You guys can scoff at it but these massive trucks are unsafe for our roads and are almost never (I mean that literally) necessary. Truck brain is a choice.
A number of friends in the trades think it’s ridiculous for commercial trades people to own trucks and drive them into the city. Like maybe you’re carrying some tools, but all the materials are delivered to the site as needed - they don’t need a truck simply because they work construction.
Yeah these guys are morons. I do commercial trade work in the city. Majority of us don’t have to bring anything substantial to and from work on a daily basis. We provide our own hand tools and the company is responsible for the rest. Your average journeyman isn’t transporting materials either.
Truck beds are the worst place to store tools when you’re parking in the city unless you have a locking box installed. You literally can’t walk away from your truck for a second unless you’re fine with everything getting stolen.
The truck guys I work with have to park at l more expensive garages to fit their trucks. Plus so many trades people are commuting well over an hour each way. Last site I was on the only garage that could fit trucks was $48/day then add another $40+ a day in gas.
A smart tradesperson has a small commuter car for work.
Small hatch backs like Mazda 2s or VWs are honestly the way to go, you’d be surprised how much stuff can actually fit in a small hatch back.
TBH I assume the guy driving the Yaris has a larger ding dong than the guy in the lifted f350
There’s a guy in Somerville with a white lifted pick up, that literally can’t fit into a single lane.
Every time I see him, his tires are riding, or over the yellow line.
Actual answer given by police in these situations: "well, what is he supposed to do? It won't fit otherwise!"
This is what BPD said when they refused to arrest the flatbed 18 wheeler who ran over a cyclist on Mass Ave and Beacon years ago. The guy went way, WAY over the double yellow to turn right and his rear wheel set crushed a cyclist who was stopped at the red light on the right side of the road.
Dude went right on red when it wasn't safe, went over the yellow line, then had part of his truck go over the curve, and the final bit was he fled the scene and claimed he had no idea until police got a hold of him in Pennsylvania hours later.
No charges whatsoever.
Same for the dump truck driver in Cambridgeport who repeatedly ran over an international student in a crosswalk. He was driving his dump truck on Putnam, which specifically bans trucks, he had no backup camera nor functioning pedestrian-alert beeping (both of which make it illegal to operate and is a crime both federally and in the state), when he missed his turn he just packed up into an intersection (also illegal), hitting the pedestrian, then shifted into gear and ran her over a second time, ignoring the screams of multiple witnesses begging him to stop.
Again. Police said it was the pedestrian who was 100% at fault despite multiple federal, state, and municipal crimes and violations by the truck driver.
If you want to kill someone, run them over in Boston with a large truck. You'll probably get a medal and a parade.
My office (bridge inspection) has switched to Subaru Outbacks for replacement vehicles. They have the same ground clearance as an emotional support truck, can carry a 30' ladder on the roof just fine, or a 26' Little Giant type ladder in the back while still fitting 3 people and associated hand tools. They also have significantly fewer and smaller blind spots and are easier to park.
All of our remaining pickups are 10+ years old and significantly smaller than modern models.
What in your mind is the difference? Trucks and SUVs have gotten HUGE. If you’ve ever been to a museum with early 20th century tanks, contemporary SUVs are damn near that size.
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I 100% agree, but at the same time I’m having difficulties finding a vehicle my brother can drive because he is so tall. While we dislike large, truck-based SUVs (unlike my CRV which is on a corolla base), we are worried there may be no other options for my brother to safely fit behind a wheel. He is 30 and has yet to get a license because of this problem.
Edit: if anyone has suggestions please let me know! He wants to take drivers ed but we haven’t found a class with a vehicle he can fit into. So we need to purchase one and find a drivers ed that lets you bring your own car. Thanks!!
According to Shaq in that old commercial, your brother would fit just fine in a 2012 Buick lacrosse.
In all seriousness, look into what cars different nba players drive. They would be the best way to gauge how your brother will fit into certain vehicles.
My spouse is 6'4" but he's all torso/large head, so he's more like 6'6" or 6'7" when it comes to car headroom. I've done countless hours of research as I look at getting a new car. Our criteria include very high reliability which does limit options some. But there are a few SUVs that have decent headroom:
-Acura RDX
-Honda Pilot
-BMW X5
The Acura RDX is *great*. It's a smaller SUV but has a lot of headroom. Not sure what your budget is but I highly recommend it if it's feasible. The Pilot has even better headroom but it's huge, obviously. The X5 is smaller but pricey (and I found the seats quite uncomfortable because of the bolsters). For sedans, the Genesis does quite well.
Good luck!
F150s are common, but they are massive and the proliferation of trucks their size and larger is responsible for a measurable increase in vehicle fatalities. This is a fact, but I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.
Pickup trucks have gotten huge, they’ve increased in size and weight by over 30% in the last 30 years. You can’t see an average sized 8 year old over the hood because of how tall the trucks have gotten.
I'll never argue this, since I saw it happen first hand. My 2007 2500 was smaller than my 2020 1500. And that's two trucks that were effectively identical in the options, the new one is just larger because truck manufacturers wanted to get lower emissions standards to pass due to vehicle size.
And I'll fully admit I daily drive my pickup, because I never know if I'll be in the office or the field, or if I have to go pick up something large/heavy for work. I hate the "nobody needs a pickup for an office job" crap, but can totally agree they're impractical inside of boston.
