Many people have been concerned about the size and weight of modern pickup trucks. Studies have shown that the height and overall size of modern pickup trucks have made them increasingly dangerous for other drivers and pedestrians. Now, those fears have been made very real as a Chevy Silverado drove over and crushed a new Corvette C8 with the driver trapped inside. 

Can you drive over a car in a Chevy Silverado? 

As the scene in Thornton, Colorado, shows us in graphic detail, yes, a pickup truck can monster truck over another smaller car. By the looks of the photos of this crash, it looks like the Silverado was able to do it pretty easily, too. 

Thanks to the focused efforts to make the new C8 safer in the event of a rollover, no one was hurt in this crazy crash because the C8’s roof was able to hold the weight of the truck. Despite not being hurt, the C8 driver was trapped in the Corvette because the Chevy Silverado’s wheels were on the doors, pinching them closed. The only way the first responders could get the C8 driver out of the car was to jack up the Silverado and remove the wheels. That whole time, the person had to sit in the crushed car and wait. 

Modern pickup trucks are too big

Two years ago, a girl was run over by an 18-year-old pickup truck driver and killed in New York. No charges or civil suits were filed. After an extensive investigation, the driver was let off because the horrible incident was deemed an accident due to the fact that because of the truck’s size, the driver simply couldn’t see the pedestrian walking in front of it. 

This story is insane, but it shows just how out of control our trucks have grown. A family member of the victim subsequently started a group called Families for Safe Streets in New York. This group is urging the New York Legislature to lower speed limits in crowded urban areas.

What cars have the worst blind spots?

Following this story, Consumer Reports decided to test pickup truck blind spots. The research found that trucks have the largest blind spot of any other segment by a country mile. Due to most of these trucks’ height and sheer size, some models had blind spots that stretched 11 feet longer than some sedans and seven feet longer than some SUVs. This is an alarmingly huge blind spot. 

Blind spots have come to be known as the little area behind the B-pillar that you have to look over your shoulder to see. That turn and look with a little blinker action is about the only way to safely change lanes if you are worried about someone hanging out in Noman’s land. However, with pickup trucks, blind spots are not only huge but numerous. 

In the New York case, the blind spot directly in front of the pickup truck is what got the girl killed. This type of accident is getting more common due to the size of new trucks. 

Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at Consumer Reports Auto Test Center, calls accidents of people being hit while in this front blind spot a “frontover.” “Small children are especially vulnerable to frontover crashes,” she says. She goes on to say that between 1990 and 2019, there were more than 931 frontover fatalities. The majority of the victims were between the ages of 23 months- and 12 years old. 

Trucks need to change

Between the killer blind spots and the C8 monster trucking incident, we shouldn’t need much more evidence to support the idea that the size of our biggest pickup trucks is a problem. Many manufacturers are trying to solve this problem by slapping more sensors and cameras in every nook and cranny. While these steps are helpful, maybe we should just make the trucks a little smaller. Seems reasonable.