# Please have mercy on us poor, scared passengers! **URL:** \ **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:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/21 "2002-12-07T05:40:33Z")
A little sense-- right \*\* racinchikki\*\*? This is why I love this board-- it proves that there are people with sense still left in this world. But sometimes it’s downright scary out there! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/22 "2002-12-07T06:17:58Z")
I drive a Sundance with front wheel drive. That’s right, a tiny little car - and I drive it in CANADA!!! And I have no problems with road conditions at all. Best winter car I’ve ever had - starts at any temperature, blows hot air damned quick, the windows never fog, and I’ve never gotten stuck in snow. SUVs SchmessUVs. (Well, the only problem I have is with SUVs bearing down on me like Marlon Brando sneaking up on a plate of cookies.) ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/23 "2002-12-07T07:04:53Z")
Well, apparently all those other SUV owners out there didn’t get the special package with the option that allows you to defy the laws of physics! I think it comes with the pinstriping and the chrome wheel covers. What? ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/24 "2002-12-08T02:22:56Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Biggirl \* > **A little sense-- right \*\* racinchikki**? This is why I love this board-- it proves that there are people with sense still left in this world._\* Not too much sense. I don’t seem to be able to count to four. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/25 "2002-12-08T02:33:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Robb \* > **Mine magically transported me to a land where it doesn’t snow in the winter.** I’m sorry ☹ Did you not have control over it? I would return it if I were you. We, on the other hand, were out in the snow the other day (wheeeee!) … True Story: We were coming home from Wal-mart, and at the light near our house, there were a bunch of emergency vehicles and two sort of smashed in cars. A cop was directing traffic. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/26 "2002-12-08T02:58:39Z")
I abhor snow. It makes things cold, wet, and slippery, and it’s only pretty until somebody walks on it. Stupid snow. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/27 "2002-12-08T08:05:51Z")
I drive along the north shore of Superior, where the road is challenging, to say the least, and where winter storms are very nasty. My small SUV is wonderful for the job, for when blown sideways, I can recover much more easily than in a 2wd, due to the increased ground clearance I don’t get bogged down in the drifts as easily, and due to the height I have better visibility. My SUV changes hell drives into relatively relaxing drives provided that I slow down for the conditions. Ironically, just as car drivers complain about bad SUV drivers running up on their tails, I have the same complaint about transports doing the same. I just wish that folks in any type of vehicle would slow down for nasty conditions, regardless of what they are driving, and learn to have respect for all other users of the road. Why people push the limits of their abilities on public roads is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/28 "2002-12-08T11:14:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > I just wish that folks in any type of vehicle would slow down for nasty conditions, regardless of what they are driving, and learn to have respect for all other users of the road. Why people push the limits of their abilities on public roads is beyond me. EGO \*ha-ha I’ve got a big ol’ SUV thingy and WHOO-HOO! I can drive through snow and bounce up and down in my seat just like the keeewwwl ads on TV WA-HOO lookit me now I don’t have to worry about Ma Nature and the Laws of Physics don’t apply to ME – Oh, my - how did I get under this pile of mangled metal and why am I bleeding?\* Just a few tips people: 1. As someone else said, “4-wheel drive” does not equal “4-wheel stop”. The heavier and faster the vehicle, the longer it takes to stop. Since you’re in an SUV you’re already heavier than a car. Don’t make it worse by going faster, too. 2. Your vehicle has wheels, not ice skates. I don’t care how many wheels and which ones are hooked up to “drive”, you hit ice, you’re gonna slide. 3. You like being way up high? Good. Now remember that _also_ makes your center of gravity higher. This means you’re _top heavy_. If you still don’t get it - _you tip over easier_. As in a prior example, if an SUV hits a curb it can easily wind up on it’s side or top. Cars - being lower to the ground - are much less likely to do this. 4. On a related note - even on dry pavement, a car with its lower center of gravity can corner faster than a truck or SUV. Just because the 1954 VW Beetle can whip around a corner at 40 mph (alright, it _does_ need a tailwind for that) does not mean your Ford Exploder can do. It can’t. Add water, snow, or ice, the problem only gets worse. As dorks prove every day throughout the winter up here, and several times over the summer. 5. Best tip of all - _no matter what you drive_ - if the weather is bad SLOW DOWN! ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/29 "2002-12-08T18:09:55Z")
Do SUV dealers in cold climates ever tell buyers the simple math that a three-ton vehicle is a going to be a shitload harder to slow down and control than a two-ton vehicle? I mean, we’re talkin’ inertia here, right? I am glad to see **racinchikki** ’s and **Muffin** ’s points. But I agree with Biggirl that there are a lot of SUV drivers who don’t seem to understand basic physics. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/30 "2002-12-08T18:27:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > \*\*Ironically, just as car drivers complain about bad SUV drivers running up on their tails, I have the same complaint about transports doing the same. \*\* What is a transport? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/31 "2002-12-08T20:14:15Z")
Tractor-trailer. Semi. ---
**Author:** ![AntaresJB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@AntaresJB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AntaresJB)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007/32 "2002-12-08T20:21:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by featherlou \* > \*\*…SUVs bearing down on me like Marlon Brando sneaking up on a plate of cookies… \*\* I just have to say this is freakin hilarious. 😃 I love my incredibly vivid mental image-producing imagination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-have-mercy-on-us-poor-scared-passengers/141007.md?page=1)