> thanks to all of the cameras and sensors everywhere.
Cameras are a band-aid that help a bit, but nothing beats actual clear visibility in all directions, something which newer cars lack.
My partner has a newish VW and it's a menace to drive IMO. For example turning left onto our street, just when I need to see clearly if there is anyone on that street (it's a neighborhood of lots of kids) all I see is a giant A pillar and even more giant rearview mirror, blocking most of the view to the left. I have to contort in all directions back and forth to look around these obstacles which creates its own safety concerns. Visibility to the rear quarters is also terrible.
On my older cars with low doorlines and thin pillars I have perfect visibility into any turn, 100x safer.
Smaller cars don't give them the feeling of power they lack in their life. Yearning for feeling bigger, more powerful, and scarier correlates quite well with some folks driving big trucks, it's a purchase to fill a void.
A 10cm increase in bonnet height, from 80cm to 90cm, raises the risk of death in a crash by 27% for pedestrians and cyclists, according to a Belgian study involving 300,000 casualties. Children were substantially more likely to be killed as pedestrians in collisions than adults, the report said.