Sensitive ass SUV drivers

The BBQ Pit
61

My wife and I own a 1990 Nissan Pathfinder. It has been involved in two accidents:
Most recently, we broadsided a Toyota Camry that attempted to make a left turn in front of us while we had a green light (driving the opposite direction). While the other driver claimed that she yielded to us (??!!??), she later said that she didn’t see us coming. The police report officially stated that she was at fault.
Previously, my wife was rear-ended by a woman in a mini-van going approximately 50 mph. The woman said that she could’ve sworn that the light was “blue” (her words)…my wife had stopped, along with a couple of other cars, because an ambulance (with sirens blaring) was approaching. The woman’s four-year old son wasn’t seat-belted, smashed his head into the windshield and later died.

If my wife wasn’t driving an SUV, chances are she’d be dead too. I’ll take my wife over any whiner complaining about what other people are driving any day.
Yeah, those of us with SUV’s are crazy, selfish, irresponsible drivers.

BTW, both of the other drivers were talking on their cellphones at the time of the accidents.

62

If said safety and proudness go to their heads enough that they don’t think that regular driving rules apply to them, then yes. They are assholes.

[QUOTE]
**

  • Those who by a vehicle because it offers features they might rarely use are assholes
  • Those who by a vehicle and don’t use it for all of its intended purposes are assholes
  • Those who buy a vehicle that is more expensive than yours are assholes
    **
    [/QUOTE}

All of these can be taken care of with one answer. They may not be assholes, but they’re stupid as hell for buying a bunch of crap that they’ll never use.

Only if, while driving their “different” vehicle, they are being careless, stupid, and threatening to all drivers of smaller cars.

Huzzah and kudos to Tymp, for managing to completely isolate the individual points that support your argument, and ignore all detail whatsoever. Learn the difference between “by” and “buy” and get back to me.

63

Huzzah and kudos to Tymp, for managing to completely isolate the individual points that support your argument, and ignore all detail whatsoever.

If said safety and proudness go to their heads enough that they don’t think regular driving rules apply to them, then yes. They are assholes.

All of these can be taken care of with one answer. They may not be assholes, but they’re stupid as hell for buying a bunch of crap that they’ll never use.

Only if, while driving their “different” vehicle, they are being careless, stupid, and threatening to all drivers of smaller cars.

Learn the difference between “by” and “buy” and get back to me.

64

oops, guess I should learn how not to double-post and get back to you. Stupid poetic justice…

65

sorry poohpah chalupa, but you are incorrect in your assumptions.

SUV’s, escpecially the older ones, were designed, and classified as trucks, not only for emmisions classifications, but for safety standards. Your wife’s chances for survival are greater in, let’s say a 90 Volvo wagon, or even a taurus (I use those examples, since they have about the same interior volumes) Cars have been designed with crumple zones and other safety features for a much longer time than SUV’s, a cars cargo is people. SUV’s were based on trucks, no need to protect the cargo in a flatbed.

things are different now, uni-body construction, safety cages and crumple zones have infiltrated the small to mid SUV class. The larger ones rely on pure mass.

66

What an assinine statement considering the entire point of my post was that a car that size will never handle well, or safely. I guess you didn’t do to well on the reading comprehension portion of the SAT’s, Huh? Well keep looking at the words eventually you’ll start to get it.

Once again reading comprehension. They didn’t give us SUVs with better handling, they gave us SUVs that mimic a well behaving car at low speeds. Unfortunately that is a false sense of security that quickly evaporates into the reality of the physical world when reactive moves are called for, then people die.

me sorry about using big words. me forget logic to hard for some. me start using small words and simple phrases so weak brain not get hurt.

67

SUV Apologist in Masse:

  1. Oil is a finite resource, if you’re using an SUV as a stutus symbol, you’re doing it at the expense of everyone ese on the planet. That makes you an ASSHOLE in my book.

  2. Saftey is a two way street. If your safety compromises other drivers that makes you an asshole in my book.

  3. Rigs and Buses serve a REAL purpose. Trucks get goods to market, Buses get people to where they need to go. The average SUV driver is driving temselves, based on my own experiences in my commute every morning. That makes those drivers assholes in my book.

  4. You need it to carry stuff. Well last time I checked they still made station wagons and pickups. You have alternate methods of performing the same task.

I don’t know who said this, but someone said that tailgating is the only thing that keep you from seeing around them, that’s major bullshit. The everage car has a height of 4.5ft the average SUV 6ft +, I don’t know the exact math but obviously if it’s larger, you will have difficulty seeing around them.

