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Truck bloat is killing us, new crash data reveals
(www.theverge.com)
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this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2023
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United States | News & Politics
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It's past time to require a commercial driver's license to drive one and a business permit on file to buy one. Your average person can rent one when they need the utility of a truck bed.
Or how about the more simpler solution of changing the emissions regulations so trucks and SUVs have to meet the same targets as all the other vehicles.
And if you really want to encourage things even more they could also remove the tariffs on light trucks while increasing the sales tax on large trucks and SUVs.
I think in the truck culture the damage is already done. At this point we need to deal with the demand to have those kinds of trucks.
the hilarious irony is that modern trucks are often useless for hauling any decent loads because they're crew cabs and jacked up for no fucking reason. To purchase a truck with a large bed often requires a special order and weeks of waiting.
I have a weird truck, it's a ten year old F150 with a single cab and an 8 foot bed. It's the only one I see that isn't obviously a company truck, and it used to be a hardware store rental truck. It carries building materials, motorcycles, junk to the dump, all with the tailgate safely closed. I don't like the little 5 foot beds on the crew cab trucks, it's like you have this giant truck and all you can carry are small things. It's as useful as a Ford Taurus.
At least, something more than a standard drivers license. A CDL covers things like air brakes or railroad crossing that aren't necessary for most of the vehicles in question. But a more graduated standard, absolutely.