Has anyone else noticed... (re: SUVs)

[Shabo]

I have personally come to the observation that people who drive Hummers (not the real army ones, but the useless commercialized ones) are all jerks, and they know it. They act like jerks because they think they can, and that there's nothing anyone can do to stop them. True, I'm certainly not going to try to stop you in my little planet sedan, but it doesn't make me hate you any less...

SUV drivers, however, are just completely clueless that they are driving a vehicle the size that they are. They are far worse than Hummer drivers because they are ignorant to the fact that they run people off the road. And to top it off, the more they spend on the vehicle, the worse of a driver they are.

Yes, there are good SUV and truck drivers, and those are the people who use the vehicles for work. My dad has 2 ginormous trucks that I've driven (both are for hauling trailers), and it scares the out of me every time because I'm not used to it. I haven't hit anything though... It all depends on the driver and whatnot.

And can we talk about how useless those stupid SUV's with the pretend "bed" on the back are? *grumbles on a bit*

[crazylegs]

Men and huge vehicles. Too much testosterone and the need to compensate for a tiny penis.

I Drive a Compact

Because of the county I live in I see two types of 4X4 drivers, the farmers and the idiots, the farmers have big nobbly tyres, towing ball, bull bars, winch, ropes, shovel, tool kit, bale of hay, sheep, muddy panels and they're old

The idiots have incredibly polished cars that have been set so low down they couldn't clear a kerb, incredibly impractical road only tyres and immaculate suede (insert other rediculous interior) interior. The idiots generally have no perception of the size of their vehicle and as such couldn't execute a three point turn succesfully in arizona. The closest these vehicles get to going off road is the parking at the Royal International Air Tattoo (its a grass field). [/rant]

Stay Safe

[Jules Of All Trades]

Women and huge vehicles. Scary thought. Multiple ton vehicle with stupid mother driving. There's a huge accident waiting to happen. Stupid mother who cannot handle multiple ton SUV as wide as Montana. There's another huge massacre waiting to happen.

Ouch. I'm a mom, and I drive an Expedition. I've never been in an accident that was my fault (hit head on by a drunk driver when I was 16), never had a ticket, am an extremely cautious driver (since I'm toting my 3 boys around), can and will drive the correct speed limit, and can maneuver my car as well as my old Honda. Hopefully this takes me out of the "stupid mother who cannot handle multiple ton SUV as wide as Montana" catagory.

Maybe we should lay the driving records out on the table before generalizing.

[Kogarashi]

Ouch. I'm a mom, and I drive an Expedition. I've never been in an accident that was my fault (hit head on by a drunk driver when I was 16), never had a ticket, am an extremely cautious driver (since I'm toting my 3 boys around), can and will drive the correct speed limit, and can maneuver my car as well as my old Honda. Hopefully this takes me out of the "stupid mother who cannot handle multiple ton SUV as wide as Montana" catagory.

Maybe we should lay the driving records out on the table before generalizing.

I agree. I may only have one kid so far, but I try to be a careful driver anyway, despite driving an SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee). For one, I've usually got my baby in the car. For another, I've got a nearly-perfect driving record and would like to keep it that way. The only two cars I've hit were both parked, and there were outside circumstances in both instances that contributed to the accident.

With the first, I was still on my permit and just learning to drive, and didn't hit the brake in time when pulling into a parking space. Barely tapped the car next to me, and left a tiny scratch. The second time was again pulling into a parking space. This time, it was at night, the other car was a nice dark grey, and the parking lot floodlight decided at that moment to turn off. I couldn't see how close I was to the car until I tapped it and it rocked. Left a softball-sized dent in that one, despite hitting it at something akin to 1 mph. That's why I'm convinced that new cars are made of cardboard.

I learned to drive in a minivan, and learned very quickly to adapt to the large size.

[ArenaBoy]

As a man who has worked in a parking lot and has dodged traffic I will say this:

All bad drivers drive like shit. No matter what they drive or who they are. 1987 Chevy with two slackers in it? You bet. Yuppies driving 2007 BMWs? Oh yeah. Men wanting to bet expensive dinners in H3 Hummers? Oh hell yeah. Moms in minivans? Yep.

