# "SUV" does not automatically equal "bad" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 23, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391 "2003-09-23T20:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/21 "2003-09-24T00:10:49Z")
> [@](#): > > The reality is that SUV’s are a tremendous inconvenience to other drivers. Folks who needlessly inconvenience others are jerks. Call me a jerk if you will, but I really don’t mind inconveniencing others so that my wife can drive a safer automobile. I care for my wife’s safety more than for your convenience. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/22 "2003-09-24T00:17:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lucwarm \* > The reality is that SUV’s are a tremendous inconvenience to other drivers. Oh, please. I drive a very small car, and I’d be hard-pressed to say that SUV’s are much of an _actual_ “inconvenience” to me. I often wish I could see farther in front of me, and that’s mildly annoying, but to suggest that it’s actually a _problem_ is exaggeration for the sake of demonizing the SUV drivers. It’s about as much of an inconvenience as people with tinted windows in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/23 "2003-09-24T00:21:51Z")
TaxGuy, do you have a cite for that “increased safety” claim? I always thought the increased risk of rollover offset any extra safety in a collision with a car. ---
**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/24 "2003-09-24T00:36:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Call me a jerk if you will, but I really don’t mind inconveniencing others so that my wife can drive a safer automobile. I care for my wife’s safety more than for your convenience. So, you hold the safety of others above the safety of your wife? So it’s ok if your wife is safe, but too bad about that mother and child in that Civic she just slammed eh? [http://poseur.4x4.org/reasons2.html#Safe](http://poseur.4x4.org/reasons2.html#Safe) [http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200301/lol6.asp](http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200301/lol6.asp) [http://www.detroitproject.com/readmore/myths.htm](http://www.detroitproject.com/readmore/myths.htm) [http://www.earthonempty.com/myths.html](http://www.earthonempty.com/myths.html) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/25 "2003-09-24T00:45:00Z")
This is the [article](http://www.vehicle-injuries.com/pdf/20030226_latimes_suv.pdf) I was looking for. (warning .pdf file) In a nutshell it says that SUVs are statistically no safer (or less safe) than the average car, overall. This is due to the relatively high rate of rollover death. Of course, when you’re looking only at a car-car collison, SUVs come out [well](http://www.safecarguide.com/exp/deathrate/idx.htm), with the unfortunate consequence of dealing out death at a much higher rate than cars. The reality is that your wife is likely not any safer than the person driving an Accord, but will more likely hurt that person in an accident. ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/26 "2003-09-24T00:51:24Z")
I smell envy. ---
**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/27 "2003-09-24T00:55:55Z")
Yeah, I always figured the drivers of SUV’s and huge trucks were over-compensating for something too. ---
**Author:** ![Blassie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@Blassie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blassie)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/28 "2003-09-24T01:00:50Z")
“Bitch” Radio (fka “Talk” Radio) has a burr in their collective paw about this. Locally, a dipshit named Kim Peterson (a male) continually rants about “How come they never say a Monte Carlo hit a child? Or a Geo Metro hit a child? It’s always an SUV hit a child. Just more liberal bias in the media!” and on…and on. I guess it hasn’t occurred to this troglodyte that the comparison is apples and oranges. If the reports said a Cadillac Escalade hit a child, then he may have a point. They don’t. They either say a car or a bus or a minivan or a cement truck (or an SUV) hit a child. Why do some people have this martyrdom complex? Let me guess: Christian conservative white males males who drive SUV’s are the most put-upon minority in the nation, right? Sorry. Sneaky inconsistency keeps me up at night. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/29 "2003-09-24T01:18:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TaxGuy \* > \*\*Call me a jerk if you will, but I really don’t mind inconveniencing others so that my wife can drive a safer automobile. I care for my wife’s safety more than for your convenience. \*\* If your wife’s safety is paramount, then why not get her a Volvo? ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/30 "2003-09-24T01:26:23Z")
Intentionally driving a veihcle that gets lousy mileage, in this day and age, doesn’t make much sense. Even I am looking at replacing my SUV with a car, (a damned nice car granted, but even a full-size Cadillac (yuck) gets better mileage than my Trailblazer) Remove our reliance on Middle Eastern oil, and watch a massive chunk of our problems in the world go away. Not to mention, funding for terrorism would take quite a hit. If you actually need (or really want) a large SUV, get a diesel, and fill 'er up with made in America [Biodiesel](http://www.biodiesel.org/). A bit more expensive than regular diesel, but the at least the money isn’t going to some two-faced Saudi oil baron. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/31 "2003-09-24T01:56:23Z")
