The Grille Trend that Kills 509 People per Year
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN people cite it in threads on vehicle size and safety as a clear explanation tying grille height to deaths.
What it is
FortNine looks at the data on why newer pickup trucks with tall, blunt grilles kill so many pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. It argues that lowering hood height would substantially cut fatalities.
Recommended by 5 HN commenters across 5 different months, 2024 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Recommends fnimick · 2024-03 · on “A 7k-Pound Car Smashed Through a Guardrail. That's Bad News for All of Us”
Not only that, it would take only a minor change to have a huge impact and reduce deaths and injuries: [this video]
Recommends kungfooey · 2024-04 · on “Plunging Pickup Truck Sales Threaten Detroit's Profit Engine”
This guy ties grill height directly to fatalities. They really are a menace, but it's by design. Quoth one designer, "I want it to look like a fist coming through the air." [this video]
Recommends Workaccount2 · 2024-08 · on “A road safety plan that will lead to cars communicating with each other”
People just love trucks that are practically purpose built to kill pedestrians and motorcyclists. [this video] Thank you Ryan from Fortnine.
Recommends mech975 · 2024-09 · on “What to do about America's killer cars”
CAFE standards were written in such a way as to encourage large vehicle footprints to work around the requirements of the standards. Motorcycling youtuber fortnine offers a good view on some other aspects of the situation. [this video]
Recommends stickfigure · 2026-04 · on “UAE Leaves OPEC and OPEC+”
It isn't about weight, it's way stupider than that: [this video] Tall grilles are a purely aesthetic choice. We could create safety standards for pedestrian impacts and end this inane trend. And still drive trucks!
Cites sitkack · 2024-09 · on “NHTSA Proposes New Vehicle Safety Standard to Better Protect Pedestrians”
The Grille Trend that Kills 509 People per Year [this video] I thought that pedestrian safety was already part of mandatory crash worthiness testing.
Cites david-gpu · 2024-11 · on “How do cars do in out-of-sample crash testing? (2020)”
I wish car testing was less about the safety of the people inside of the car and more about the safety of the people outside of it, like pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles. After all, people buying a car already have a strong incentive to purchase something that is safe for themselves, but how many people put any thought into reducing the risk that the force upon others? For context, pedestrian and cycling deaths have increased for the past decade in North America [0] and it is known that tall blunt hoods increase fatalities [1]. Yet, nothing is being done about it in NA as far as I know. [0] [LINK] [1] [this video]
Cites YeGoblynQueenne · 2025-08 · on “'Safety Today Is a Luxury,' Giorgetto Giugiaro Says After His Crash”
And yet, observational data suggests that driving a huge car makes it harder for you to get injured an easier for everyone else. For example: "First off, the vitriol against large vehicles is misplaced. The larger the vehicle, the safer for its occupants". [this video] "American roads are deadliest than ever for pedestrians, cyclists, and, most of all, motorcyclists". [this video]