# Please have mercy on us poor, scared passengers!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 6, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007 "2002-12-06T20:17:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/1 "2002-12-06T20:17:30Z")
We had a bunch of snow here yesterday. Here is the (paraphrased) morning traffic report:
_Here’s a shot of the FDR (picture of a very loooooong parking lot) normal delays. 2 lanes of rte 109 partially blocked by an overturned SUV. Rubbernecking delays on Northern Parkway near rt 25-- a spectacular 3 car accident (picture of 2 SUVs and a pickup truck, spectacularly mangled). Jack-knifed tractor trailer on the approach to the Tappen Zee. Bus and SUV accident slowing down traffic for 3 miles in both directions on Sumphin Blvd near the LIRR station. Use caution on all bridges, speed limit reduced to 10 on the Whitestone and 20 on all the others. Whitestone has a couple of spun-out SUVs---- Hey people— SUVs are **not** flying cars!. . … Slow going on the GW. . …_
I don’t drive, I don’t have a dog in the fight between SUVs and environmentalists and I cannot speak on the how wonderfully SUVs navigate in the snow-- but some of you SUV drivers scare the living fuck outta me. I was a passenger in a car doing between 15 and 20 (just like practically everybody else) on the highway yesterday. In the space of 5 exits _4_ SUVs sped past us, weaving and bobbing around the slower moving vehicles.
Listen up: **A SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE DOES NOT GIVE YOU SUPERPOWERS**.
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/2 "2002-12-06T20:41:45Z")
Yeah, but you just proved the SUV’s point, dearie:
> [@](#):
>
> 4 SUVs sped past us, weaving and bobbing around the slower moving vehicles.
See? They do so give you superpowers! Dint you see how they beat everybody else to that red light, capes just a-flappin’ in the wind? 😃
(Is there an SUV add-on for a Dodge Caravan? I wanna go crazy and fast in the snow, too…)
- snerk \*
😃
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### Author:  [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/3 "2002-12-06T20:49:01Z")
I heard on CBS radio news that most of the accidents (77?) on the NJ Turnpike were SUVs going too fast. As I heard that, I noticed that about half of the vehicles around me were SUVs.
When did that happen?? Where are all the cars? _Where’s MY Canyonero???_ Hey Hey!
Seriously, are there more SUVs sold these days?
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### Author:  [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/4 "2002-12-06T20:52:47Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Biggirl \*
> \*\*
> Listen up: **A SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE DOES NOT GIVE YOU SUPERPOWERS**. \*\*
My SUV does give me superpowers. It allows me to go really, really fast in the snow. As for stopping in the snow… Well,… 😉
(an SUV driver who doesn’t drive like and idiot in the snow because she likes her body work in it’s current configuration)
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/5 "2002-12-06T20:53:39Z")
Of course the beef is with stupid drivers, whom drive all types of vehicles, but I agree with you.
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### Author:  [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/6 "2002-12-06T20:59:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by brachyrhynchos \*
> Seriously, are there more SUVs sold these days? \*\*
Yes. For a while there (late 90s/early 00s) SUVs were the fastest-selling segment of the auto industry. Dunno if that’s still true, but I bet it is.
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/7 "2002-12-06T21:05:46Z")
Sobering thought: Generally speaking, the passengers of a car are much more likely to die than those in the SUV that hits them.
Happy Holidays.
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### Author:  [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/8 "2002-12-06T21:06:32Z")
Yep. Some people don’t quite get that 4-wheel drive does not equal 4-wheel stop. If I had a dollar for every SUV or pick-up driver that I’ve seen screaming over snow and ice at 3x a safe speed, I’d have a mansion in a friggin warmer climate!
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/9 "2002-12-06T21:10:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by World Eater \*
> \*\*Of course the beef is with stupid drivers, whom drive all types of vehicles, but I agree with you. \*\*
Actually, my beef is with stupid drivers in SUVs. I know it’s not the car’s fault that certain SUV drivers think the vehicle gives them superpowers.
The other stupid drivers didn’t scare the living fuck out of me.
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### Author:  [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/10 "2002-12-06T21:21:17Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Biggirl \*
> **A SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE DOES NOT GIVE YOU SUPERPOWERS**
See, here’s where you’re wrong. I was just a regular bitch before I got an SUV…
On a side note, taking the ol’ Discovery out in the snow was _so_ much fun yesterday.
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### Author:  [@MrMyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMyth)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/11 "2002-12-06T21:25:36Z")
SUV driver checking in…
SUV’s are like the One Ring. In the hands of an already powerful asshole, the SUV augments them to EXtremely Powerful Asshole. In the hands of normal people, there’s no effect.
