this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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Tesla Cybertruck's stiff structure, sharp design raise safety concerns - experts::The angular design of Tesla's Cybertruck has safety experts concerned that the electric pickup truck's stiff stainless-steel exoskeleton could hurt pedestrians and cyclists.

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[–] hardcoreufo 31 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I don't like Teslas, Musk or the cyber truck but it can't be any more dangerous than the 4 ft wall of radiator traditional pickups have now. Not saying this isn't a concern but I am way more concerned about the millions of pedestrian crushing rolling walls already on the road.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I'm pretty sure it actually is significantly more dangerous. The front end of traditional pickups will still crumple and absorb a great deal of force. If the cybertruck is more rigid and the sharp edges have a potential to gash pedestrians on impact, that's two factors that don't apply to current pickups.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't actually know the ride height but it looks like the cyber truck has a much lower nose when driving on normal roads compared to a lot of trucks, so while it may be very stiff, maybe it'll just launch you over the hood.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

The shorter and lower nose should improve visibility too. Regular pickups have a blind spot as large as an entire daycare center.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

So are we really contemplating pickup trucks as more safe in a pedestrian collision because they have crumple zones?

When a truck hits a pedestrian and the front of the truck crumples, is that pedestrian okay?

[–] DV8 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's a difference between a shattered pelvis and being impaled because someone thought sharp corners are cool and safety standards are oppression.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 11 months ago

No one is getting impaled on a forty degree corner lol

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Your wording makes it sound like the existence of even more dangerous trucks somehow excuses this dangerous truck. Both the 4 ft wall and the sharp metal blade edges are dangerous and irresponsible designs.

[–] hardcoreufo 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm not excusing it at all, I think it's one of the worst vehicles ever made, too big, heavy and fast. People are for sure gonna crash these beasts.

What I meant was I'd like to see traditional truck designs that have millions of vehicles on the road be scrutinized before the 10 cyber trucks. You're way more likely to be hit by a regular truck which has a deadly design than a cyber truck just because of how many more are on the road.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

“I don’t like x but it can’t be worse than y” is a construction which serves to minimize how bad something is. Instead, let’s scrutinize both: “This cyber truck is ridiculously dangerous. While we’re at it, let’s also regulate the 4 feet tall wall of grill on other trucks.”

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Instead, let’s scrutinize both

is a construction that leads to nothing getting done as a result of failing to acknowledge there are limited resources.

The concept of “first” is absolutely key to accomplishing anything.

[–] steveman_ha 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

... Doesn't "limited resources" basically just mean here ones ability to consider more than one thought at a time? Surely a species capable of collaborative efforts like space travel can handle the complexity of generalizing to say "no, sorry, none of the human-bulldozer designs are okay actually"?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Criticism is not a scarce quantity to be preserved. It spreads, like a fire. Take literally any social movement, like #metoo or BLM. People don’t suppress smaller stories to “save” criticism for bigger stories. The small stories add up. Right now, the F150 is one of the best selling cars in the US. The average American is no where close to criticizing it. But everyone already makes fun of the cyber truck. We can use that.

“Let’s not criticize this dangerous truck design because we should save our criticism!” is the worst way to get people to criticize dangerous truck design.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago

And those are largely banned from the EU as well. The issue is the lack of regulation in the US, it's killing pedestrians daily.