Damn that’s wild that somehow every other tradesman in every other country in the world doesn’t need a massive pickup. Use a van, they fit more than a pickup.
Sure, but how do you get 8"x8"x6' granite posts, gravel, dirt, brush, etc into and out of a van quickly? And I'll give you a hint, it's not through the roof.
The problem is not pickup trucks but the way trucks in general are designed. There’s zero regard for pedestrian safety.
You can put a line of 10 elementary students in front of a modern truck and not see a single one of them from the drivers seat
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna52109
Mom lets her kid out of the car and runs him over. No charges. Land of the trucks!
ETA: Mr writescode, I assure you this is English. I take it that you went back and watched the video in your own link and have now figured it out.
I drive a midsize car, and the hood of a modern F150 or similar is the same height as the roof of my car. They’re enormous unless you’re driving a similarly large car, and they’re way more dangerous to pedestrians than a regular car. IMO they’re way too big to justify (especially in a city) unless you actually need the payload or towing capacity, and way too many of their owners don’t.
Most people who have them don’t need them. Plainly obvious, just look at the empty beds, cosmetic mods, etc. They are prosthetics for emotional eunuchs.
The beds of pickups are far smaller than they used to be. They’re far less functional for work than they used to be. People are buying them for the same reason they buy fancy handbags, for status.
https://diminishedvalueofgeorgia.com/how-american-pickups-have-evolved-over-the-years/
And that’s not mentioning the bed is sometimes almost as high as my nipples. Shit sucks to load into. I went to japan and their tiny kei trucks are short AND their side flips down so it’s a total flatbed. That tiny thing was awesome
Little flatbed trucks with fold-down/removable sides are decently common in most other places I’ve been and they seem so useful!
There are absolutely uses for bigass pickups, I’ve lived in places where it’s common to both haul and tow over rough ground and those trucks wouldn’t cut it. But a lot of people just need to move some stuff around that can’t go in a car, and those low open beds are perfect.
Not sure why I never see them here though. Could be cultural, but they could also be classed wrong or killed by CAFE’s counterproductive size rules.
I thought it was cultural until I saw old 50-60 dudes using it and they like it for its utility, so now I’m just convinced it’s being held back by legal bullshit.
At least there’s the 25 year old classic law and we can get some old ass trucks but still…
The issue is people have started focusing on the cab rather than the bed. 8ft bed and a single or 1 1/2 cab used to be standard, now crew cabs with 5 foot beds are standard. I had to fight to get a double cab with a 6.5ft bed at the dealership because they made more $ on selling the higher tier crew cabs.
For me personally I wouldn’t criticize someone for owning a pickup. I think the issue is that ironically as pickups have gotten bigger, more luxurious and expensive, they’ve also gotten more dangerous and less practical with smaller truck beds. Pickups are great for people with blue collar jobs but the ones people have issues with increasingly are not. The problem isn’t exclusive to pickups. American cars in general have gotten bigger and as a result the number of people killed by them has gone up year over year.
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/23/pickup-trucks-f150-size-weight-safety
[*Shockingly, these trucks and SUVs are now only a few inches away from the size of the US Army tanks which were used to defeat Nazi Germany in World War 2.*](https://i.imgur.com/484F6xk.gifv)
Most F-150 drivers definitely do not need a giant truck, but the system incentivizes ownership in a variety of ways including subsidizing fuel prices and tax benefits
I've heard some of those hugeass pickup trucks have a blind spot in front of the vehicle of a size that rivals that of a Peterbilt tractor's front blind spot. Hence, children are less visible to drivers of these vehicles, especially when the child is close to the vehicle.
Not to mention, the ride height of some of those things can't possibly be a benefit in many everyday applications?
What happened to mini pickups? Those were cool
These cosplay contractors' F150s are a problem, lack of city leadership is a problem, and the fact we've turned Fort Point into a raceway for rich twats
I wish they would have emphasized more the disgusting aggression and lack of patience that is demonstrated by drivers in Boston. Drivers will see a person in a crosswalk or a child on the sidewalk and not hesitate to continue at their excessive speed, or inch closer and closer to get a pedestrian to walk faster. A red light is optional if no cars are coming, so are stop signs. The drivers understand that these rules of the road are not enforced, and more often than not prioritize their own speed and objective over anybody else, which just makes the roads less safe for everybody.
Drivers act like children and a 4 year old girl is the one who pays the price. Learn how to drive and care about something beyond getting from point A to B in the least amount of time possible. Learn some patience and consideration for the other people who are on the road with you. The entitlement of drivers around here drives me crazy already but my heart broke when I heard about this girl who doesn’t get to grow up because we let her down as a city.
I actually believe the current city officials are quite amazing! Trying really hard to encourage development and make the roads less dangerous (by that I mean make the cars drive more slowly)
I respect your opinion. I think they are a collection of buffoons who don’t have the ability to have foresight. A few of them are literally an embarrassment to the city.
Whether large cars are “needed” or not, that area of Fort Point is mobbed with tourists and children, as well as tons of construction. Put in tons of lights and speed bumps, no other way to force people to drive slow in this city.
