SUV/TRUCKS, and the great falacy of being "safe"?

Question

Reflexes of an elephant, breaking distances of a 1960's car, handles like a drunk walking a narrow corridor, MPG that keep us slaves to the pump, and that perception of being "safe", as if healthy LOOKING hair is actually healthy hair.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/28/teens.crash.ap/index.html

Another prime example of this falacy brought on by the media to induce fear in the public, that you will not be safe unless you have a vehicle the size of Montana.

People sue the auto companies when ABS first came out...they didn't expect even to get in a crash, or Cruise Control which was mistaken for "auto-pilot". Now we have whole new generation of safe drivers...on the cell-phone, fading in and out of traffic like a drunk.

Answer 1

Two points of personal nature on your so called Falacy of safety and SUV's. When my kids were very small and my wife of 5'3" carried them around, we bought a Suburban..now with over 275,000 miles and can get 18 MPG on the highway. Back to the Real Truth..in 1990 a drunk in one of those import econo boxes, crossed the median and hit my ENTIRE family head on. I was not with them.They were not hurt or shook up AT all. The drunk, a four time loser, almost lost his life, destroyed his car, put him in the hospital for three weeks and then I pressed charges and he got two years in jail.
Later my now,older son lost control at the MEASURED speed limit and hit a brick wall at 50 MPH. He and his buddy survived in a Cherokee.
You drive what you think if best, that is your right, but do not try to tell me or others what is safe or not. I have been there personally.

Answer 2

what they really need is to start a competency test like someone going for a c.d.l has to pass. you must prove you are capable of handling the vehicle.they also need to ban cell phones on the road entirely. granted yes you are safer in a s.u.v/truck because of the inherent strength of the vehicle.this strength is also what transforms the same vehicle being driven by an idiot into a poorly guided missile. though don't put much faith in what c.n.n tells ya.just a bunch of liberals anyways. there are some jobs that simply cannot be accomplished by a econo-box or a hybrid. whens the last time ya saw the local landscape/grass cutting service, show up pulling a trailer with one of them.frankly i fail to see how my owning a truck,makes you a slave to the pump.if anybody would be the slave it'd be myself,but i get 21+ mpg city with a truck weighing 2 tons,4x4,and 146,700 miles on it.

Answer 3

Correct on all counts! Studies show that SUV drivers have a false sense of competence and security because the sit above other traffic. A soccer mom yakking on the cell while piloting a truck with unsafe bumpers is one of the main hazards I face on the freeway.

Answer 4

And the new cars have avoidance/warning systems and parrallel park themselves. I agree that most of todays drivers are idiots that don't know what they are doing, and they pick thier vehicles based on misperceptions instead of capabilities.

But, what the heck is your question?

Answer 5

umm yeah. its not just suv drivers. I have had many drivers in micro machines pass me just to jump off an exit like they dont care about my size or are oblivious to the consequenses. I just drive defensively its all I can do. keep dodging idiots who have no clue.