “Here's a video I wish I could make every American watch”

    Deep dive on how US light-truck rules led to ballooning vehicles and deaths.

    culi, 2026-01 · Strong recommendation · in “Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%”

  4. “which does go over those things”

    Covers CAFE and chicken tax effects on truck sizes

    throw0101a, 2023-03 · Recommendation · in “Pickup Trucks: From Workhorse to Joyride”

  5. “Not Just Bikes video on the same subject today”

    Video on the growth of trucks

    vanilla_nut, 2023-03 · Recommendation · in “Pickup Trucks: From Workhorse to Joyride”

  6. “a very relevant video about the very real problems that SUVs and modern trucks have on urban environments.”

    Problems SUVs and trucks cause in urban environments

    estebank, 2023-03 · Recommendation · in “Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2022 Preliminary Data”

  7. “which includes various statistics and some striking visual examples of the absolutely absurd grill heights of modern production vehicles.”

    Statistics and visuals on modern vehicle grill heights

    crooked-v, 2023-04 · Recommendation · in “Giving kids no autonomy at all has become a parenting norm”

  8. “made a video about increasing vehicle sizes in the US”

    Covers increasing vehicle sizes in the US

    kinjba11, 2023-04 · Recommendation · in “Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: suvs, pickup trucks, road safety, cafe standards, urbanism

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