The feeling of power and safety, itself, has utility. Feelings matter.
No argument that there’s been an active propaganda campaign to make people in smaller cars feel less safe, but propaganda works. You can’t just dismiss it.
I edited my original comment to make my point clearer - you’re right that larger vehicles don’t actually make anyone safer.
I maintain that the illusion of safety is, itself, the motivation for why people are buying these vehicles. That’s not a cultural thing, but rather, an irrational and instinctual thing. As long as these huge vehicles are allowed on the road, everyone else is terrified into buying their own. Statistically a large murder machine doesn’t make you safer, but being able to see the road when you’re surrounded by other huge murder machines will make people feel safer regardless of culture.
You aren’t going to get these things off the road by shaming people. We have to make them illegal.
The feeling of power and safety, itself, has utility. Feelings matter.
No argument that there’s been an active propaganda campaign to make people in smaller cars feel less safe, but propaganda works. You can’t just dismiss it.
I can object to it being used to justify killing kids for a feeling though. Which is what you were doing by suggesting it’s a prisoner’s dilemma.
Object all you like? It doesn’t change the actual reality of what is happening and why people drive murder machines.
Now you’re dodging the point. You’re spreading the harmful propaganda, and using the fact that it’s effective to justify spreading it.
I edited my original comment to make my point clearer - you’re right that larger vehicles don’t actually make anyone safer.
I maintain that the illusion of safety is, itself, the motivation for why people are buying these vehicles. That’s not a cultural thing, but rather, an irrational and instinctual thing. As long as these huge vehicles are allowed on the road, everyone else is terrified into buying their own. Statistically a large murder machine doesn’t make you safer, but being able to see the road when you’re surrounded by other huge murder machines will make people feel safer regardless of culture.
You aren’t going to get these things off the road by shaming people. We have to make them illegal.