Right. I shouldn't disagree with the status quo. That's a sign of a healthy community.
I made the throwaway to make a point to a friend of mine regarding HN voting in Tesla threads. It's working, right down to the prediction that I'd be called a troll within 30 minutes.
I'd argue HN is no longer a healthy community. At least, not as healthy as it used to be. Silly stunts like throwaway accounts and being overly concerned with reputation are one reason why.
For what it's worth I have my doubts about the article as well. If the driver didn't have enough time to avoid the object but the truck in front of him did, then it's probably because he was tailgating.
Regardless, please stand behind your words with a real account. It's the right thing to do. It will also help maintain the integrity of the community here. Which sounds like something you're concerned about.
I would be surprised if a truck had so little ground clearance that it would get caught up on a trailer hitch. The lowest part of a truck should generally be the rear differential, which gives a worst-case-scenario ground clearance of just under half the tire size. If the hitch wasn't centered in the middle of the truck, the ground clearance would be almost exactly half the size of the tires. Depending on the truck this could reasonably be a ground clearance of between 18" to 24", more than enough to clear a hitch without needing to swerve. Compare that to what, 5" clearance in the Tesla?
Swerving in a truck would also generally be much more dangerous than just hitting something.
For what it's worth I have my doubts about the article as well. If the driver didn't have enough time to avoid the object but the truck in front of him did, then it's probably because he was tailgating.
At highway speeds, all you need is a second of hesitation to erase a four car-length buffer. It probably takes over a half second to identify the object and determine it's too large to safely drive over.
