• MinorLaceration@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    5 months ago

    Have you actually been in one of those Kei trucks? It’s basically a tin can on skateboard wheels. It is extremely power limited due to engine size and handles poorly due to the wheel size. I’m not saying that they should or should not be banned, but they certainly are not safer than any US vehicle made in the last 35 years.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      5 months ago

      Driven them. I disagree, but understand how driving a kei truck would feel startling to someone used to the heavy handling of something like a buck.

    • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 months ago

      Have you actually been in one of those Kei trucks

      Yes.

      It’s basically a tin can on skateboard wheels

      Incredibly exaggerated. Also, I’ve ridden in worse vehicles that were perfectly legal here.

      It is extremely power limited due to engine size

      That’s why they’re not allowed on freeways / highways in places they’re allowed, thus it’s not a problem.

      handles poorly due to the wheel size

      Better than a lot of what’s steeet-legal, still.

      they certainly are not safer than any US vehicle made in the last 35 years.

      They certainly are, you’re just pretending that their use-case is identical to say a sedan when that’s not the case. When used for their purpose (Shirt-Medium distances on Slow-Medium speed roads) they are fantastic vehicles. There’s a reason they’re still made and sell like hotcakes elsewhere in the world.

      • MinorLaceration@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        You’re telling me that they’re not literally a tin can on skateboard wheels? /s Yes, of course that was hyperbole.

        There are no passenger vehicles produced in the states with wheels that size. Smaller wheel size means reduced traction, which we both know these trucks suffer from, leading yo poor handling. You can say that they handle better and are safer than some US vehicles and I can say they are not. Neither of us have a way to objectively prove it, but apparently Maine and Rhode Island are of the opinion that they are not up to standard. I don’t disagree that they have their uses. They make fine farm/utility vehicles. But don’t pretend that they are in the same class as other vehicles on the roads in the US. Again, I’m not saying they should be illegal. I’m saying that there are valid concerns about them, and apparently some DMVs are finding them not to be up to snuff.

        • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          5 months ago

          There are no passenger vehicles produced in the states with wheels that size

          First: wheel size is not the only variable for handling, not even close. Second: produced in the US is different than legal to drive on our roads.

          But don’t pretend that they are in the same class as other vehicles on the roads in the US

          You’re right, quite a few of the shitboxes I see out there with valid tags are quite a bit WORSE than a Kei truck.

          I’m saying that there are valid concerns about them

          And I’m saying that’s blatantly false when we let far more unsafe vehicles exist and Kei trucks do just fine in other countries. The amount of Keis I’ve seen when visiting Japan is staggering, if they were truly a death trap worth regulating then there’d be some statistics backing that up from Japan and they’d likely be way less popular for being stupidly unsafe.

          I’ve driven in multiple Kei trucks and they’re about on par with what a LOT of rural farms and even state/federal park services will use. If modern ones were even legal to import in the first place they’d be even better on the safety front.

          some DMVs are finding them not to be up to snuff.

          Nice appeal to authority. A DMV finding something to be unsafe means jack shit in a world where there’s lobbying incentive for governments to make rules so companies can make money. You know, the original reason Kei trucks are banned?