There are many people in my highly liberal and progressive PNW town that drive trucks. The majority seem to be decent people based on my interactions on the road with them as a pedestrian and cyclist.
I do agree most people don’t need trucks, and it’s more of a performative masculinity thing, or maybe that’s just what they’ve been conditioned to like.
Hello fellow PNW person. I am likely one of those people. I try to represent the good side of this example whenever possible.
Also have a tiny ev that is my daily driver, especially in the city where parking a full size pickup is just not worth it. That said, on the days when my partner needs the car for longer trips and I have to take my truck around for chores, I’m constantly on alert to not be a dick.
I think this is honestly how a lot of folks are around here. It’s a little different when you head out east but near civilization, I am generally given hope.
We as an American people have been conditioned for decades that we need larger and bigger vehicles when we absolutely don’t. This is because smaller cars have stricter regulations thanks to the “light truck” loophole in the CAFE standards. It’s literally less regulated, and thus highly profitable to get people to buy trucks instead of cars. The masculine thing, the “It’s safer because it’s bigger”, the “I need space for my family” - it’s all generated by marketing teams for car companies to convince each of us that we need a bigger (and less regulated) car.
When really… we don’t. We don’t at all, and it choosing a truck whether it’s intentional or not, is a selfish move. It’s large, it’s unnecessary, wasteful, it’s proven extremely deadly to pedestrians, bicyclists, and children. Choosing a vehicle like that is inherently accepting that you are risking other people’s lives, and that’s why I’m so against them.
Ignorance is excusable, but once informed then it’s no longer ignorance.
There are many people in my highly liberal and progressive PNW town that drive trucks. The majority seem to be decent people based on my interactions on the road with them as a pedestrian and cyclist.
I do agree most people don’t need trucks, and it’s more of a performative masculinity thing, or maybe that’s just what they’ve been conditioned to like.
Hello fellow PNW person. I am likely one of those people. I try to represent the good side of this example whenever possible.
Also have a tiny ev that is my daily driver, especially in the city where parking a full size pickup is just not worth it. That said, on the days when my partner needs the car for longer trips and I have to take my truck around for chores, I’m constantly on alert to not be a dick.
I think this is honestly how a lot of folks are around here. It’s a little different when you head out east but near civilization, I am generally given hope.
Yeah the difference between PNW truck drivers and Midwestern ones is night and day.
We as an American people have been conditioned for decades that we need larger and bigger vehicles when we absolutely don’t. This is because smaller cars have stricter regulations thanks to the “light truck” loophole in the CAFE standards. It’s literally less regulated, and thus highly profitable to get people to buy trucks instead of cars. The masculine thing, the “It’s safer because it’s bigger”, the “I need space for my family” - it’s all generated by marketing teams for car companies to convince each of us that we need a bigger (and less regulated) car.
When really… we don’t. We don’t at all, and it choosing a truck whether it’s intentional or not, is a selfish move. It’s large, it’s unnecessary, wasteful, it’s proven extremely deadly to pedestrians, bicyclists, and children. Choosing a vehicle like that is inherently accepting that you are risking other people’s lives, and that’s why I’m so against them.
Ignorance is excusable, but once informed then it’s no longer ignorance.