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Comment by radu_floricica | Hacker News Reader

Vans are nightmare stuff for motorcyclists. Hitting a compact car from most angles means rolling over it. Hitting a van from any angle is instant SPLAT - all potential energy gets instantly converted into damage.

We don't have SUVs here (Eastern Europe), but I think they're a closer to vans than to compacts.

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Radu, I'm Romanian too (and assuming based on your name you're Romanian), we have lots of SUVs. Maybe you're thinking of something else? Maybe pickup trucks?

I meant F-150 style cars. They're next level - much taller and wider than what we have here. Small 4x4s like Toyota RAV4 are closer to compacts, and you still have a fair chance to roll over if you hit them in the front.

I guess we do have larger 4x4s like Land Cruiser, forgot about them. They're somewhere in between? Wouldn't want to hit one, but it's not a guaranteed "splat".

When articles like this talk about SUVs, in includes autos like the RAV4. Those smaller SUVs are one of the biggest growth areas for manufacturers

What do you mean we don't have SUVs in Eastern Europe? Where would you have to live to think that?

Guessing by the name, perhaps Romania. Maybe they mean large ones like Ford F150? otherwise (Eastern) Europeans love their SUVs for sure, 45% of new vehicles bought in Europe are SUVs.

I think it's more of a sliding scale than a rigid dichotomy. The car we drive might reasonably be described as an SUV, the Seat Tarraco.

As a pedestrian or a cyclist I'd take my chances on against it before something like the Chevy Suburban any day of the week.

Getting hit by a Romanian Dacia Sandero is just as bad as getting hit by a Chevy Suburban at the same speed.

If that's the case then presumably getting hit by a Nissan Leaf at the same speed is just as bad and the whole premise is bullshit?

I haven't seen one in person for a while but but a Chevy Suburban is practically flat until 4ft off the ground. A Dacia Sandero isn't nearly that tall. I find it hard to believe that it is the same as a Sandero at least at potentially survivable speeds around 30mph.

Sorry dude I've got 4 kids, there isn't a sedan out there that I can fit 4 car seats in, and still have room for a driver and passenger.

But at least a 6 seat Tesla Model X would probably hurt pedestrians less compared to a “van”?

Be serious. That's a $100k car. This person has 4 kids.

This is one of the most SV answers I've ever heard.

Sorry not all of us live in a place where a $100k electric car is feasible or would work well, or I could even get one.

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