Newer safety regulations definitely help, but at the same time, I almost feel like we're reaching a point where we're at pendulum overswing to some degree.
That biggest change since 2012 has been increased roof strength requirements. This was driven at least in part due to the popularity of top-heavy, rollover prone vehicles.
Meeting these requirements have required cars to get heavier and incorporate massive roof pillars. This negatively impacts gas mileage (relatively minor concern), but, far more importantly IMO, means that nearly every new car out there has awful rear visibility. So we've bandaided that by requiring backup cameras, but those don't help when you're moving in traffic. We've created a situation where most new cars on the road have huge, terrible blindspots by trying to make the cars safer.
Again, better safety is a good thing, i just think that we just need to do a better job of balancing it with the usability of the vehicles.
Perhaps - but the numbers don't indicate the pendulum swinging back. It looks to be a net gain, even despite that.
Interesting, though. I had noticed this trend - coming from a 2002 Outback, most of the ZipCars I drove seemed to have terrible rear visibility. Now I know why.
That biggest change since 2012 has been increased roof strength requirements. This was driven at least in part due to the popularity of top-heavy, rollover prone vehicles.
Meeting these requirements have required cars to get heavier and incorporate massive roof pillars. This negatively impacts gas mileage (relatively minor concern), but, far more importantly IMO, means that nearly every new car out there has awful rear visibility. So we've bandaided that by requiring backup cameras, but those don't help when you're moving in traffic. We've created a situation where most new cars on the road have huge, terrible blindspots by trying to make the cars safer.
Again, better safety is a good thing, i just think that we just need to do a better job of balancing it with the usability of the vehicles.