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Comment by nradov | Hacker News Reader

It's more than a few percent improvement. 2018 car models are far more survivable than what we had 20 or even 10 years ago. Check out the injury and death statistics. For a given size the weight increase in that time hasn't been anywhere near a few hundred kilograms. And with modern high-strength steel or carbon fiber the weight can actually go down, although that drives up prices.

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At the same time SUVs are killing more pedestrians due to being taller than previous car models. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/06/28/suvs-killi...

Here is an idea: if there is a side walk, the speed limit is automatically capped at 25mph (unless there's a sign that says the speed limit is lower).

Thoughts?

I'm sure it's like with cyclists, only when you have a critical mass of cyclists on the road, the car drivers take notice and caution. The US isn't gonna reach a critical mass of pedestrians except in dense areas where using a car isn't economic or a necessity.

Except optimizing the cars has been very much diminishing returns for 20 years now. Ban all the touch pads and widgets from cars and that is easily double the improvement from whatever car manufacturers have been doing.

A lot of what's been happening with safety features is a steady trickle down from the high-end to the average consumer car of things like automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping systems and so on.

I believe they're speaking about US autos vs other countries. The crux being, the US' reguirements bulk up autos which make them more lethal.

Why do you think there is a significant difference between the US and say, Europe? For apples to apples, is a Honda Fit really verifiably "more lethal" than a Honda Jazz? Or significantly heavier?

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