  1. One last thing, the headlights of an SUV shine directly in the back of your average sedan irregardless of whether or not the highbeams are on. This is a hazard to the car in front of you assholes.

BTY Spoofe: You ask me a question about the enviornment, then proceed to answer it yourself,… Duh and FTR, yes I have driven an SUV, my company owns two which we occasionally use to deliver Aircraft parts.

68

Well, let’s see . . . The posts to this thread that I was responding to would include the following:

Stuffinb said

tiggeril said

FreakFreely said

Jeep’s Phoenixsaid

And, Jester?

I’m sure I can let that slide without comment since you caught your own mistake and mentioned it just like I did at 11h22.

69

Wow, such a nice, friendly discussion, with levelheaded arguments on both sides, polite treatment of others, incredible display of wisdom, etc.

Let me see, for the ‘socialist’, who claims that it’s only the fact that SUV drivers are ‘doing it at the expense of others’ - please explain your point. We’ve already had as many posts saying that SUVs do not more harm to the environment than smaller cars. So since this is not GD, and we’re not having a scientific debate, we can just yell that one back and forth for a week, and still be nowhere. How am I driving the SUV at the expense of others? Hmmm?

BTW, what do liberal, socialist, commie, SUV haters do at the expense of others. Lets take a look:

  1. Ever get Government assistance? That’s at my expense. You still took it huh? Yeah. You still support it. What was that you said about not doing something just because you can? Next time, say no thanks.

  2. Ever gone to public school? Oh, OK. I guess that was also at MY expense. OK, I see, that’s different.

  3. Ever stop by a free clinic?

  4. Ever take job training (Govmt. sponsored)?

  5. Ever used a public park?

  6. Ever been to a museum (city run)?

  7. Ever get a drivers license?

Listen, genius, everything we do is ‘at the expense’ of someone else. There is a set of laws to govern our actions for that very reason. You are perfectly free to disagree (that’s right, because you’re in a free country, so far). But don’t tell me you’re on some kind of moral high ground, the bunch of you, who think you are enlightened. Live the life you believe, but stop yer’ stinking wining and preaching. You all would be the first (as would I) to tell the Christian Fundies to leave you alone with their preaching, how is this different?

The fact that some people drive bigger cars than others bothers you? What about the fact that some have bigger houses? The fact that some pay $2,000 for a studio in Manhattan?(Can you even get one for that?) Are they idiots too? What about the fact that some people don’t know how to wipe their butts properly, and go around stinkin’ up the air? What can we do about them?

Oh, yes, let’s not forget the little Geo drivers, who think that 50 in the fast lane is just peachy, 'cause they have a right to be in that lane, and the little piece of shit they drive can’t do 65 up hill. They’re OK for some reason? Oh, yes, of course, they are morally superior.

Ah, screw this. I’ll take my energy elsewhere. You’re a bunch of hopeless hypocrites anyway, probably wishing for Government issued bicycles for everyone…

70

  1. You are three times more likely to be killed if hit by an SUV than by another car.

  2. Now researchers for the National Transportation Research Board (part of the National Academy of Sciences) have found that drivers’ tendency to follow SUVs at greater distances is causing traffic jams in suburban towns that never experienced them before. Considering all of these factors, researchers calculated that a large SUV takes up as much space in traffic as 1.41 cars. At intersections with short signal cycles, says Hugh Greechan of the Westchester (N.Y.) County Department of Public Works, “If you have three cars in front of you, you’ll get through; if you have two sports utility vehicles in front of you, you’ll get through. But if you have three sports utility vehicles in front of you, you won’t get through.”

  3. SUVs kill far more Americans every year than smack.

  4. SUV drivers consume 43 percent of all gasoline in the United States, putting them back into cars would reduce consumption by more than a third – and that would have a huge impact on the current OPEC-induced squeeze.

71

My, trandesilicon, what an interesting point. The only problem is that you took “at someone else’s expense” the wrong way. We recognize that governement support, public parks, city services, and unwiped asses are all done at our expense, as taxpayers. We ALSO recognize that the government support, public parks, city services, and unwiped asses are not running us over on the highways. The “expense” that we mean is human life, not money. True, the environmental debate is something for GD, but, hey, people still have their opinions, and I haven’t seen a whole bunch of evidence against the pollution argument. We’re not bitter because people spent more money on their SUV’s, we’re pissed because most SUV drivers let it get to their heads and endanger us. As for the metros? A slow-moving, small car is much less dangerous than a huge behemoth bearing down on you from behind with its highs on.