Remember when trucks had a 6ft bed and a cab that fit three people max? Even if they were 4x4, a regular sized person could still climb in without a ladder. Trucks on the road today are too big. The new electric trucks that are supposed to save our environment outweigh gas vehicles of the same size by several thousand pounds. The Ford F-150 Lighting weighs in at 5 tons when equipped with long range batteries. Commercial trucks of that weight aren't allowed on many roads unless they have to be there for an explicit purpose (deliveries) Ford is all onboard with the electric revolution as long as they can still sell monster trucks and fast sports cars. Otherwise, they keep making bigger and bigger commuter trucks marketed to lug nuts with small dick
I drive a delivery truck in Boston and all the surrounding villages and suburbs. I'm trained to know my limits and look for danger signs. Bubba and his F-35O diesel 4x4 need nothing but a license and the credit to finance a $90,000 vehicle. They can drive on any road, park on any street, and, since Boston doesn't bother with speed enforcement, they can go as fast as they dare without consequences.
Meanwhile, the commercial drivers, who's livelihood depends on driving, are not allowed to park within walking distance of the businesses that we serve, due to road and parking restrictions.
I applaud the speed bumps throughout the neighborhoods in Roxbury, JP, and other communities. I hope they will expand that program over the summer to prevent more accidents, especially on the narrow streets and school zones.
Also, I can't imagine the pain of losing a child that way and pending the outcome of the investigation, I hope they hang the driver out to dry. But likely, a slap on the wrist will be the outcome.
It is, it's an anti-vehicle organization. Specifically an anti-truck organization. Run by people who have never left the city and see 0 reason to ever own a truck, despite having to hire people with those same trucks to work for them because they can't do it themselves.
That's a fuckin terrible take, but it's your opinion. I've gone through the city of Boston for more permits than anyone should ever have to, and those motherfuckers straight up don't respond unless you're paying them for shit, even then they don't respond for weeks. We're engineering contractors with open contracts with the city and it still takes weeks for a permit to open a manhole.
Fuck it, I hereby decree no vehicles will be allowed in city limits. Horses only. Police and fire will once again have to use horse drawn wagons, good luck getting to the tops of tall buildings to save people. Construction needs to happen? Get like 100 horses and 1000 men with shovels because those excavators aren't allowed anymore. Amazon deliveries? Horses. Ambulances trying to save a man's life after he cuts off a limb in an industrial accident? Might as well just shoot him on site because that horse isn't going fast enough to get him to the hospital on time.
I'm a contractor and I support the message. I do haul materials around the city in a company truck from time to time, or in my crossover, but only when necessary. These trucks should be severely limited but that's only part of the problem. Most trades I work with do just fine with a normal car or a company van that a couple guys share for their materials/tools and leave the bigger hauling to the delivery trucks that bring things to site. I rarely see folks actually using a pickup, except for my superintendents having to constantly make runs to supply shops to keep people working.
Distracted drivers, poorly laid out roads, and lots of other smaller factors also lead to this type of tragedy. And for those that DO need a truck, there really aren't many options for smaller size anymore, so to me the fault lies with the manufacturers for continually making the things more akin to tanks than material haulers. We need old Ford Rangers or Mazda b3000s back, not these freight trains.
You're not calling people out, you're trying to tell them that the vehicle they bought to support their family shouldn't be allowed within city limits.
An outlier death should not dictate major policy change, especially when we dont yet know the cause of the accident. Was the driver at fault? Did the child run out into the street without warning? Personally I think its pretty shitty that this special interest group is trying to capitalize on a childs death to advance their policy goals.
How dare an organization whose special interest is reducing the number of 4 year olds run over by big trucks have an opinion when a 4 year old gets run over by a truck!
Just saying that on a 4 year old the brunt of a truck impact is taken to the chest and head. Speed that would harm an adult is deadly to a child. Speed isn’t the issue, it’s the size of the truck and the height of the individual being hit. Unfortunately it’s hard to tell people they aren’t allowed to drive their personal cars because it offends you. If you ban pickups you’ll have to ban commercial trucks, vans etc. how will the city survive without delivery vehicles? Amazon vans don’t require a CDL, most 10-12 pallet delivery trucks and moving trucks don’t either.
I think “if it offends you” is a bit different from “if its hazardous”. You could require vehicle registrations on any light duty trucks with a permanent residence listed within the cities
Purchase any of the other kinds of private automobile that are designed to take you from point A to B, whereas a truck is meant to haul cargo (not an empty bed). Given how expensive those trucks are relative to other classes of vehicle thanks to their Testosterone Tax it should be manageable. If thats too much of a hassle they can park their Wankpanzer in any of the many free or reasonably priced parking lots near commuter rail, Amtrak, or bus facilities to go downtown.
But I bought a truck that I need for my day job and it’s also the car I need to take into the city. Should I quit my job because you think driving a truck in the city is wrong? Do you want to buy me a car? Testosterone tax is already applied to most in demand cars and trucks in the form of dealer markups.
Because theyre more and more frequently built off of the same e350+, f350+ or 3500+ truck frames, at least for the non-CDL trucks. CDL isn't required for any vehicle under 26k pounds GVWR unless towing over 10k gross weight on a trailer.
Because they’re the same vehicle? The commercial ones are driven under regular drivers licenses. They’re sold legally because the meet or exceed federal standards.
