Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2018)

Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by JudasGoat on Thursday February 03, 2022 @04:22PM (#30199083)

" drivers prefer conventional trucks, the ride better, largely handle better, and are safer for the driver." I drove truck in the 90's and the joke back then was "cabover driver's were the first to arrive at the scene of an accident".

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by oblio on Thursday February 03, 2022 @04:55PM (#30199517)

Are they better for pedestrians, cyclists, bikers and other drivers, though? I imagine it's much easier to see things in front of you with the cabover design.

Personally I'd optimize a bit more for everyone else's safety, since you know, there's more of them. Plus a semi is a multi-ton missile going 90kmph.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by AuthorizedCust on Thursday February 03, 2022 @05:39PM (#30200044)

Can you share evidence they aren’t better?

School buses typically have a large nose in front of the driver. Are they unsafe?

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by stefan_ on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:13PM (#30200389)

Those hunking blocks of sheet-metal in the US that you call school buses (alternatively, prisoner transport)? Well, yeah. European buses share much with their truck counterparts, except the massively better visibility all around:

https://www.mercedes-benz-bus.com/content/dam/mbo/markets/co...

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by oblio on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:06PM (#30200334)

I can't really share any studies, but some people seem to have more info: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30195371

Intuitively it would make sense that being able to see in front of you with no obstruction would have an impact on safety. How much, I can't say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

> School buses typically have a large nose in front of the driver. Are they unsafe?

Guess what, European buses don't have a nose, either :-)))

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by zardo on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:29PM (#30200551)

School busses have a regulatory carve out for pollution controls and seat belts. School busses are most dangerous new built passenger vehicles allowed on the road in the US with more than three wheels.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by Aloha on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:34PM (#30200603)

Yet fatal accidents involving school buses are vanishingly rare.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by jandrese on Thursday February 03, 2022 @08:07PM (#30201476)

School busses only rarely get on the highway, most collisions happen on low speed secondary roads, which are rarely fatal. Plus the sheer mass of the bus means it doesn't get thrown around as much as a car would in an accident.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by zardo on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:35PM (#30200620)

They do have higher standards for the drivers

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by throwaway0a5e on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:54PM (#30200786)

The standards are basically the same as for a commercial truck driver. The edge cases of what they're willing to accept are slightly different.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by fomine3 on Thursday February 03, 2022 @07:34PM (#30201170)

How dangerous?

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by frosted-flakes on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:24PM (#30200507)

Some school buses have a large nose, but many school buses are rear-engined and have flat fronts.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by Aloha on Thursday February 03, 2022 @06:33PM (#30200594)

Truck accidents where the truck plows into another vehicle are relatively rare. We know because they're recorded by the DOT, and kept as statistics. You're more likely to take them our with the trailer than driving over the front of them.

I have seen four wheelers do all sorts of stupid shit around trucks, stuff that endangers everyones lives, I want that extra little bit of hood in front of me.

I agree that going to a hybrid model is good, where its a short nose conventional cab, like the Cascadia - rather than a long hood-high hood model.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by freeflight on Thursday February 03, 2022 @09:25PM (#30202053)

> Truck accidents where the truck plows into another vehicle are relatively rare.

Interesting, in Germany there happen 4 truck accidents on highways every day, every third one of those is a truck driving into the end of a traffic jam [0], in total they apparently cause more deaths than speeding [1].

[0] https://www.autofahrerseite.eu/sicherheit/524-lkw-unfall-sta...

[1] https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/lkw-unfaelle-fordern-...

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by Aloha on Thursday February 03, 2022 @10:38PM (#30202560)

Driving a cabover would seem to not help in those situations, somewhat obviously.

A cabover has better close up visibility, not distance.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by ngcc_hk on Friday February 04, 2022 @04:53AM (#30204780)

These day even very cheap car (Nissan micra say) has auto brake and track alignment. Not e-car just normal one. If the stat is so bad in German can this help? Seems inexpensive technology now like abs etc.

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Re:Why are semi trucks in the US and Europe so different? (2... by d1sxeyes on Friday February 04, 2022 @11:01AM (#30208511)

It's there, but there are issues:

https://trid.trb.org/view/1756275

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