Post Sparks Debate On Lifted Truck With LED Light Bar

A Redditor started a heated debate over automobile choices after posting a photo of a large, lifted pickup truck with what appeared to be an LED light bar among other off-road accessories.

"This idiot gets to drive on the same roads as the rest of us, blinding everyone with his (undoubtedly) bright as hell lightbar," the Redditor titled the post. "... Pray for me in my Honda Fit."

Redditors rushed to the comments to offer their thoughts on the decked-out pickup, with many debating the legality of the light bar and other upgrades.

One Redditor from Australia chimed in that such modifications would be "super illegal" there, asking: "Does your country not have road laws?"

"I live in America, so things like this, while technically illegal, are never enforced," replied the original poster.

The online conversation is part of a broader debate over large, heavy vehicles like trucks and SUVs and the outsized impact they have not only on the environment but also on local communities and consumers' pocketbooks.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, transportation accounts for 28 percent of all heat-trapping pollution released in the United States, making it the nation's No. 1 source of planet-warming gases. Transportation is responsible for more such pollution than either electricity generation or industry.

This means that lowering transportation-related pollution is crucial if we are to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants entering the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the growing popularity of trucks and SUVs runs counter to that goal.

"The shift toward heavier and less fuel-efficient conventional vehicles increases growth in both oil demand and CO2 emissions," found the International Energy Agency. "On average, SUVs consume around 20 percent more oil than an average medium-size non-SUV car."

By consuming 20 percent more fuel, SUVs produce 20 percent more pollution while costing 20 percent more to power. And yet the popularity of SUVs and trucks as passenger vehicles continues to soar.