Ah, and Tymp? My apologies. I have personally kicked my own ass for lack of observation on the spelling. :slight_smile:

72

Hey, trad, you’re confusing me here. Are you attacking people who declare themselves to have socialist political leanings for using public assets that they agree should be funded?

Uh, I could see the point of yelling at don’t-tax-me libertarian-types for going to public schools and peeing in public toilets, but why are you singling out those who think that taxes SHOULD pay for schools, parks, clinics, etc.?

And hey, this is the most fun I’ve had in a Pit thread in ages!

When I get to be Emperor of the World Socialist State, I’m not only going to take away your SUV and replace it with a Government bicycle, I’m gonna TAKE AWAY YOUR POWER TOOLS, too! How d’ya like THOSE apples?

73

Two years ago, I was stopped in traffic (the last of a long line of stopped cars) when an upcoming 55-ton semi saw my little blue Honda hatchback too late, slammed on the brakes, and screeched in to my car, nearly jack-knifing his rig. Fortunately–very fortunately–he only clipped me, making contact with the left rear of the car. Of course, being clipped by that behemoth at an estimated 45mph (according to the collision report) completely sheared off that section of the car, spun me around, and shifted the car’s frame several inches to the right. Despite the David and Goliath-like proportions of our vehicles, I walked away unscathed. My car was totalled; the semi had about 10 feet of blue paint on its cab and part of the trailer.

When I went to buy a new car I did consider (briefly; they were out of my price range) buying an SUV. I do know that even an Excursion would be no match for the monster that hit me, but that itty bitty Civic suddenly felt very claustrophibic, naked, and vulnerable. I wanted BIG…I wanted SAFE…I wanted something that would be a little longer, a little generous in providing a sense of security.

So (this is where you laugh) I bought a brand new Civic; this time, it was the longer coupe and not the hatchback. Again, this is what I could afford, and it was purchased after several weeks of researching safety and reliability reports. In and of itself, my car is extremely safe. But, against an SUV or, God forbid, another semi, and it’s toast.

SUVs make me extremely nervous on the road because of the difference in size. I try to avoid being behind them on the freeway (not just because of vision-obscuring, but because should they blow a tire, etc., I don’t want to be piling into them), and hate when they are behind me. Unfortunately, I live in the L.A. area–these monsters are everywhere.

I’m seriously tempted to buy an SUV for my next car. I really am not a fan of their appearance or function or wastefulness, but I also don’t want to die. I happen to resent that in order to feel safe, I may have to buy something thoroughly outside my tastes. I know I will never be completely safe, but it adds to a sense of security. If I’m in a Explorer and a Pathfinder nails me, I’m much less likely to be hospitalized or interred.

Two final notes to this rather rambling post…it royally pisses me off when these machines park in compact spaces. Next time, leave a freakin’ can opener on the hood of my car to help me pry myself out of the space, and a very large set of mirrors to enable me to see past your car so I don’t back into someone. I really, really want people ticketed for this.

I also think a special driver’s license should be required of SUV drivers. Sure, some people know how to drive them just fine, but others…well, as has been said, they drive them like they’re a car.

74

A strong point indeed, Ruffian. I make it a point to take my large vehicle out to the ends of the parking lot at grocery stores, and the like.

At work, one side of the parking lot has spaces more narrow than the other. Occasionally, I will find a subcompact in one of these wider spaces, while the other side, the narrow side, is open. When I have to squeeze my truck into those spaces, I can sometimes LITERALLY not exit the vehicle through the doors, having to climb out the back. (Thank God for the sliding rear window!)

Another recent post that struck me was from oldscratch. As I see it,

could also be looked at as a good thing. Certainly the traffic factor sucks, but with a greater distance between vehicles, the longer the braking time available in an emergency.

I was also distressed by the assertation that SUV drivers use 43% of all the gasoline in the US. Could you please cite a link for that? There’s other numbers that I’d like to take into factor before making a decision on that. And, as far as the fact that SUVs kill more Americans than smack, well, if you smoke, you know where I’d go with that. :smiley:

Last question: I have no doubt that you are 3 times more likely to die if hit by an SUV versus another car. What about if you are driving an SUV as well? What happens to the odds then? How about the reverse? How much more likely are you to die if hit by a car while driving an SUV?

