Driving rant: PLEASE stop this!!

[Drew0311]

Only if we can also stop selling giant SUVs to 5’3” soccer moms that don’t sit so low that they have more blind spots than visibility.

I think we have an agreement.

 

[DSM4Cy]

This thread is starting to turn into
View attachment 172100

My kind of crowd.

 

[AllInForISU]

Has anyone had

People do this **** around here making a right turn. I hug the outside part of my lane when I’m next to people because drivers are ******* stupid. Vehicles have gotten too big for how little people pay attention.

Almost certain vehicles were bigger on average in the 50s-70s than they are now.

 

[AgronAlum]

Has anyone had


Almost certain vehicles were bigger on average in the 50s-70s than they are now.

There's no way that's true. Maybe if you put two sedans side by side but the size of trucks have increased dramatically as well as the introduction of SUVs and vans. My 90s 3/4 ton is dwarfed by current trucks and large SUVs.

 

[BCClone]

There's no way that's true. Maybe if you put two sedans side by side but the size of trucks have increased dramatically as well as the introduction of SUVs and vans. My 90s 3/4 ton is dwarfed by current trucks and large SUVs.

Cars are smaller. Pickups have gotten taller for the most part.

 

[dmclone]

There's no way that's true. Maybe if you put two sedans side by side but the size of trucks have increased dramatically as well as the introduction of SUVs and vans. My 90s 3/4 ton is dwarfed by current trucks and large SUVs.

A lot of American cars were bigger, but trucks seemed to be smaller. For example:

1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
223.5 in length
79.7 width

2025 Ford F-150 SuperCab
231.7 in
79.9 width


2026 Toyota Camry
193.5 in
72.4

I had a 2 DOOR Monte Carlo that was 213.3in long.

 

[iahawkhunter]

Regarding how truck sizes have changed, I caught this inadvertent side-by-side comparison last summer. The current Ford Rangers are pretty close to the physical size of an F150 from the 90's.

 

[BCClone]

View attachment 172105
Regarding how truck sizes have changed, I caught this inadvertent side-by-side comparison last summer. The current Ford Rangers are pretty close to the physical size of an F150 from the 90's.

We had a ford ranger in 1980. Back then this was their size




They were full size. Shortly after, they became the compact crappy thing.

 

[Cycsk]

Technically the car that got therr first. In practice, if I'm the south bound car I'd probably beat them if they appear passive. 90% of good driving is being intentional/predictable, there's tells at stops what drivers are thinking. I'd be inching to make it clear I was ready, if they're dead stopped and look like a deer in the headlights I'm good. If they're inching I'm letting them go.

I agree with you, both in your understanding of the technicalities and your wisdom in knowing how to navigate Iowa traffic culture.

P.S. A 4-way stop in Iowa may be more dangerous than an expressway in Chicago. At least in Chicago, you know that everyone around you will be aggressive. In Iowa, you never know who is going to do what. It is a mixture of Iowa nice and utter indecisiveness. I've seen situations in which everyone just stares at each other, then 2 or 3 lurch forward at the same time, only to slam on the brakes and go through another round of staring. Usually, I try to hurry up or slow down so that it is very clear who gets there first, but even then, if either of us is turning, they will wait and sometimes waive me through. Just follow the rules of the road people!

 

[TitanClone]

I agree with you, both in your understanding of the technicalities and your wisdom in knowing how to navigate Iowa traffic culture.

P.S. A 4-way stop in Iowa may be more dangerous than an expressway in Chicago. At least in Chicago, you know that everyone around you will be aggressive. In Iowa, you never know who is going to do what. It is a mixture of Iowa nice and utter indecisiveness. I've seen situations in which everyone just stares at each other, then 2 or 3 lurch forward at the same time, only to slam on the brakes and go through another round of staring. Usually, I try to hurry up or slow down so that it is very clear who gets there first, but even then, if either of us is turning, they will wait and sometimes waive me through. Just follow the rules of the road people!

I'd use Rome as a similar example. Everyone's agressive but they know it and even better they know how to use their horns to signal, a tap "hey, I'm here" vs slamming it for "WTF dude"