Sensitive ass SUV drivers

The BBQ Pit
121

Dear Ponch:

Aside from economic flukes, like drug dealers and those of inherited wealth, it is pretty safe to assume that there exists some sort of corelation between the cost of a car and the owner’s level of education. How many burger flippers drive Jaguars? This ain’t rocket science, you know. Nonetheless I am performing a search for data to support what should be a BGO (Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious).

Dear Anthracite:

Honey get your sweet fanny back in here and give us a dose of your most excellent humor (e.g. Wood Thrush Flames His Neighbor Thread). This place is in sore need of some comic relief.

And Finally:

As a devout capitalist I have no objection to anyone buying anything they bloody well please. Concomitant with any acquisition (like a gun, or a set of kitchen knives) there is a given set of resposibilities. You wouldn’t leave a gun or a set of knives out where a child could get at them, would you? Well, please consider the level of endangerment that many other non-SUV drivers have to experience at the hands of (KEY WORD TO FOLLOW) UNSAFE SUV drivers. There are other issues of resource comsumption and choking of traffic flow, but those are nowhere near as germain as the single issue of safety.
To all of you SUV drivers:

I understand that you may feel as though you are all being tarred with the same brush, and that is unfair. However, few other minority segments of the driving population have such a siginificant impact (as it were) on the quality of life for all other drivers. From the general level of disatisfaction (read: infuriation) expressed by so many of the contributors, there is some basis for their feelings. If you drive responsibly, use your turn signals on a consistent basis, park carefully, trip link, maintain a safe following distance and allow other people to merge safely, then none of my submissions apply to you in the sense of the above statements.

We do need to establish a separate forum to deal with conspicuous comsumption, resource allocation (redistribution of wealth, to you commies out there), the impact of large vehicles on traffic flow and what traffic would be like if everyone drove SUV’s but those are quite separate issues from the central one of safe driving habits.

Just trying to bring back a whiff of sanity to this thread. The disparaging remarks and general dunderheadedness is wearing a little thin. Please remember that the first post of my SUV / BMW thread closed with “Work with me here”, like you say after telling a joke. That obviously escaped many, many people, (like so much humor today does), but that is grist for another thread.

122

The above paragraph should have ended with:

For those SUV drivers who neglect a SINGLE ONE of the aforementioned driving practices, even trip linking, I invite you out of doors for some parking lot therapy. It is precisely the absence of these habits in so VERY many SUV drivers that inspire the rage you hear in this thread. If you neglect ANY of these common courtesies, you are pond scum and nothing more.

Warmest Personal Regards.

123

See, this is my beef with this. Your statement is just as valid if you remove the reference to SUVs. Any driver who fails to drive responsibly is scum. I disagree that SUVs or their drivers have more of an impact that the driving population as a whole. Poor mileage? Check out the stats on full size cars. Turn signals? Please, you cut my off in your Civic and I will be just as cheesed as if you were driving a Suburban. Parking? Nothing irritates me more than some rice-boy double parking his lowered Civic hatchback.

I get the impression that a lot of the anti-SUV crowd start out with a hatred for these vehicles and their owners, then cast about desperately for some justification for their animosity. Unfortunately, nearly all the complaints directed at them are just as valid for a much larger segment of the driving spectrum. SUV owners know this, and so are justifiably annoyed by the constant attacks.

gEEk

124

And I’d NEVER give it up :smiley:

125

Spamdammit, Cynical, that is a sweet-looking machine. It is kind of a shame that everybody can’t have a car like that, huh? Ah well, them’s the breaks. :smiley:

126

Yeah, you know what? I can stereotype all SUV drivers who drive SUV’s on a regular basis. You know why? Because you rip up the already torn up roads that I have to drive on everyday with your excessive ass vehicles. All right, so you actually go off road with it? How often? Not often enough to make up for all the fucking potholes that you’ve already added to the fucked streets of Silicon Valley I’m sure.

Also, you know why I don’t fucking complain about buses and semi’s? BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE THAN A FUCKING TOY! They have a purpose besides pandering to some asshole who thinks that his/her wants are more important than the wants and needs of the rest of their community. Buses take people to work, school, shopping, the doctor they provide transportation for the elderly and the handicapped, they cut down on congested hi ways and Semi’s bring us food and goods. What does your fucking SUV do for anyone other than your egocentric bitchy ass self? It does absolutely nothing.

God I hate SUV’s. The people who drive them represent to me all that is wrong with our society. Why don’t you complain about buses and semi’s indeed!

127

Ummm…Amthystre…does the thought ever occur to you that those semis might be tearing up the road a bit too?