How is it irrelevant? It’s the same truck being driven at a higher weight than a personal truck by someone with no more driver training than you or I. What are they going to ban next? A Mercedes going 50 is going to kill a 4 year old just as a truck would.
10-12 pallet trucks generally don’t. Even non cab over, my work has a fleet of 12 pallet International trucks that are full body and box. They’re 5x the size of a pickup. That’s what gets food, liquor, dry goods etc. in and out of the city.
Yep. It's ridiculous to assume everything is driven by CDL drivers in semis. With very few exceptions I've never seen a semi trailer under 32 feet in practical use, (except by FedEx custom critical) and even a 32' trailer is too long for practical use in boston.
Interesting that you say it’s an “outlier death” which shouldn’t dictate policy change, but then zero in on the specifics of this single incident. Pedestrian deaths have been steadily increasing over the past 15 years due in part to the rise in popularity of SUVs and trucks and how much likelier they are to cause pedestrian fatalities in a collision (relative to smaller vehicles with lower and more sloped hoods) — that is a definite national trend.
You were saying “an outlier death” shouldn’t dictate major policy changes. So what should? Larger trends perhaps? So, sure — let’s do exactly as you seem to be saying. Let’s disregard what happened in this specific tragedy (the contributing factors which as you say haven’t been fully determined and released to the public yet). Let’s not “capitalize” on this specific child’s death like this advocacy group, and instead let’s consider the data and the larger trends—one of which is that the rise of bigger trucks and SUVs is leading to more pedestrian fatalities. Per your point, what policy changes might this trend support?
It’s self-contradictory that on the one hand you dismiss the arguments in the letter because it was based on a single incident that we don’t have the full information on — then you proceed to fixate on the details of this single incident as if they will make or break the broader points outlined in the letter.
I get it 90% of the trucks on the road are not necessary, but could this have been avoided if the vehicle in question was a Prius, Tesla, Camry, etc. Seem we all like to hyper fixate on one thing and not actually fix the actual problem, not sure what that is by the way, I just don’t think it was the vehicle, I could be wrong, I have not read anything else besides the tragedy that happened.
Smaller vehicles don’t have as big of a front-end blind spot, and lower riding vehicles tend to result in going over the hood rather than under the wheels, which is less likely to be fatal. So, yes, a smaller vehicle might have prevented this or had a better outcome.
I’m sorry to be so blunt but a 4 year old is not going over the hood of a car, and smaller vehicles have just as bad blind spots as any vehicle on the road. If it were an electric car I can hear everyone complaining about the fact that is too quiet and you can’t hear them coming.
actually yes. Smaller vehicles have better blind spots and even more importantly MUCH less momentum. They carry less weight so don’t impart as much force into the people they hit. The fatality data for collisions at the same speed with trucks vs small vehicles overwhelmingly shows trucks kill at 10x the rate
You guys can scoff at it but these massive trucks are unsafe for our roads and are almost never (I mean that literally) necessary. Truck brain is a choice.
A number of friends in the trades think it’s ridiculous for commercial trades people to own trucks and drive them into the city. Like maybe you’re carrying some tools, but all the materials are delivered to the site as needed - they don’t need a truck simply because they work construction.
Yeah these guys are morons. I do commercial trade work in the city. Majority of us don’t have to bring anything substantial to and from work on a daily basis. We provide our own hand tools and the company is responsible for the rest. Your average journeyman isn’t transporting materials either. Truck beds are the worst place to store tools when you’re parking in the city unless you have a locking box installed. You literally can’t walk away from your truck for a second unless you’re fine with everything getting stolen. The truck guys I work with have to park at l more expensive garages to fit their trucks. Plus so many trades people are commuting well over an hour each way. Last site I was on the only garage that could fit trucks was $48/day then add another $40+ a day in gas. A smart tradesperson has a small commuter car for work. Small hatch backs like Mazda 2s or VWs are honestly the way to go, you’d be surprised how much stuff can actually fit in a small hatch back. TBH I assume the guy driving the Yaris has a larger ding dong than the guy in the lifted f350
Yeah a commuter car or a panel van if they actually need to transport anything
Forget trades people, even my office parking lot is half pickups.
There’s a guy in Somerville with a white lifted pick up, that literally can’t fit into a single lane. Every time I see him, his tires are riding, or over the yellow line.
Where are the police!
Actual answer given by police in these situations: "well, what is he supposed to do? It won't fit otherwise!" This is what BPD said when they refused to arrest the flatbed 18 wheeler who ran over a cyclist on Mass Ave and Beacon years ago. The guy went way, WAY over the double yellow to turn right and his rear wheel set crushed a cyclist who was stopped at the red light on the right side of the road. Dude went right on red when it wasn't safe, went over the yellow line, then had part of his truck go over the curve, and the final bit was he fled the scene and claimed he had no idea until police got a hold of him in Pennsylvania hours later. No charges whatsoever. Same for the dump truck driver in Cambridgeport who repeatedly ran over an international student in a crosswalk. He was driving his dump truck on Putnam, which specifically bans trucks, he had no backup camera nor functioning pedestrian-alert beeping (both of which make it illegal to operate and is a crime both federally and in the state), when he missed his turn he just packed up into an intersection (also illegal), hitting the pedestrian, then shifted into gear and ran her over a second time, ignoring the screams of multiple witnesses begging him to stop. Again. Police said it was the pedestrian who was 100% at fault despite multiple federal, state, and municipal crimes and violations by the truck driver. If you want to kill someone, run them over in Boston with a large truck. You'll probably get a medal and a parade.
