Analysis: Light trucks now dominate U.S. roadways, outnumbering cars among registered vehicles in all 50 states. How did this happen, and is it Gerald Ford’s fault?
Rhode Island has fallen. The trucks have taken over. The Ocean State was the last bastion of majority-car culture, the final holdout against a rising tide of trucks, a category that includes pickups, vans and SUVs.We here at the Department of Data are dedicated to exploring the weird and wondrous power of the data that defines our world.The revolution happened fast.
In 2011, the Federal Highway Administration updated its sources, definitions and methods to more accurately track trucks, whichEven after that update, a few East Coast states held out. But New York became minority-car in 2014; Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey then toppled in rapid succession. The last domino fell in 2018, when even the roads on Rhode Island’s islands became stuffed with trucks.
But an even more true explanation might be that colossal car conglomerates with colossal advertising and lobbying budgets have strong incentives to sell us light trucks, the definition of which can fluctuate.
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