> If smartphones were the root cause - it wouldn't diverge between USA and Europe.

The article says "We’re also spending nearly three times more time distracted by our phones than drivers in the United Kingdom and several other European countries. US drivers spent an average of 2 minutes 11 seconds on their phones per hour while driving, compared to 44 seconds per hour for UK drivers, CMT found."

> The insanity of driving trucks instead of compact cars in cities is a big factor.

No argument there.

Difference in enforcement, consequences, and social norms.

Europeans avoided the cupholder for so long.

A significant and costly driving test, versus practically free and quick in the US. A $100 fine for being caught with a cell phone versus losing your license. And, of course, a realistic alternative in public transit and walkable communities.

Penalties for being on your phone while driving are fairly different between different countries. In the UK it's 6 points and £200 if you're caught. It's a fair deterrent

In addition to lighter penalties, there's no enforcement of the law in much of the U.S.

Last I heard, it was around $100 here. But I can't imagine that it's enforced. If you walk three blocks downtown without seeing a drive using a phone, you aren't looking.

Being hit by 1 ton of metal vs. being hit by 3 tons of metal still sounds rather painful.

It's more about visibility and ease of maneuvering the vehicle.

One of the first public videos of the Cybertruck showed it hitting an object as exited a parking lot. It's just way harder to drive a huge truck than it is to drive a sedan, but everyone thinks they are an above average driver so that doesn't aply to them.

Sure. Pedestrian protection on trucks, especially US trucks / SUVs is much worse compared to more compact designs. As is visibility forbthe driver. Combined, this is bad news for pedestrians and cyclists. Add distractions by phones, and it is a potential desaster.

You have more visibility in a smaller car. So the smaller car has a lower chance of hitting you.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic, but the research is clear that trucks (and other high front end vehicles) are more likely to kill pedestrians:

https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/vehicles-with-higher-more-v...

> Whatever their nose shape, pickups, SUVs and vans with a hood height greater than 40 inches are about 45 percent more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes than cars and other vehicles with a hood height of 30 inches or less and a sloping profile, an IIHS study of nearly 18,000 pedestrian crashes found.

Trucks have turned into real monsters. Others on here have mentioned that legislation intended to improve fuel economy had some sort of yearly increasing weight category that was suppose to reduce the amount of large vehicles. But manufacturers all gamed it by just increasing the weight and size vehicles to stay above the line.