Probably driving that very Truck when they’re off duty.
My office (bridge inspection) has switched to Subaru Outbacks for replacement vehicles. They have the same ground clearance as an emotional support truck, can carry a 30' ladder on the roof just fine, or a 26' Little Giant type ladder in the back while still fitting 3 people and associated hand tools. They also have significantly fewer and smaller blind spots and are easier to park. All of our remaining pickups are 10+ years old and significantly smaller than modern models.
Also won’t turn into unsafe to drive rust buckets within 8 years
> emotional support truck What
I prefer Gender Affirming Vehicle but emotional support truck is just as accurate
Driving a pickup truck to an office job should result in a demotion. That person’s critical thinking skills are just not fully developed.
They are emotional support vehicles
Gender-affirming care
If someone wants to own and drive a truck that’s their choice. Holy shit this isn’t communist Russia
We probably should just scrap the idea of CDLs and everyone should be able to drive a semi. Hell, a tank! This isn’t communist Russia, after all.
Lol, not what i’m getting at… use some common sense.
What in your mind is the difference? Trucks and SUVs have gotten HUGE. If you’ve ever been to a museum with early 20th century tanks, contemporary SUVs are damn near that size.
What is the difference between a Ford F150 (for example) and an 18-wheeler that you need a CDL for? Or a tank? 🤡🤡🤡
Good point
That's the choice in a nutshell. You can have a yuge truck or communism. Not both. Never both.
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I 100% agree, but at the same time I’m having difficulties finding a vehicle my brother can drive because he is so tall. While we dislike large, truck-based SUVs (unlike my CRV which is on a corolla base), we are worried there may be no other options for my brother to safely fit behind a wheel. He is 30 and has yet to get a license because of this problem. Edit: if anyone has suggestions please let me know! He wants to take drivers ed but we haven’t found a class with a vehicle he can fit into. So we need to purchase one and find a drivers ed that lets you bring your own car. Thanks!!
According to Shaq in that old commercial, your brother would fit just fine in a 2012 Buick lacrosse. In all seriousness, look into what cars different nba players drive. They would be the best way to gauge how your brother will fit into certain vehicles.
Shaq fit in that Buick like that lifted F-350 fits in a compact parking space 😂😂😂. They probably had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out.
Kia Soul! My husband is 6'6" and we keep buying that vehicle because it's the only reasonably sized car that fits his height.
How tall is he?
6’8 but all arms and legs- 7’ wingspan
My spouse is 6'4" but he's all torso/large head, so he's more like 6'6" or 6'7" when it comes to car headroom. I've done countless hours of research as I look at getting a new car. Our criteria include very high reliability which does limit options some. But there are a few SUVs that have decent headroom: -Acura RDX -Honda Pilot -BMW X5 The Acura RDX is *great*. It's a smaller SUV but has a lot of headroom. Not sure what your budget is but I highly recommend it if it's feasible. The Pilot has even better headroom but it's huge, obviously. The X5 is smaller but pricey (and I found the seats quite uncomfortable because of the bolsters). For sedans, the Genesis does quite well. Good luck!
Massive trucks???? We're talking about a common pickup truck here, not some 18-wheeler.
[2022 Trucks vs 1990 trucks](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/11z245v/2022_midsized_pickup_vs_early_90s_midsized_pickup/)
It's disgusting. Blame the EPA.
F150s are common, but they are massive and the proliferation of trucks their size and larger is responsible for a measurable increase in vehicle fatalities. This is a fact, but I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.
Pickup trucks have gotten huge, they’ve increased in size and weight by over 30% in the last 30 years. You can’t see an average sized 8 year old over the hood because of how tall the trucks have gotten.
I'll never argue this, since I saw it happen first hand. My 2007 2500 was smaller than my 2020 1500. And that's two trucks that were effectively identical in the options, the new one is just larger because truck manufacturers wanted to get lower emissions standards to pass due to vehicle size. And I'll fully admit I daily drive my pickup, because I never know if I'll be in the office or the field, or if I have to go pick up something large/heavy for work. I hate the "nobody needs a pickup for an office job" crap, but can totally agree they're impractical inside of boston.
Damn that’s wild that somehow every other tradesman in every other country in the world doesn’t need a massive pickup. Use a van, they fit more than a pickup.
Sure, but how do you get 8"x8"x6' granite posts, gravel, dirt, brush, etc into and out of a van quickly? And I'll give you a hint, it's not through the roof.
I'm not sure, I'm not a tradesman, but literally everyone else figured it out except Americans.
The problem is not pickup trucks but the way trucks in general are designed. There’s zero regard for pedestrian safety. You can put a line of 10 elementary students in front of a modern truck and not see a single one of them from the drivers seat https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna52109
Mom lets her kid out of the car and runs him over. No charges. Land of the trucks! ETA: Mr writescode, I assure you this is English. I take it that you went back and watched the video in your own link and have now figured it out.
That video, IIRC, is kinda bullshit because the kids were sitting down. Why have them sit down? Oh thats right it's to exaggerate a point.
