alt Hacker NewsWould've been trivial to just run the same calculations on 1990s numbers when SUVs first became popular but long before smartphones.
I think it speaks volumes that they didn't.
Replies
SUVs started becoming popular in the 1990s but there is significant lag between becoming popular among new car buyers and becoming a significant fraction of cars on the road.
For example SUVs and light trucks rose to 30% of new sales in 1990 but it wasn't until 2003 that they were 30% of vehicles on the road.
This stuff wouldn’t bother me so much if I didn’t regularly get reports of an acquaintance’s daughter who is now almost brain dead (can’t speak after a serious accident).
Phone is 99% likely the culprit.
Self driving AI or putting the #%£€ phone down would have prevented it.
1990s SUVs were different vehicles than 2026 SUVs. A 2026 4Runner Hybrid weighs 1500lbs more than a 1996 and is 19 inches longer, 12 inches wider, and 6 inches taller. This is significant.