" (caused by lack of federal regulation for standardized bumper heights on all vehicles) "

I really hope that's not a belief you have suggesting the federal government should do more regulating when it comes to the vehicles we have to choose from. They already over regulate everything they get their hands on as it is.

DUH!!! A whole bunch of rocket science going on here!

Pretty much everyone knows that the Silverado, and Sierra and the same truck, yet the GMC Sierra 2500 is number two, and the Silverado isn't in the top ten!
While the Silverado 1500 is, and the GMC Sierra isn't.
This article holds little to no weight.

As for the bumper height, there is no way I want the stupid bureaucrats telling me my 1 ton 4x4 needs to be a low rider.

Bumper height being the same, an 8500 lb vehicle (Unloaded, and not towing.) hitting a 2200 lb one, who wins? My money is on the beast. Now take that same truck and load it, or put a load behind it, guess what, it still wins.

@WTF - I prefer women with the colour matched bezel or the chest flat black. These women fully loaded sit around the park Canada. I've heard of a lot of guys going down to the park to buy them. I see mostly blacks and Cubans. Chinese used to be the 2nd most common John. I rarely see them anymore other than the occasional Tranny.

Way to go AMERICA (North, Central, South)!!! Taking seven of the ten best slots!

Foreign cars taking eight of the ten worst spots. No big surprise.

United States
The U.S. was an early pioneer in road safety standards, particularly with respect to engineering safer highways, implementing government-mandated safety standards for vehicles and enforcing strict drunk-driving laws. The number of road fatalities has been in steady decline since the early 1970s, but with 11.4 deaths per 100,000 citizens, the U.S.’s overall driving record is still poor compared to other wealthy nations.

http://roadskillmap.com/#0,0,2

Great point Big Al from Oz we can learn a lot from drivers in Australia!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUhkeZzUqxw

I am so happy, that I can save lot of money and I don't have to buy Ford 250 for safety reasons , but RAM 1500 Is good enough. LOL.

This is why no matter what type of agenda the government pushes, I refuse to drive tiny cars. They simply aren't safe. In an accident, the biggest vehicle wins. If I were to ever be involved in an accident, at least I know that my family will be safe.

This article points out a similar fact that is evident with speed and accidents.

In speed related accidents it's the difference in speed that kills.

Also it appears the difference in mass kills as well.

Maybe pickups drivers should have tougher standards apply for licensing, similar to trucks.

It's all well and good to state how well it is for you as a pickup driver, but you also have a responsibility to protect other road users.

Simple licensing to match Class standards of US commercial vehicles would be a great idea.

For Class 3 to Class 5 you could have stricter licensing regulations. Then have Class 6 and up for rigid trucks. Have articulated licenses.

If you want to tow a trailer with a 'car/pickup-LCV Class 1 & 2) class' license your total GCM (vehicle and trailer) doesn't exceed say 12 000lbs.

This would protect other road users and quite likely reduce the higher than average US road deaths.

@ Big Al from Oz

You want pickup standards in your country fine but stay the hell away from America.

So much for those star ratings for safety as well, seems that the Ram 1500 is the safest 1/2 ton truck sold after all.

Staged crash testing never equals real world crashes.

Great job RAM!

@Little Ram Big Horn,
Where did I mention pickup standards. Your intellect appears to be on par with most every smAllPar fanboi who blogs in PUTC. Or you are in fact just one person using many names. Hmmmm..........which one is it. Are most Ram drivers as stupid as you? Or, are you using many names?

Boy, from reading your latest comments (crap) since your name change you appear to be quite a simple person.

I'll explain what my intent was with my statement in 'little people speak'. I will talk at your level.

Little Ram Big Horn here's the way it is.

Do you have any comprehension at what 'training level' defines?

Do you have any comprehension of what 'assessing level' defines?

Do you understand what a summary analysis is? Or, for that matter a 'task analysis' is?

Do you know how to perform a 'risk assessment'. Do you know what a 'risk assessment' is?

Now, go on the net and read up on these things.

You will find that that the US licensing system is deficient compared to many of its' competitors.

It needs to train and test it's road users to meet a certain standard. If you look at the data concerning US road fatalities you will find that it is much higher and nearly or more than double most of it's equivalent competitors.

So, what is wrong with the US licensing system? The US apparently according to many on this site has the 'strictest' safety standards in the world.

If this is the case then your road infrastructure or driver education and licensing system is deficient in comparison to your competitors.

In the end you have people operating equipment or vehicles with to low a training and assessing level for reduce the risk of fatal accidents.

Should you not change this? For the better of the country?

If the US had a fatality rate similar to it's OECD counterparts there would be more than 15 000 people still alive in the US every year.

The population of a sizeable town. How many billions does this cost the US every year, let alone the unnecessary anguish for the families involved.

So, why don't you mature and present yourself as an adult.

You can't judging by your comments and multi posting using other peoples name.

You are a loss for the US as we call people like you in Australia a no-hoper, a loser.

LOL BAFO GROW UP, MAN UP AND BUY SOMETHING WITH A HEMI

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/hellcat.html

@ HEMI MONSTER

Amen brother! That is why I talked my wife out of our (4,000 pound) Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited and into a (7,000 pound) Ram Power Wagon.

I guess that means if your an unsafe driver, bad driver or a drunk driver then the F-250 is the right truck for you.
The problem is people that drive safe vehicles tend to drive in an unsafe manner thinking they will be protected in a crash, meaning they don't care if they crash knowing they will be safe and survive the crash unharmed.