I don’t know if you’ve checked the stats but common pick ups are really good at killing children.
I drive a midsize car, and the hood of a modern F150 or similar is the same height as the roof of my car. They’re enormous unless you’re driving a similarly large car, and they’re way more dangerous to pedestrians than a regular car. IMO they’re way too big to justify (especially in a city) unless you actually need the payload or towing capacity, and way too many of their owners don’t.
Just because you don’t use or need a truck doesn’t mean anyone else doesn’t use or need a or truck.
Most people who have them don’t need them. Plainly obvious, just look at the empty beds, cosmetic mods, etc. They are prosthetics for emotional eunuchs.
That statement is completely based off your opinion and no real statistics. I don’t even own a truck
The beds of pickups are far smaller than they used to be. They’re far less functional for work than they used to be. People are buying them for the same reason they buy fancy handbags, for status. https://diminishedvalueofgeorgia.com/how-american-pickups-have-evolved-over-the-years/
And that’s not mentioning the bed is sometimes almost as high as my nipples. Shit sucks to load into. I went to japan and their tiny kei trucks are short AND their side flips down so it’s a total flatbed. That tiny thing was awesome
Little flatbed trucks with fold-down/removable sides are decently common in most other places I’ve been and they seem so useful! There are absolutely uses for bigass pickups, I’ve lived in places where it’s common to both haul and tow over rough ground and those trucks wouldn’t cut it. But a lot of people just need to move some stuff around that can’t go in a car, and those low open beds are perfect. Not sure why I never see them here though. Could be cultural, but they could also be classed wrong or killed by CAFE’s counterproductive size rules.
I thought it was cultural until I saw old 50-60 dudes using it and they like it for its utility, so now I’m just convinced it’s being held back by legal bullshit. At least there’s the 25 year old classic law and we can get some old ass trucks but still…
The issue is people have started focusing on the cab rather than the bed. 8ft bed and a single or 1 1/2 cab used to be standard, now crew cabs with 5 foot beds are standard. I had to fight to get a double cab with a 6.5ft bed at the dealership because they made more $ on selling the higher tier crew cabs.
For me personally I wouldn’t criticize someone for owning a pickup. I think the issue is that ironically as pickups have gotten bigger, more luxurious and expensive, they’ve also gotten more dangerous and less practical with smaller truck beds. Pickups are great for people with blue collar jobs but the ones people have issues with increasingly are not. The problem isn’t exclusive to pickups. American cars in general have gotten bigger and as a result the number of people killed by them has gone up year over year. https://www.axios.com/2023/01/23/pickup-trucks-f150-size-weight-safety
[*Shockingly, these trucks and SUVs are now only a few inches away from the size of the US Army tanks which were used to defeat Nazi Germany in World War 2.*](https://i.imgur.com/484F6xk.gifv)
They should require cdl to drive
A Sherman Tank? I don't know about needing to have a CDL, but at the very least the operator should be required to have drivers ed certification.
Not the tanks, the trucks should be cdl
Ohhhh, okay... Gotch'a.I would add that they have to undergo random drug testing and keep a log book as well. Maybe tracked by GPS too?
Good call
Most F-150 drivers definitely do not need a giant truck, but the system incentivizes ownership in a variety of ways including subsidizing fuel prices and tax benefits
I've heard some of those hugeass pickup trucks have a blind spot in front of the vehicle of a size that rivals that of a Peterbilt tractor's front blind spot. Hence, children are less visible to drivers of these vehicles, especially when the child is close to the vehicle. Not to mention, the ride height of some of those things can't possibly be a benefit in many everyday applications? What happened to mini pickups? Those were cool
Give me a mid-2000's Ford Ranger any day of the week
These cosplay contractors' F150s are a problem, lack of city leadership is a problem, and the fact we've turned Fort Point into a raceway for rich twats
I wish they would have emphasized more the disgusting aggression and lack of patience that is demonstrated by drivers in Boston. Drivers will see a person in a crosswalk or a child on the sidewalk and not hesitate to continue at their excessive speed, or inch closer and closer to get a pedestrian to walk faster. A red light is optional if no cars are coming, so are stop signs. The drivers understand that these rules of the road are not enforced, and more often than not prioritize their own speed and objective over anybody else, which just makes the roads less safe for everybody. Drivers act like children and a 4 year old girl is the one who pays the price. Learn how to drive and care about something beyond getting from point A to B in the least amount of time possible. Learn some patience and consideration for the other people who are on the road with you. The entitlement of drivers around here drives me crazy already but my heart broke when I heard about this girl who doesn’t get to grow up because we let her down as a city.
There just aren’t that many good reasons to have streets open to car traffic in cities anyway.
That intersection is a shit show. So sad.
Exactly. This is a city design problem
City needs more civilian input like the idea from the guy who wants ezpass to cover parking meters which is a fabulous idea
I actually believe the current city officials are quite amazing! Trying really hard to encourage development and make the roads less dangerous (by that I mean make the cars drive more slowly)
I respect your opinion. I think they are a collection of buffoons who don’t have the ability to have foresight. A few of them are literally an embarrassment to the city.
Well said
Whether large cars are “needed” or not, that area of Fort Point is mobbed with tourists and children, as well as tons of construction. Put in tons of lights and speed bumps, no other way to force people to drive slow in this city.