> [@](#): > > (And can someone explain why many SUV drivers find it necessary to slow to a crawl and creep over the slightest road imperfection? You’re in a fucking SUV! Trust me, the 2-inch drop in road level as you enter the construction zone isn’t going to hurt anything.) I can explain this for heavy duty trucks and larger (older?) SUVs. Because heavy duty pickups are built to haul stuff, they’ve got stiff suspensions in them that can support a lot of weight. If you take an empty 1 ton pickup over a good size bump without slowing down, you run a very real risk of bouncing your head off the ceiling. The drop won’t hurt the truck any, but the driver might have a headache. It’s a choice to buy an SUV. Needs have a little to do with it, but desires and resources are stronger factors than necessity. Nobody _needs_ the vast majority of the things that they own. If you (a generic you - nobody specific) got rid of all your posessions and lived “simply,” I’d be a lot more inclined to take you seriously when you complain about my vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/32 "2003-09-24T02:14:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by keturah \* > \*\*I smell envy. \*\* Envy smells like contempt. If someone is driving a 6,000 pound truck which skirts the CAFE regulations unfairly, is propelled to absurdly high speeds by the guzzling motor, and they aim that thing at my car – that’s not envy you’re smelling as I leave your behemoth ass sucking on my tailpipes just to get away. Nope. It’s knowledge of intertia and stopping distances. SUV drivers tend to forget about mass, bad. They focus on mass, good. ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/33 "2003-09-24T02:48:50Z")
SUVs are safer when it comes to someone slamming into my wife or my wife slamming into someone who jumps in front of her. The fact that they have a higher risk of rollover really doesn’t affect my wife because she doesn’t take corners at unreasonable speeds (or at least I hope she doesn’t). The point is that they are safer for accidents that the driver cannot control, and the driver _can_ control the aspect that makes them unsafe. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/34 "2003-09-24T02:56:36Z")
For me I can’t see buying something that I won’t fully use. I’m not going to buy a six room house with a huge yard because as a single guy, I can find better things to spend the money and time on. Also, I don’t wan’t to give any more money than I have to, to the middle east. In fact I would love to opt out of this car domminated society altogether and rely on my legs and bicycle. Unfortunately, unlike SUVers, I really do not have a choice. Also with larger vehicles on the road, there are fewer places I can ride and feel safe. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/35 "2003-09-24T03:00:13Z")
Here’s the test: can’t pass [this,](http://cartalk.cars.com/info/suv/quiz.html) no SUV for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/36 "2003-09-24T03:06:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ravenman \* > \*\*Here’s the test: can’t pass [this,](http://cartalk.cars.com/info/suv/quiz.html) no SUV for you. \*\* I’m afraid ordering people not to have SUV’s over the internet isn’t exactly as effective as you may think it is. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/37 "2003-09-24T03:19:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enginerd \* > \*\* Nobody _needs_ the vast majority of the things that they own. \*\* Having unnecessary things per se is not a problem. Having unnecessary things that are a major inconvience to others is a problem, especially where less inconvenient substitutes are available. So feel free to indulge your vanity all day long. But if you need to annoy and endanger others to satisfy your vanity, you’re being a jerk. Just MHO of course. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/38 "2003-09-24T03:22:01Z")
I drive an enormous extended 1-ton van with a 7.3 liter diesel engine and oversized tires. I take the bus during the week. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/39 "2003-09-24T03:32:46Z")
I got a ten. I drive a VW New Beetle. Yes. I have taken it offroad. Real offroad. Not very quickly. But with great precision and care. Yes, I have carried construction materials in it. Yes, I have carried six people in it. Yes, more than six inches of snow on unpaved and unplowed roads. That involves a censoredload of shoveling, driving on _top_ of the snow, and random insanity. I need a bigger car. Oh, god, do I. Right now, it looks like the Toyota Matrix XRS. I wish I could afford the Subaru WRX Wagon, the four wheel drive is a lifesaver. I agree about the truck exemption for SUVs being a horribly wrong avatism. And I’m a car guy. Oh, well. At least they’re getting more and more efficient every year. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391/40 "2003-09-24T04:19:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, I NEED to see around the cars on either side of me when I try to get out of a parking spot. I also NEED to have a bit of room to maneuver my car out of said spot. And I NEED to be able to get into my car in the first place. All of which I likely won’t get if an SUV parks on one or both sides of me. Well, something must be wrong with you, Lynn, because I faced this HORRIBLE SCENARIO OF DEATH just today and managed to survive, somehow. The tale was harrowing, of course. I barely survived BEING NEXT TO A CAR THAT WAS TALLER THAN MINE! It’s hard for me to maintain control knowing that I had to BACK OUT A LITTLE MORE SLOWLY THAN USUAL when leaving my parking spot! Oh, woe, woe, that I survived this encounter at all! 'Twould have been better that I perished than live on with the horrible, horrible memories…! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suv-does-not-automatically-equal-bad/203391.md?page=3)