Or to paraphrase a Bill Cosby quote about marijuana - “It amplifies your personality.” [BC] But what if you’re an asshole?[/BC]
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### Author:  [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/12 "2002-12-06T21:26:37Z")
True Story:
My cousin flipped his Ford Explorer last year on a NYC city street (Queens). There was a light snow on the ground and he was making a turn (not speeding) when the truck lost traction and slid into the curb and fell onto its side. Apparently the road had a sheet of ice underneath.
That’s probably what causes a lot of the SUV accidents (aside from moronic driving and the invincible feeling of being 4 feet higher from the road than everyone else). Ice is just as slippery on 4WD as it is with 2WD.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/13 "2002-12-06T21:44:03Z")
4WD SUVs give people a false sense of security in the snow. The SUV can get up and go very easily, which gives the impression of good traction. Once it’s going, though, it is really not appreciably better (it may be worse) at handling and stopping than a car. With a regular car, it’s tougher to get it going, so you feel the lack of traction more.
One must be extra careful driving an SUV because you might not really know how slippery it is.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/14 "2002-12-06T21:53:44Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Biggirl \*
> \*\*Actually, my beef is with stupid drivers in SUVs. I know it’s not the car’s fault that certain SUV drivers think the vehicle gives them superpowers.
>
> The other stupid drivers didn’t scare the living fuck out of me. \*\*
Well put gotcha.
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### Author:  [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/15 "2002-12-06T22:16:02Z")
No way? A Ford Explorer flipped over in a situation where 99% of the other vehicles on the road wouldn’t have? What a shock!
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### Author:  [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/16 "2002-12-06T22:21:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Listen up: A SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE DOES NOT GIVE YOU SUPERPOWERS.
Mine magically transported me to a land where it doesn’t snow in the winter.
and now it will help me make my escape
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### Author:  [@MrMyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMyth)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/17 "2002-12-06T22:49:01Z")
**vibrotronica** , please don’t start. This is a rant about a very _specific_ section of SUV drivers. Let’s not hijack this into the monthly usual rant.
[BareNakedLadies]It’s all been done…oooohooohoooh…it’s all been doooooone before!![BNL]
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### Author:  [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/18 "2002-12-06T22:54:51Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jk1245 \*
> \*\*Yep. Some people don’t quite get that 4-wheel drive does not equal 4-wheel stop. If I had a dollar for every SUV or pick-up driver that I’ve seen screaming over snow and ice at 3x a safe speed, I’d have a mansion in a friggin warmer climate! \*\*
Exactly. I can’t count the number of Jeeps I saw careening down the icy road at 45 yesterday. I wanted to scream “FOUR WHEEL DRIVE DOESN’T WORK IN ICE DINGBAT MCGEE!” but that would have probably made them go faster.
Want real fun? Go to an intersection where the lights are out and see how many people know what a “four way stop” is.
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### Author:  [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/19 "2002-12-07T02:06:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by MrMyth_
> \*\*SUV’s are like the One Ring. In the hands of an already powerful asshole, the SUV augments them to Extremely Powerful Asshole. In the hands of normal people, there’s no effect.
> \*\*
This is the funniest–and most true–thing I’ve read on the boards today.
But the real question is whether an SUV would have gotten the Fellowship to Mount Doom sooner? I can see the ad now.
“Built in safety seats for hobbits! Outpaces the Ford Explorer and leaves Dark Riders in the dust! Enough cupholders for your entire Fellowship!”
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### Author:  [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/20 "2002-12-07T03:59:33Z")
I have a Jeep Cherokee, as does one of my coworkers, and we both noticed the same things about the handling of our vehicles:
1. In 4wd mode, they can drive over snow as if it’s not slippery at all - if you’re going under 30.
2. Still in 4wd mode, if you go over 30, it’s just like driving any other vehicle.
3. Still in 4wd mode, if you go over 40 or 50, you’re trying to kill yourself, because they don’t stop for shit when it’s icy.
4. If it’s NOT in 4wd mode, and you leave it in 2wd, it doesn’t drive well at ALL -worse than small cars- and probably won’t even be able to start going, the power tires just sit there and spin.
It’s obvious that a lot of people who have SUVS either don’t know these things, or simply haven’t learned the important lesson they should have (mainly, put it in 4wd then drive it like it’s in 2wd, because to do otherwise is stupid and foolhardy). I think to buy a car, truck, or especially (because of their increased danger to surrounding vehicles in case of an accident) an SUV, you should have to prove that you know what you’re doing with it.
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