Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

Deltona Couple · 12-13-2006, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silvy

Deltona Couple, you're right! Absolutely right!

But, this thread is not discussing the owners of the vehicles as much as the vehicles themselves.

The larger SUV's ARE blocking other's views on the road. They DO decrease overall road safety because line-of-sight problems, impact increase in case of collisions, etc. What most of the posters in this thread seem to agree on is that SUV's (Hummers, Cherokee, etc) annoy others because of these reasons.
(In addition, they're less environmentally friendly, which also seems to annoy some non-drivers).

But, the thing that annoys me (and probably others too) the most, is the fact that few SUV-owners actually use the vehicle what it is intended for. Apparently YOU do, fine. Keep using it. But most SUV's I see driving around carry one person (perhaps a few kids on the way to school or such) and NO luggage / cargo / trailer / whatever. Seems that SUV's are more used for some mis-guided status icon than anything else.

(Oh, and if someone tows a boat trailer twice a year does not make it right that he/she should annoy traffic the rest of the year.)

And I'm not too sure about your argument. We're discussing the irritation caused by overly large personal vehicles. I don't care if the Hummer driver behind me is using it "for the right purpose"; he's still blinding me. Annoying the sh*t out of me.
From experience the SUV's rarely carry the load they were designed for, doubling the annoyance these vehicles give me.
If EVERYBODY used the cars to their design potential and mostly for that, people would not be so annoyed by them.
Compare with trucks: they're slow, they block the view immensely and in a collision they're the biggest bang. But they're not so annoying, you know why? Because they're necessary, and we all know that. Also they're rarely used for fun, status or pushing everybody ahead of them out of their lane.
And, at least around here, their speed is limited for those reasons.

Your argument does make sense in that "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover" and scolding individual owners/drivers is not fair. But in general terms, it can be said that SUV's are not fun for everybody, and that, on average, the SUV's are more of a nuiscance than a blessing.

Luckily there are not many SUV's around where I live, so the actual annoyance is minimal, but the point still stands.

OK but in the same sense, how do people KNOW that just because you see a single driver, does it mean he is ALWAYS the only one in the SUV. I drive mine by myself all the time, but STILL use it with a full load when needed. And in the sense of blocking the view of other drivers, so do the big hauling trucks as well. If I can't see around it, then i follow a little further back, or I take my time and go around it. I don't see that the vehicle itself is the problem, as much as the drivers on the road in ALL vehicles. If you are careful, and watch your driving, then MOST accidents can be avoided, or atleast significantly reduce the effect. I am not trying to excuse SUV drivers, but I could also in the same reasoning complain about the motorcycles and small cars that whip in and out of traffic, cutting off other drivers and causing just as much trouble on the road. I don't think we should just zero in on a specific vehicle, but in the drivers on the road as a whole.