Skeptics Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [road-vehicles]

Use this tag for question about cars, trucks and other road transport.

Road vehicle with four wheels and an engine intended to be a means of transport.

190 questions
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Does saying "sorry" after an accident count as legal admission of fault?

It is common knowledge that after a car accident (presumably other types too), one shouldn't say they are sorry to the other person. While probably intended as an expression of empathy, the claim is that it can be taken as admission of fault and…
William Grobman
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Does the production of a Tesla battery produce as much CO2 as driving 200,000 km?

Recently I read on Greenpeace's website, that the production of a 100 kWh battery, as in the Tesla Model S, produces as much CO2 as driving a regular car for 200,000 km. Source: Tesla car battery production releases as much CO2 as 8 years of…
user1721135
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Does a car with a hybrid engine and Lithium batteries pollute more than a car with conventional technology?

You hear a lot of claims that, once you include manufacturing and battery replacement, hybrids pollute more than an efficient, more conventional engine. Are there any end-to-end studies measuring any type of pollution for both types of vehicles,…
Russell Steen
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Are cars in Arizona melting in the 2018 summer heat?

Facebook just posted to my timeline this picture claiming that cars in Arizona are melting in the heat. Is it true?
Pieter Geerkens
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Does the source code of the software for a high-end car contain on average around 100 million lines of code?

This infographic shows the different number of lines that some software applications (or a general type of them) have on average. The number of lines shown for an average modern high-end car strikes me as implausible. I know modern cars have lots of…
Jesús Gómez
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56
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Is it necessary to change motor oil every 5,000km/3,000 miles?

I've always heard that you should change your oil every 3,000 miles (5,000 km). That little sticker you get on your windshield after an oil change agrees. Growing up, my parents told me the same thing. I doubt that you need to change your oil that…
dpatchery
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Is using the A/C in a car less fuel efficient than having the windows down?

This is an age old debate that i have with a coterie of friends; without backing up with much scientific fact. It's all recently been based on arguments of experience. Is it possible that utilizing the air conditioning in the car has a greater…
chrisjlee
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Was the Ford Model T black because of the speed black paint dries?

In this BBC news article labour historian and lecturer Steve Babson says: The reason the Ford Model-T was black, was because it was the only paint that would dry fast enough to keep pace with the production process. Is this accurate or just an…
istepaniuk
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Is cycling worse for the environment than driving to work if you need to take a shower?

I had an argument with a work colleague. He claims that me cycling to and from work is less environmentally friendly than driving because I will eat more as a result of expending more energy. I have to take 2 showers a day (1 at work, 1 at…
Samuelson
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Are roundabouts actually statistically safer than traditional traffic patterns?

We have had a number of roundabouts installed near us in South Western PA in the past decade, and a quick internet search shows other states doing so as well. This seems to be an almost universally frustrating trend with those I've spoken to. A…
Nicholas
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Did a Tesla car collide with a Russian robot?

This story made the rounds in the news: a Tesla car "killed" an autonomous robot in Las Vegas in January 2019. There is some controversy about whether the incident was a real accident or a promotional stunt. Some viewers of the video have pointed…
Mindwin Remember Monica
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Has an engineer called Trevor Jackson invented a revolutionary battery allowing for a car range of 1500 miles?

Since a few days several websites report about an alleged revolutionary electric vehicle fuel cell that enables 1500 miles range: Daily Mail Online StarCarSifu unserplanet.net Citing the Mail Online: by David Rose for The Mail on Sunday …
akraf
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Are speedometers designed to read high?

Via word-of-mouth, I have twice heard claims that speedometers are deliberately designed to read high, so manufacturers would not be subject to litigation for speeding. When I first heard this claim, I thought it was simply an excuse to justify…
Douglas S. Stones
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Is it true that there is not enough electricity to power all vehicles in the United States if they were electric?

According to Scotty Kilmer, in his video, "The Truth About My Worsening Condition": There is not enough electricity [currently] to charge the batteries of cars like Tesla that have lithium ion or lithium iron phosphate batteries. There would have…
Evan Carroll
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Is a woman more likely than a man to be seriously injured in a car crash of similar severity?

This article makes a number of interesting points about the potential dangers faced by women in a world "designed for men", but I want to ask specifically about this claim: But when a woman is involved in a car crash, she is 47% more likely to be…
bactrian
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