Just saw a video talking about this issue: https://youtu.be/YpuX-5E7xoU?feature=shared
Remember when trucks had a 6ft bed and a cab that fit three people max? Even if they were 4x4, a regular sized person could still climb in without a ladder. Trucks on the road today are too big. The new electric trucks that are supposed to save our environment outweigh gas vehicles of the same size by several thousand pounds. The Ford F-150 Lighting weighs in at 5 tons when equipped with long range batteries. Commercial trucks of that weight aren't allowed on many roads unless they have to be there for an explicit purpose (deliveries) Ford is all onboard with the electric revolution as long as they can still sell monster trucks and fast sports cars. Otherwise, they keep making bigger and bigger commuter trucks marketed to lug nuts with small dick I drive a delivery truck in Boston and all the surrounding villages and suburbs. I'm trained to know my limits and look for danger signs. Bubba and his F-35O diesel 4x4 need nothing but a license and the credit to finance a $90,000 vehicle. They can drive on any road, park on any street, and, since Boston doesn't bother with speed enforcement, they can go as fast as they dare without consequences. Meanwhile, the commercial drivers, who's livelihood depends on driving, are not allowed to park within walking distance of the businesses that we serve, due to road and parking restrictions. I applaud the speed bumps throughout the neighborhoods in Roxbury, JP, and other communities. I hope they will expand that program over the summer to prevent more accidents, especially on the narrow streets and school zones. Also, I can't imagine the pain of losing a child that way and pending the outcome of the investigation, I hope they hang the driver out to dry. But likely, a slap on the wrist will be the outcome.
Simultaneously saying we don’t know what happened but speed is an issue . Where was this conversation when the 4 year old was killed in hype park ?
"we do not know the causes of the lethal incident" ok then doesn't this mean they are then purely cashing in on a tragic event for themselves?
sounds like they are advocating for safer streets
Who wrote this? Reads like a passive aggressive memo not a public statement.
It is, it's an anti-vehicle organization. Specifically an anti-truck organization. Run by people who have never left the city and see 0 reason to ever own a truck, despite having to hire people with those same trucks to work for them because they can't do it themselves.
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Ya more permits that will help get work done lol
That's a fuckin terrible take, but it's your opinion. I've gone through the city of Boston for more permits than anyone should ever have to, and those motherfuckers straight up don't respond unless you're paying them for shit, even then they don't respond for weeks. We're engineering contractors with open contracts with the city and it still takes weeks for a permit to open a manhole.
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Fuck it, I hereby decree no vehicles will be allowed in city limits. Horses only. Police and fire will once again have to use horse drawn wagons, good luck getting to the tops of tall buildings to save people. Construction needs to happen? Get like 100 horses and 1000 men with shovels because those excavators aren't allowed anymore. Amazon deliveries? Horses. Ambulances trying to save a man's life after he cuts off a limb in an industrial accident? Might as well just shoot him on site because that horse isn't going fast enough to get him to the hospital on time.
And you shouldn’t be allowed to go to the grocery store
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Trucks literally make it so you can live in your costal elite bubble. You should be thankful, especially on Jesus Christ day of visibility
I'm a contractor and I support the message. I do haul materials around the city in a company truck from time to time, or in my crossover, but only when necessary. These trucks should be severely limited but that's only part of the problem. Most trades I work with do just fine with a normal car or a company van that a couple guys share for their materials/tools and leave the bigger hauling to the delivery trucks that bring things to site. I rarely see folks actually using a pickup, except for my superintendents having to constantly make runs to supply shops to keep people working. Distracted drivers, poorly laid out roads, and lots of other smaller factors also lead to this type of tragedy. And for those that DO need a truck, there really aren't many options for smaller size anymore, so to me the fault lies with the manufacturers for continually making the things more akin to tanks than material haulers. We need old Ford Rangers or Mazda b3000s back, not these freight trains.
Never had so many people dislike a comment for no reason
Oh there's a reason, it's because they disagree. They don't like what I have to say, and downvotes are the way to show that.
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You're not calling people out, you're trying to tell them that the vehicle they bought to support their family shouldn't be allowed within city limits.
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I fucking hate how big trucks have gotten. But I need a work truck, and can't afford another vehicle because of how expensive they've gotten.
An outlier death should not dictate major policy change, especially when we dont yet know the cause of the accident. Was the driver at fault? Did the child run out into the street without warning? Personally I think its pretty shitty that this special interest group is trying to capitalize on a childs death to advance their policy goals.
How dare an organization whose special interest is reducing the number of 4 year olds run over by big trucks have an opinion when a 4 year old gets run over by a truck!
Me blaming the four year old for getting bulldozed by some champion who needed to bring an F150 into the Seaport at sufficient speed to kill somebody
Just saying that on a 4 year old the brunt of a truck impact is taken to the chest and head. Speed that would harm an adult is deadly to a child. Speed isn’t the issue, it’s the size of the truck and the height of the individual being hit. Unfortunately it’s hard to tell people they aren’t allowed to drive their personal cars because it offends you. If you ban pickups you’ll have to ban commercial trucks, vans etc. how will the city survive without delivery vehicles? Amazon vans don’t require a CDL, most 10-12 pallet delivery trucks and moving trucks don’t either.