Well, for starters, it helped a fair number of doctors get the local hospital during the last snowstorm…I live in the South, and we don’t have snowplowing equipment, so those of us with four wheel drive vehicles are in great demand during such times.

I don’t see why anyone would need an SUV in Silicon Valley, but that’s no reason to hate me or others for what we choose to drive. So what if I have a heavier, bigger vehicle that could easily demolish your small car; if you keep your eyes on the road then the chances of this being demonstrated are greatly reduced.

128

I don’t see why anybody would need to drive sober, but that no reason to hate me or others for how I choose to drive. So what If I drive drunk and have lessened reaction time and could demolish your car. If you keep your eyes on the road then the chances of this being demonstrated are greatly reduced.

I know this is a reactionary(and stupid) argument, but the very fact that if you accept the right to personal driving prefrences argument, you can end up with some really stupid shit should give you pause to think.

129

'Cuz driving drunk/stoned/whatever is against the law, genius. It’s called “Driving Under the Influence” (or was that “Driving While Intoxicated”?).

Driving a big car hasn’t been shown to significantly increase the odds of getting in an accident, only increasing the damage in an accident. On the other hand, drunk driving HAS been shown to significantly increase the odds of an accident. See the difference? Well, judging by your other posts in this thread, you probably don’t.

130

Frankly? I think gasoline should be 5.00 a gallon in the U.S. We’d see the word “conservation” getting tossed around a fuck of a lot more than it is!

JIMHO

131

Frankly? I think gasoline should be 5.00 a gallon in the U.S. We’d see the word “conservation” getting tossed around a fuck of a lot more than it is!

A good theory, but as goes the price of gas, so goes the price of diesl. It would send the frieght rates to the moon, adding cost at every level. It would also put many smaller trucking companies out of business causing freight back-ups and slow deliveries due to lack of a truck to carry the freight.

Big trucks do indeed tear up the roads, which is why the taxes paid by them are so high. It is doubtful that all of this money goes to road repair, the state and federal governments being what they are.

Do you remember the cars of the '50s? Packards, Buicks, Pontiacs, Olds, and so forth? They were fucking tanks and I doubt if todays SUVs are much if any heavier. The roads were no worse then than when they were all replaced by lighter vehicles. I don’t think SUVs contribute all that much to road damage.

132

In an earlier post, I think I mentioned that my loyal, old Redneck-mobile (Ford 250, 4 X 4 pickup) finally bought the farm. I hope to replace it - I have a lot of use for a big, four-wheel-drive. So, this thread got me to thinking: Would I like to replace it with an SUV.

I dunno. It seems like driving one would turn me into a highway pariah, not that I much give a shit about that. SUVs seem to do what they were designed for pretty well. They are, after all, trucks. On the other hand, if I wanted to carry, say, an engine block somewhere, I’d have to put it on a trailer. Couldn’t easily load it in back. Then again, if I’m out on a herp trip in the boonies, I could sleep in it. With a winch on the front (I still have the one that was on the Ford) it would be a hard vehicle to keep stuck.

Hmmm. Pros and cons. At the moment, it’s all moot. I don’t have anything like the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ one costs.

133

Well, I never majored in argument structure or anything like that, but it seems to be that wolfman’s argument is a bit flawed.

Could someone please tell me the connection between driving drunk and driving a large vehicle? Driving a large vehicle reflects that person’s preference, rather it be for actual utility reasons or egotistical ones. That doesn’t make it right, but who’s to judge what right is anyway? This is all a case of OPINION. On the other hand, driving drunk merely reflects that person’s stupidity.

134

When you drive drunk, you can face the oncoming traffic with confidence…for a while, anyway…until you drift on to the other side and meet that big ol’ Peterbilt at 100+ combined…or blunder into another way to cut down on the world’s excess population, and make sure the state Patrol and the local coroner are earning their pay…