Hook a 10K trailer to the back of one of these trucks then crash head on into a tree or concrete wall and see what happens, it won't be pretty.

Obviously these vehicles will hold up better into a smaller vehicle. Now crashing into a stationary object they don't offer any benefit over some smaller light cars and they also are more at risk to get into an accident in the first place.

The truck pictured above is definitely likely to INFLICT DAMAGE on the eyes of those that have to look at it. The SUPER DOOTY is simply FUGLY to put it mildly. BARF

How did the Ram 1500 make it but not the Ram 2500-3500. Jw seems like a different in weight would matter

" largely due to mismatched bumper heights (caused by lack of federal regulation for standardized bumper heights on all vehicles)"

Yeah, uh, no. It's not caused by lack of regulation, it's caused by different purposes for different vehicles. Some vehicles need a thing called ground clearance. Other vehicles are low to the ground for better fuel efficiency. So do you want to burn more gas, make trucks/suvs worthless, or both?

Honestly, I think the government should regulate bumper heights. One thing government is responsible is providing safety and I think allowing people to jack up their pickups makes the roads a less safe place. Most of the newer model trucks do have a lower front bumper at least in the half tons its the heavy duties that need the most regulation. their are ways around ground clearance like air suspention such as what the Ram is offering. I drive a truck but my mom was actually injured when she got hit by a kid driving recklessly in a jacked up truck, that's why I'm an advocate on this.

There was an article posted recently that most acidents involving semis and passenger vehicles where that fault of the smaller cars. Many small car owners have no situational awareness or skills to drive larger vehicles and cut them off . i have had praoblembs with people in little cars cuttign me off in my raptor and when i pass them they are texting or doing makeup or eating with a fork or spoon. as to property damage the force on the two vehicles is equal and oposite and that force is what causes damage irespective of where the vehicles make contact most small cars hit by a superduty will be totaled just based on physics and the cost of the car, especially since hd trucks are just about the only vehciles you can get with real bumpers these days. the half ton trucks bumpers arent even really bumpers they are just plastic clading these these days. my brother rolled my moms jetta backwards at a stop light when he was learning to drive and that low speed impact caused 2k in damage to the jetta and that was against a similar sized car. altering the bumper hight isnt going to do anything to help a unibody car with plastic bumpers.

Perhaps those in small cars should pay higher insurance premiums since they are more likely to suffer serious damage and injury because of their choice of vehicle.

Scout, the bumpers are part the safety protection system in cars and trucks. Make them to stiff and they will not crumple therefor not absorbing the impact of the crash and transferring to you instead. This is the biggest reason even half tons have gone to softer bumpers, even the hitches are welded on and ment to brake away in an accident. So you the car or truck will be totolled but you will walk away most likely.

Something else to consider: a smaller, more nimble vehicle will be better able to avoid a crash than a larger, more cumbersome one.

Jim,
Crumple zones are common and even mandated on cars and trucks now. The bumper brackets on trucks are meant to fold and give. But I'm not aware of trailer hitches that are meant to break away. That's one of the most solid things on a truck. Designed to make sure the trailer does not come detached from the tow vehicle. In the event the trailer does come detached the safety chains attached to the trailer and hitch are there as a secondary safety feature to ensure the trailer does not get far from the vehicle. A couple months ago I watched a midsize family car go rite under the back of a truck because the driver was distracted on the freeway and didn't see traffic slowing down. As you can imaging the car was totaled. Thankfully the driver only had minor injuries. The truck on the other hand had a little damage on the sheet metal behind the rear tires and some bumper damage. That damage was from the car folding around the hitch kinda like a taco, but the hitch didn't give. Designing a hitch meant to break away sounds like a lawsuit looking for a place to happen.

You might also note that Jeep just had to add trailer hitch receivers to every Cherokee on the road to protect the gas tank. If such hitches were breakaway, why would they have added them for a protective purpose?

@Scout
Front bumpers are generally connected directly to the chassis rails.

I just (physically) replaced the bumper on my BT50 due to a modification (recall) for the bull bar mounting system which is seperate to the bumper assembly.

Modern motor vehicles still do have bumpers even though they aren't visible externally, like of old. The sit behind the front bodywork of the vehicle. This is due to the pedestrian safety regulations.

Have a look at this link and you will see the bumper on the front of the global Ranger chassis. It is mounted directly to the chassis rails.

My factory bull bar originally had a telescopic mount, which was replaced with a shearing mount assembly. It appears the original mounting system might have forced the bull bar up instead of down and under the vehicle.

Engine mounting systems and design now are supposed to direct the engine/transmission assembly under the vehicle in a head on accident as well as the front chassis concertina to asbsorb the energy from an impact.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/thumb/960/500/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2012-Ford-Ranger-Review-14.jpg

Back bumpers are done the same way although they have a longer bumper mount between them and the frame. Both the front and back bumpers are meant to give so impact can be absorbed. My point was that trailer hitches are not designed to give. That's why I am unaware of any brake away hitches like what was mentioned.

even the f150. we t-boned someone towing a trailer. fucked their car right up. next to no damage to the truck!

Yikes! GMC Sierra is way up there, isn't it? Scary.

You idiots who are against bumper height rules applying to trucks and SUVs are self righteous rednecks with no regard to the lives of anyone else. Do you think red taillights shouldn't be the law too? That's a regulation last time I checked. Tell you what... I'll install rigid spikes at your eye level in your truck on my sedan so of you hit my car it bypasses all of the safety equipment built in (much the same way your lifted truck does to my car) and stabs you right in the face. Should that be legal too? In reality it's fair and about equal risk.