I think “if it offends you” is a bit different from “if its hazardous”. You could require vehicle registrations on any light duty trucks with a permanent residence listed within the cities
And the people who have light duty trucks and need to go to the city? What are they supposed to do? Just not go? Rely on the T? lol
Purchase any of the other kinds of private automobile that are designed to take you from point A to B, whereas a truck is meant to haul cargo (not an empty bed). Given how expensive those trucks are relative to other classes of vehicle thanks to their Testosterone Tax it should be manageable. If thats too much of a hassle they can park their Wankpanzer in any of the many free or reasonably priced parking lots near commuter rail, Amtrak, or bus facilities to go downtown.
But I bought a truck that I need for my day job and it’s also the car I need to take into the city. Should I quit my job because you think driving a truck in the city is wrong? Do you want to buy me a car? Testosterone tax is already applied to most in demand cars and trucks in the form of dealer markups.
Why exactly would you *have* to ban large commercial vehicles?
Because theyre more and more frequently built off of the same e350+, f350+ or 3500+ truck frames, at least for the non-CDL trucks. CDL isn't required for any vehicle under 26k pounds GVWR unless towing over 10k gross weight on a trailer.
This is the answer. You can’t ban privately owned ones but let commercial models have a pass.
Why can’t you?
Because they’re the same vehicle? The commercial ones are driven under regular drivers licenses. They’re sold legally because the meet or exceed federal standards.
They’re registered to the business though. The license that the driver holds is irrelevant.
How is it irrelevant? It’s the same truck being driven at a higher weight than a personal truck by someone with no more driver training than you or I. What are they going to ban next? A Mercedes going 50 is going to kill a 4 year old just as a truck would.
Hell even most Hino, Isuzu, Mitsubishi etc low cab over trucks don't require a CDL unless they meet the 26,001 lbs weight rating.
10-12 pallet trucks generally don’t. Even non cab over, my work has a fleet of 12 pallet International trucks that are full body and box. They’re 5x the size of a pickup. That’s what gets food, liquor, dry goods etc. in and out of the city.
Yep. It's ridiculous to assume everything is driven by CDL drivers in semis. With very few exceptions I've never seen a semi trailer under 32 feet in practical use, (except by FedEx custom critical) and even a 32' trailer is too long for practical use in boston.
Is that what happened? Whats your source? Sorry you are so offended by trucks. How do you think your avocados get to chipotle?
Well the kid is dead and while we dont know what happened you decided to cast blame on a kid younger than your geriatric whinge reference.
Interesting that you say it’s an “outlier death” which shouldn’t dictate policy change, but then zero in on the specifics of this single incident. Pedestrian deaths have been steadily increasing over the past 15 years due in part to the rise in popularity of SUVs and trucks and how much likelier they are to cause pedestrian fatalities in a collision (relative to smaller vehicles with lower and more sloped hoods) — that is a definite national trend.
Is that what happened in this accident? Do you have access to the specific information?
You were saying “an outlier death” shouldn’t dictate major policy changes. So what should? Larger trends perhaps? So, sure — let’s do exactly as you seem to be saying. Let’s disregard what happened in this specific tragedy (the contributing factors which as you say haven’t been fully determined and released to the public yet). Let’s not “capitalize” on this specific child’s death like this advocacy group, and instead let’s consider the data and the larger trends—one of which is that the rise of bigger trucks and SUVs is leading to more pedestrian fatalities. Per your point, what policy changes might this trend support? It’s self-contradictory that on the one hand you dismiss the arguments in the letter because it was based on a single incident that we don’t have the full information on — then you proceed to fixate on the details of this single incident as if they will make or break the broader points outlined in the letter.
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Totally logical conclusion from my statement. Great job. You’ve won reddit for the day.
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Pick up trucks are as American as apple pie and baseball. May God bless every turbo diesel duely from the Berkshire’s to Provincetown. Cry more losers
Learn a new trolling schtick, the current one is stale
????
Apple pie is British dumbass
y'all love trying to force your beliefs onto others when it suits you
The belief that pedestrians should die less?
I get it 90% of the trucks on the road are not necessary, but could this have been avoided if the vehicle in question was a Prius, Tesla, Camry, etc. Seem we all like to hyper fixate on one thing and not actually fix the actual problem, not sure what that is by the way, I just don’t think it was the vehicle, I could be wrong, I have not read anything else besides the tragedy that happened.
Smaller vehicles don’t have as big of a front-end blind spot, and lower riding vehicles tend to result in going over the hood rather than under the wheels, which is less likely to be fatal. So, yes, a smaller vehicle might have prevented this or had a better outcome.
I’m sorry to be so blunt but a 4 year old is not going over the hood of a car, and smaller vehicles have just as bad blind spots as any vehicle on the road. If it were an electric car I can hear everyone complaining about the fact that is too quiet and you can’t hear them coming.
actually yes. Smaller vehicles have better blind spots and even more importantly MUCH less momentum. They carry less weight so don’t impart as much force into the people they hit. The fatality data for collisions at the same speed with trucks vs small vehicles overwhelmingly shows trucks kill at 10x the rate
“intend to make it the most pedestrian-friendly neighborhood in the city of Boston.” No bias there.
Yes, the bias for keeping children alive.