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How in the hell are these legal? (europe.pub)
submitted 6 days ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
242 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

(not my image. I just find these comical and incredibly dangerous)

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[–] 22 points 6 days ago (16 children)

I don't know. Why are semi trucks allowed to have these?

I see them all the time even though they seem like a liability for a professional driver.

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  • [–] 9 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

    I've seen those sharp things on a pickup truck's wheels

    A few months ago a pickup truck cut me off and i crashed into its side and fell into the side of the wheel. If the truck i hit had these spikes, i'd be dead

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  • [–] 4 points 5 days ago (5 children)

    You really don't see them as much compared to when they were in their hay day, because they were/are a liability. But current ones are soft plastic with a thin metallic coating.

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  • [–] 11 points 5 days ago (4 children)

    Fast rotating "soft plastic with thin metallic coating" will just as well mutilate or even kill pedestrians or cyclists in a collision. But then US Americans do not seem to care much about those.

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  • [–] -2 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Let's be real, if you're close enough that these are hitting you you're getting hit by the multi ton truck as well. They're a little silly, but not the huge hazard you're making them out to be.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 days ago*

    They make a wide vehicle even wider, for no good reason, your argument, can really only be made by an American who can not fathom that oversized roads are not only not the norm everywhere but are in themselves antipedestrian and get pedestrians and cyclists needlesly killed. There is also a good reason why tyre/axle parts extending beyond fenders are illegal in for example the EU. They are a risk to others in many ways, not only collission but also projecting stuff outwards. Last but not least, they make it harder for the driver to properly estimate the total width of the vehicle and invite driver error that can cost lives.

    They are illegal in the EU and they are so for a reason.

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  • [+] -6 points 5 days ago (6 children)

    They put them on to keep cars from crowding them, which they do have a legit problem with. I don't really care as long as they stay in their lane it's just psychological. The first time the wander a little into my line and tear up my car, i'm going to own their ass.

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  • [–] 13 points 5 days ago*

    No, it is not just psychological, this stuff is real and absolutely mutilating towards any pedestrian or cyclist and also dangerous for other car drivers (doesn't matter if they are just fake plastic or not). There is a reason this is not tolerated pretty much anywhere other than parts of the US.

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  • [–] -1 points 5 days ago (4 children)

    It's not illegal or unreasonable to use a bit of someone else's lane when you can do so without getting unsafely close to them. For example, if you are in the right lane and there is someone changing a tire on the shoulder and you want to give them some space. These are not going to be easy to see from certain perspectives, and are kind of asking for someone to misjudge their car width.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    The big trucks have 2 ft to play with. They max out at 9 ft wide in an 11ft lane. and if they wander into the next lane incorrectly, they're responsible for 53 ft and are far more likely to kill someone.

    Ode to local statutes, in most states (all the ones I checked) it is absolutely illegal to operate in other people's lanes.

    Statute: California Vehicle Code (CVC) § 21658(a)

    Statute: Virginia Code § 46.2-804

    Maryland Transportation Article § 21-309

    Look, I don't love the wheel grinders, but what you wrote is not factual

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  • [–] -1 points 5 days ago

    Ok you got me, I don't know the vehicle codes of every state, nor am I an expert on them in any state. But I can tell you that people drifting into other lanes on occasion is a thing that happens, usually without it being a big deal. Sometimes by mistake though I gave you a scenario where it is arguably reasonable. I don't dispute that it can also be dangerous, especially with big trucks.

    While of course the lanes are there for a reason and should not be ignored, the relative positions of cars is the more important thing and our visual sense of where other vehicles is a thing we generally take in from the vehicle body and the expected consistent shape of them. And it is what we intuitively use when having to make sudden maneuver. Making your car have an unexpected shape and width below the body is asking for trouble.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 days ago

    illegal or unreasonable to use a bit of someone else’s lane

    Yes it is? There are specific rules for passing cyclists and who has the right of way? If you are drifting out of your lane and/or without specific markings for a wide vehicle you are liable for collisions?

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