135

gEEk, you are ABSOLUTELY right that ALL drivers are beholden to the common courtesies listed in the quote of mine shown above. The only problem is that a SUV is capable of doing so much more damage than an ordinary vehicle. Not that lighter vehicles are incapable of automotive mayhem, it’s just that heavier vehicles tend to kill and not just injure or maim. Your choice of vehicle automatically places a greater degree of risk AND responsibility directly into your hands. If you have read my post about people who drive multi-ton vehicles and how I drive when I take a truck out onto the road, you may see a pattern emerging here. Why is it that bus drivers and airline pilots have to take drug tests? They, quite simply, have more lives in their hands as they perform their duties. By your very choice of vehicle, you are obliged to meet a higher standard of conduct out on the road. Between the sheer mass and the bumper mismatch of an SUV, you are more likely to kill someone that you hit. It is your privilege to drive whatever sort of vehicle that you want to, (thank goodness for Capitalism!), but intrinsic to that freedom (just like with gun ownership) is the duty to operate it responsibly. If all SUV drivers displayed the degree of courtesy common to the vast majority of professional truck drivers, I might never have started this shitstorm with my SUV / BMW thread in the first place. Like it or not your choice of vehicle places you in a different category of operator responsibility. You are required to; maintain a larger following distance, check your mirrors more often, signal for longer periods, use the slow lane more frequently during acceleration to freeway speeds and change lanes only when a larger gap is available. If you have trouble with these additional constraints, then you are very likely a menace out on the road. gEEk, if you adhere to these extra precautions, I salute you as a safe SUV driver. However, we both know that a significant number of SUV drivers do not maintain these additional standards of conduct that are concommitant with ownership of what is essentially a quasi-commercial truck. The next time any of you SUV drivers do not allow someone to merge on or off the freeway in a smooth fashion, think of all of the rage that you have seen in these postings and reflect upon it.

136

lissener says:

Well, thanks for showing us that you’re willfully buying into a stereotype, and basing character judgements on it. At least we know to ignore you.

This is truly the character of this whole thread.

I do not drive an SUV myself, and I am mildly annoyed at the overwhelming popularity of them, because they’re really not terribly necessary, and they’re wasteful, and sure, they’re more likely to kill me if I get in an accident with one (much like a '69 Cadillac). But they are really useful for lots of things. My mom drives a Ford Explorer, and while she’s not hauling bags of fertilizer, pulling the boat, or moving things too big to fit in my car every day, she has decided that it’s worth the extra expense. It’s really sad that people should think she’s an asshole because of this.

Assholes are assholes, no matter what they drive, and driving an SUV (or any other gas-guzzling and/or massive vehicle) does not make you one of them.

People are entitled to their opinions, but at least try to be rational, and lose the stereotypes.

137

I love this. Rag on California. Why, don’t you know that
CA has a negative domestic immigration rate? That means that the native born population is declining in actual numbers. Our explosive population growth is entirely driven
by immigration, but people in other states seem to think they can contain this “problem” in California, by building a fence, or throwing dirty looks when they see a car with California plates, or breaking a few car windows. If you
don’t want so many Californians moving into your state, then
get on the Internet, get on the phone, write letters, and let your Senators and Congressmen know that immigration needs to be curtailed to a more manageable level.

138

Wow! A zombie thread!

139

Boy, this is a pretty massive hijack on a pretty massively dead thread…but WTF???

So you’re seriously suggesting that the current exodus of Californians, like so many rats fleeing a sinking ship, is due solely to foreign immigration? That people are choosing to box up their worldly belongings and move to an entirely different state, simply to avoid living in the vicinity of someone who might not be from this country? (“Ma, Junior, start packin’ up the living room. Looks like another carload of them Guatemalans movin’ in down the street!”)

I’m SURE that’s the case. I’m sure it has NOTHING to do with smog, or overcrowding, or traffic, or crime, or the exorbitant cost of living, or the constant lurking threat of natural disasters. It can probably be pegged entirely on the fact that there’s too many of them damn furriners around these days.

Cite, please. Or else I’ll be forced to call you out as a xenophobic moron…at best.

**
Well gee, when I was growing up in Arizona, I used to loathe and resent the constant waves of ex-Californians more because they generally seemed to drive like an asshole behind the wheel, and bulldoze the desert to put up ugly, stucco-and-tile-roof gated communities just like they had back in LA. (To be fair, of course I’ve also met scads of great people who were California natives, and counted several among my closest friends.) But if you’re a typical example of your fellow residents, javaman, I suddenly feel a lot more justified in all those dirty looks I gave over the years.

140

Hmmn. A country made of immigrants who took it from the indiginous indians. People who forget that their families came from other countries somewhere in the past 200 years.

Then… they get cranky when immigrants want to come in and have a good life.

I like immigrants. They generally appreciate what they can do and have as an American citizen. In fact, they often appreciate it far more than the people who were born here.

I don’t see immigrants up here from California. What I often see is a bunch of jerks who have an attitude that they are superior to all around them and don’t need to obey the laws, because they are for ‘other people.’

They get critical to their neighbors about the state of their lawns, where they put a trash can, and the noise a car makes. These are not just pulled out of thin air, and they are NOT just about one or two people.