Are hybrid SUVs what we really need?

My comment? Then you misread it. I can't imagine driving around in something that's so much more likely to kill someone in a head-on or T-bone crash. In my world, it's not all about my safety.

 

About SUV safety: It is my understanding that at least in rollover accidents SUV's are actually less safe due to the vehicle center of gravity ie the axis it will tend to spin around. It puts the cabin and its occupants heads outside of the turning radius of the undercarriage resulting in more head injuries. Without specific reference there are actually more fatalities associated with pickups and SUV's than with passenger cars of any sort. This should be easily verifiable through NHTSA.

 

Another problem with SUV height is the fact that they can actually drive over barricades. That's not good. The barricades are there to keep you away from danger, like driving over a ledge or into water.

 

I have to go to work, so I need to make this quick. For the record, I am a 4Runner owner and a future Prius owner.

I DO tow a trailer with my SUV. I hope now I get the blessings of everyone out there that I use my 4Runner for more then just a people mover.

The last two accidents I personally saw, involved cars, not SUV's. One of them was upside down on the median. Perhaps we should holding drivers accountable for there actions, and being able to control their vehicles. Nawww . . . that makes too much sence.

You assume that I am driving my SUV as much as someone drives a car. Perhaps I polute less then someone who drives a car twice as much as me. Perhaps we should stop taking joy rides, and visit our Mothers on the weekend if they live 100 miles a way. Maybe we shouldn't have Prius gatherings! We are still using fuel to get there. We'll we can still have them, lets just bicycle to them.

It seems to me that everyone is quick to say you shouldn't have something, or something should be banned, when it doesn't effect you directly. That is like saying we should ban a certin color of car because staticily it has a higher accident rate! Where will that stop, let's find out what color eyes someone has as well, and ban them from driving. Or only let them drive fromt he hours of 2 - 3 a.m.

These are sacatic remarks above, I do NOT agree with them, however when I hear that others talk about SUV's, this is what it sounds like to me.

I like to look at the big picture, look globably, and act locally. I don't expect to change the world overnight, but I try to do what I feel is appropiate for MY circumstances. I don't want to push MY values on others, just as I would not want others to push their religious believes, sexuall orientation, political believes, etc. on me. I am for fredom of choice!

Let me state too that I am NOT against banning older cars, NASCAR races, or any other American activity.

respectfully,
Peter

 

The bottom line is that SUVs endanger other drivers. They cause more fatalities in crashes, and they are harder to drive (due to their large size in relation to the width of the lanes). They also obstruct vision for other drivers, creating an additional road hazzard.

It is NOT your right to recklessly endanger other people, and that's what SUVs do. They should be outlawed entirely except when there is a legitimate commercial purpose, and then they should require a commercial license and an accident bond. (The accident bond does not help the victim, but it does help to restrict who will be driving them.)

Whether or not they should be hybrids is a moot point. Everything will be hybrid eventually, because it's simply a better system. Conventional gasoline-only cars will go the way of the steam tractor.

 

Daniel,
I agree with you, that NO ONE, should endanger others Recklessly. I think the key word that you use is reckless. Driving is a privledge, you must respect the "rules of the road" They are shared by 18 wheelers, to mopeds, and bicycles.

I do not agree with creating MORE LAWS, & MORE RULES. I do not believe that this is what our country needs. My question to you is, where do you draw the line. There will always be a positive and negitative side to all issues. Sometimes you need to take the LESSER of the two evils. We do it a 1000 times a day.

Statistic can be made to favor any one side, depending on your criteria. As I said before, I take everything I hear, read and see with a grain of salt. I like to form my own opinions, rather than have someone else "tell" me what they say is true.

I dont have a problem driving any kind of vehicle. I have driven Box trucks, SUV's, go-karts, motorcycles, autos. I think most accidents are caused, by people who just are not paying attention. Having driven a motorcycle for over 20 years, my awareness level jumps WAY up, when I get on one. When there is nothing between you and the pavement going 35 - 60 MPH, beleive me, you pay attention to your surroundings a LOT more.

The best way to get out of a dangerous situation, is to do your best to avoid getting yourself in this situation to begin with. I avoid riding along side of ANYONE who isn't paying attention, wether they are in a Semi, SUV, car or motorcycle!

Daniel, I don't think I will change your opinion, because you obvisouly feel strongly about it.

The question was "Are hybrid SUVs what we really need. My answer is still YES. Anything we can do, to improve emmision, get better mileage, and improve saftey features on our vehicles is a plus.

Have a great day,
Peter

 

It the SIZE that's becoming the problem.

Ford's new pickup advertisement mentions you can pull the equivalent of 33 refrigerators. No driver with a "car" class license should be allowed to do that. Pretending those monster vehicles handle just like a car is wrong, since they don't. So those vehicles shouldn't be promoted that way or allowed on the road that way.

If it is a truck of that size & power, you should get licensed appropriately. Just imagine the type of accident that could be caused by someone, not properly trained, slamming on the brakes while pulling a trailer of that weight. They will pulverize everything in front of them!

Different types of vehicles serve different purposes. As long as they are actually used for the purpose they were designed and used properly, there isn't much of a problem.