75

Remember class, it’s all about attitude. Not just how you drive (bad drivers own cars of all sizes), but what you drive (social responsibility). When I drive a large truck or flatbed, you better believe that I signal for an increased distance. For that matter, I also increase my following distances, knowing that my vehicle is more dangerous to others on the road. The callous disregard for human life demonstrated by people who have taken it upon themselves to navigate in a multi-ton vehicle, yet refuse to use their turn signals, cut into your following distance and drive up gas prices all at once is stupifying. Bad drivers in smaller cars just don’t have the option to mar the world with such a wide swath. Furthermore, there is a fairly close tracking between vehicle cost and degree of education. People who drive more expensive cars should know better than to have poor driving skills. Yet it is precisely these people who, too often, are the very worst drivers. It’s not about envy. How could I envy an antisocial submoron? For those of you who actually work with your SUV or get some mud on your wheel wells, hats off to you, you are using your vehicle for its intended purpose. To those for whom it is the remotest sort of status symbol, I leave you with a bumper sticker on a well used jeep, replete with mud strata and Nevada pinstripes:

Driving one is not a spectator sport.

PS: Thanks for the praise Hastur.

76

please, please, please post a reputable link supporting your statement.

Judging by all the ridiculous logic thrown around in this “discussion”, I guess I’m the biggest asshole of them all, not because I drive an SUV (which I don’t), but because my vehicle is has a higher horsepower to weight ratio than necessary, because I got frivolous accessories on it, who needs leather and airbags if i never use it.

Look, show some common courtesy, and don’t be an asshole, then we’ll all get along.

the only folks that have any reason to complain are those who live naked, in caves, and walk everywhere. The rest of us, turn off your computer (you are wasting energy, and contributing to the heat load of your building, taxing the cooling system) and go for a frigging walk.

77

Here’s what cracks me up: an SUV is just a station wagon overcompensating with extra clearance. Put little wheels on the thing and you’ve got, at best, a slightly swollen Volvo. I think in general with SUV drivers it’s a size thing, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

My peeve is that I spend a lot of time picking people up at the airport, and you can’t see passengers coming out of the terminals over these fucking walls on wheels. It’s like smokers rendering MY air unbreatheable: these SUV dorks have intruded upon MY rights by destroying any reasonable line of sight. Ditto trying to pull into a city street with SUVs parked up the corner. You couldn’t build a wall there due to impaired visibililty, but you can park one there.

And spare me the envy argument. That’s so like a bodybuilder with a tiny dick.

78

So, whatta ya bench? 240? :slight_smile:

79

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by tradesilicon *

And now you are here to be a hypocrite and lower the debate even further with your conservative republican remarks.

And we’re off. The dark horse republican is out of the gate making wild assumptions and accusations because he feels his ‘God Given Rights’ are being attacked. Note his derisive slurs towards others with opposing views.

Um. I don’t know anyone who is on assistance because they know they can. The majority of people I’ve known on assistance are single mothers, made into single mothers by weak men who wanted some tail other than their wives, and without public assistance would not have health care for their children because it is so expensive. Get your head out of your rectum.

Public school sucks. I left as fast as I could(15) and got into college. Far be it from me to drain on society and be in a place that cares more to prepare kids for mind numbing jobs than actually educating them.

Yes, but you were there too. And I wish you hadn’t given me herpes, you bastard. :rolleyes:

Actually, I was forced into it in high school by an ass like you who assumed that because I came from a poor family I had no job skills and no future. I had to be forced to ‘learn’ one more time how to make a resume and other skills I already knew because of such assumptions of the poor by thos e who have the privelege of money.

Yes, I’ve peed in every public park in America. But you’ve pissed on all the poor people, so we’re even.

And I donate to the money box every time I go… besides the one on your head, your point is what?

No, I drive illegaly like you and your wife/sister.

No, not everything we do is at the expense of someone else. This is just another way to justfy bad behaviour and say that we cannot control our natures.

You, and others like you miss that we don’t care about the money, even though we do see such ostentatious, status driven, pointless objects as tacky and pathetic.

I can and do 85 if necessary on the highway in my Geo. I get better pickup in my Geo at the stop light than most cars. I’m not in anyone’s way. If that makes me morally superior, fine. Perhaps if I can admit that, you might look in the mirror and admit you’re genetically inferior.

Nah. We just believe in personal freedom, which extends itself to being safe from harm when we leave our houses. It is people like you who make me feel I need a gun while driving so I can protect myself.

80

Honestly? I’ve never “benched.”