Point is that there are bad drivers everywhere but we just tend to notice the SUVs more as they stick out quite a bit. I've seen plenty of bad drivers in tiny cars at Whiskeyclone and plenty of bad drivers in SUVs. Nothing will top the guy who jumped a traffic island and got 5 feet of air. In a H2 Hummer.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Nothing will top the guy who jumped a traffic island and got 5 feet of air. In a H2 Hummer.

That takes effort! How much you wanna bet he'll go to the shop and bitch about those "damned speedbumps at the Whiskeyclone Arena!"?

Reminds me of a car that came into the shop over the summer. It was a 300C, with a Hemi, and some (ugly, I thought) 20" rims. It belonged to one of the salesmen who claimed that he "swerved out of the way" of a guy making a bad lane-change...

That's how the right rear suspension and hub/bearing assembly was trashed beyond recognition (the tire was not perpendicular with the ground, but at a 30 degree angle) while the front one was relatively untouched? (Remeber, if you were swerving, the front wheel would hit the curb first and absorb most of the damage. If you were doing really stupid power slide to impress a girl, the rear wheel would hit first and take most of the damage.)

[crazylegs]

(Remeber, if you were swerving, the front wheel would hit the curb first and absorb most of the damage. If you were doing really stupid power slide to impress a girl, the rear wheel would hit first and take most of the damage.)

If you swerved, then over corrected you *could* wallop the rear wheel first, but thats quite some speed to be travelling, definately too fast for the road conditions, and certainly not aware of the other traffic.

When I was directing traffic at Water distribution during the water crisis (see other post... somewhere) I noticed that regardless of size there are some terrible drivers, people trying to go the wrong way round roundabouts, reversing round roundabouts, just not paying attention to the 6'8 guy in a hi viz jacket, or just not watching the road at all, i particularly remember the one chap who didn't look up for twenty seconds and only noticed the aching gap in front of him when i banged on his bonnet (hood). Ah, the fun, the memories.

Stay Safe

[Naaman]

I used to work in a little, rich town (Chertsey) that also had the fun the Chelsea training ground a mile down the road, I don't hate Chelsea in particular, just football . Given that there's a lot of farms and forest around there were loads of 4x4s, both hard working variety and the Chelsea tractors but I found the best way to tell if there's an idiot driving was to look at the tyres, idiots would have low profile

[protege]

And can we talk about how useless those stupid SUV's with the pretend "bed" on the back are? *grumbles on a bit*

I still can't figure out the point of that. Most of those "beds" are so small, there's no way in hell a sheet of plywood would fit in there. If I *really* need space for passengers plus large items, I'm getting a station wagon or minivan.

I think the only reason idiot SUV drivers stick out, is that there are so many of them. In fact, I've had more encounters with those idiots than any other vehicle type. The vast *majority* simply *can't* drive, or act like they own the road.

Just last night, I had some dumbass in a Blazer nearly rear-end me because I wasn't going fast enough. I was already 10 miles over the limit, doing about 45 in a 35mph zone...which isn't a good idea where I live because of the speed traps. I always slow down as I'm about to cross into my borough. Usually, there's a speed trap right there.

But, the Blazer kept getting closer. He was *right* on my ass. I tapped the brakes just enough that he had to back off. By that time, I was only doing 40 (still 5 over...and enough to get pulled over--where I live, the cops have nothing better to do because of the low crime). I put my left signal on, and slowed for my turn at the traffic light. Not even a second later, the Blazer hit the horn, whipped into the right lane (cutting off several cars), flips me off...and speeds away. Right into the arms of a speed trap. I'm sure the cops just *made* his day.

[crazylegs]

. Right into the arms of a speed trap. I'm sure the cops just *made* his day.

Sometimes Karma takes a while, others like this occasion its instant!