In short, don't drive your Hummer on a paved road on a clear day to the office. That is gross overkill and a massive waste. A practical-size hybrid SUV is far more appropriate, if you actually use the SUV features from time to time. If not, by a hybrid car.

 

(Big breath . . hold it . . . exhale . . .)
This is what happens when when items are taken out of context snipped, and replied to. Please apply your common sence here. My comment was made in regards to someone saying SUV should be band, and new laws created to legislate WHO can drive them IF they have a legilitement reason.

We do need laws. We need new laws every day.

I think with the increasing complexitly of our world, that there are many things we need to simplfy. Laws being one of them.

Here AN example. Let me preface this with, my DISCLAIMER, (seems like we need to do this on just about everything any more)

Tthis comment is ment is to be taken as a Hypathetical Example. Of how many laws COULD, be lumped into one, and for the record, I am sure that there may be laws which CANNOT, but put together. I am sure I missed something, so please us common sence if you are unclear.

Have one law for "Reckless driving", regardless of what you are doing. Talking on the phone, working on your PDA, not paying attention, etc. If your caught, crossing center, weaving, tailgateing, speeding etc. then pay the price. And I think that price should be HIGH. Until the penality system makes you think more than twice about doing something wrong, people will continue to do it. Wether it be speeding, rolling thru stop signs, you name it.

The more we rely upon government to "keep us safe", the less responsibilty is placed on people. It seems to me that when something goes wrong, someone HAS to be to blame. What happend to makeing people responsable for thier actions? I can not believe that McDonalds needs to put the word "HOT" on their coffee! How about the signs on pop machines, do not tip, may cause death! Unbelieveable. This to me is just COMMON SENCE!

 

Paul,

EVERY vehicle on the road could be considered a dangerous vehicle.

It is my believe that the person BEHIND the wheel, ANY wheel, is the root or the cause of accidents.

 

MORE LAWS! MORE LAWS! MORE, MORE, MORE!

Actually, john1701a said it best: it's a size issue. An SUV is not a car, should not be allowed on the street to merely be used as a car, and should only be driven by people who have passed a driving test appropriate to its size.

But there is a subtler, deeper issue: Only an idiot would buy an SUV to drive, alone, to the grocery store over paved roads; and idiots are dangerous. Today I had to stop because an SUV was stopped in front of me at an intersection where we had the right-of-way and there was no traffic at all on the cross street. When she finally went on, and the street widened to 2 lanes so that I was able to pull alongside her I saw that she was eating what appeared to be a hamburger, and drinking from a large paper cup, while driving!

If we simply tossed all SUV drivers in jail, we would be eliminating from society a very larger percentage of the idiots running around loose. These people are far more dangerous than the drug addicts presently filling our jails and prisons.

 

This morning, on my way to work, I was turning right at a T-intersection, so with a green light, I had the right of way.

A Cadillac Escalade didn't seem to care (he was on his cell phone, naturally, and the only person in the car, unless the rest of them were laying down because I wouldn't be able to tell because of the height differential) and went right through the light. We're not talking the old "it was yellow when I entered the intersection," we're talking it was RED and everyone else (in the other lanes going his way and the other direction) was stopped.

What am I supposed to do about this? Call a cop? Sure, what he did is illegal and reckless, but really, the key is keeping these folks off the road in the first place, 'because once they're released into the wild, there's no telling what they'll do. Driving is a privelidge and a responsibility and too many forget how quickly things can change. The rest of the drivers were attentive enough to see him, but what if a pedestrian had been in that crosswalk?

I'm sorry to express such pessimism about my fellow humans, but I've come to believe that if you give people the freedom of choice, they will more often than not make the worst one possible.

 

Communist. :guns:

 

How'd you know?

 

Now that is funniest thing I heard all week. :lol: Thanks for the laugh, I needed it.

 

I endeavor to give satisfaction.

 

The first Spiderman movie said it best, "With great power comes great responsibility".

I think it's time we started holding "bad" SUV drivers accountable. Without accountability, there's no sense of responsbility.

This includes requiring certain types of SUVs to need special driver's licenses (Escalade, H2, etc) since they're so smart huge and heavy.

We also need legislation to lower bumpers. If a vehicle is designed to go off-roading, it shouldn't be allowed on the streets. I'm not talking about "can go over grass and sand", I'm talking about "can drive up and over small boulders and in deep mud" (i.e. H2--not that it's good for that, hah).

Along these lines, we should have a FEDERAL law put into place that requires large trailers (attached to normal trucks/SUVs) to require special licenses and/or special insurance. Some states already have laws like this, but I'm not sure if it's the case everywhere. I know I've seen some SUV/Pickup drivers going down the highway with gigantic boats driving like they're on road-rage pills right up the nice person of drivers in front of them.

Driver's Education should also give realistic instruction on the differences between normal cars and "light trucks". Especially in regards to safety.

 

Fair enough! You can't legislate responsibility, but you can sure as hell make it tougher to be an idiot. You can also make the law harsher for "bad" drivers. However, everyoine's definition of "bad" is different.

Yes, but until there's a sure-fire way to punish people who don't use their directional, don't yeild to rotary traffic, and generally drive recklessly, we're all screwed.