Stay Safe

[protege]

Sometimes Karma takes a while, others like this occasion its instant!

Stay Safe

Thanks. It would have been better to see him get pwned on one of the side streets. Speed limit on those is only 25. Now *that* would have been awesome

[Andara Bledin]

I'm alive today because I was driving a "Stupid Useless Vehicle" a year ago when I got rear-ended by an 18-wheeler.

Everybody's got stories about how they got lucky and something out of the ordinary happened. In the case of an accident with a large vehicle, then an SUV or bus would be preferable. However, that doesn't counteract the inherently higher danger being in an SUV poses.

is it wrong that if it had been me (Seeing as you where alone) i would just let her hit me????

The asshat woman was in front. Most places put the blame on whoever was following, regardless of circumstances, regardless of actual fault.

Sad, but true.

I love my car too much to let people hit it, unless I'm really, really angry. The back bumper is already in terrible shape, so I don't mind being hit there, but I'd prefer to keep the car drivable as long as I can.

If you've had an accident where the bumper has been hit by at least 5 miles per hour, you probably need to have the bumper replaced. Or, more accurately, the shock absorbers that are in the bumper assembly. They're pretty much a one-use thing, but most people have no idea about them.

As a side note, I've also noticed that yellow cars and cars with oversized spoilers are probably going to be agressive drivers, particularly if either type of car is "riced out," as my brother says, and has numerous poorly done mods, a huge muffler, and/or a poorly installed but very loud stereo system.

The first is usually referred to as displacement of risk. Because the drivers are operating under a (usually false) sense of extra security, they are more reckless, making it more dangerous for everyone around them.

As for the second, ricers suck. Supposedly the name is for rice-based fuels used in racing vehicles. There are a few sites dedicated to mocking the whole breed, especially the ones that put badges (the plastic markers that give the make and model and such) from other models on their cars, or who get semi-fake body mods to look like more expensive versions.

For those of you operating under the illusion that SUVs are safer: They're not.

While it is true that you will likely be hurt less if you are in an accident while riding in an SUV, the likelihood of your being in an accident is actually higher, especially at higher speeds and with more cargo/passengers.

Most SUVs are still too high for the width of their wheelbases and are prone to roll overs at the slightest provocation. That whole tire fiasco with Ford Explorers? Ford quietly widened their wheelbase at the same time they were pointing fingers at Micheline.

If you're a parent with kids and you have an SUV, do a little more research on vehicle safety and you might end up going for a minivan or a so-called crossover vehicle.

^-.-^

[Spiffy McMoron]

Supposedly the name is for rice-based fuels used in racing vehicles.

Actually, the name comes from the fact that the majority of the cars and drivers were of Japanese/Asian descent. Since rice is synonomous with Japan, they were nicknamed "ricers" as a result.

And most racing fuel is either a mixture of methanol and ethanol (Commonly distilled from methane and corn, respectfully) or leaded/unleaded gasoline with a higher octane rating (110 or up, compared to 87 for regular unleaded)

Ford quietly widened their wheelbase at the same time they were pointing fingers at Micheline.

It was actually Firestones that was at the center of the problem, not Michelins.

[Geek King]

While it is true that you will likely be hurt less if you are in an accident while riding in an SUV, the likelihood of your being in an accident is actually higher, especially at higher speeds and with more cargo/passengers.

In the defense of the SUV, in this case, statistics are misleading. SUVs are more likely to be in accidents because people try to drive them like a car. An SUV being heavier, with a higher center of gravity, leads to completely different handleing characteristics. You have to slow down more in the turns, and an SUV will not speed up as fast. All of this leads to more roll overs and failed attempts to pull into traffic. The problem lies not with the SUV, but in driver error.

[protege]

In the defense of the SUV, in this case, statistics are misleading. SUVs are more likely to be in accidents because people try to drive them like a car.

Exactly. Too many idiots try to drive SUVs like sports cars...and then get pissy when they wreck them. The vehicle is simply not designed to do that. Doesn't stop people from trying...usually with dangerous results