Originally posted by: thomsbrain
i hate suv's. i drive as part of my job and one thing i've noticed is that in general, the larger the vehicle, the worse the driver. i don't know if it's the "safety factor" of driving a tank that makes people into reckless idiots or what. one way to increase safety is not to drive like a moron. and hell, gas is $2.30 a gallon right now, i wouldn't want to pay 50 bucks to fill that thing only to get 10 miles per gallon. and do you really NEED a vehicle that large? are you planning on taking it off-road? get a hybrid sedan.
I see the exact opposite. SUV's are generally not the vehicles you see weaving in and out of traffic, and flying down the road.
You simply don't like them, so you take note of it every time you see one driving badly.[/quote]
i drive 600 miles a week, and SUV's are definetely the type of vehicle i most fear on the road, not because of their size, but because of their drivers. they drive too fast for their bulk, too recklessly when the situation calls for care, and too timidly when the situation calls for balls. people think they can drive them the same way they drive cars. but on top of driving too fast for their vehicle, they drive too slowly for the flow of traffic and block up the fast lanes, because their drivers BY DEFINITION don't give a flying fvck about anyone else on the road (otherwise they wouldn't endanger us with their battering rams). on top of that, these things handle so unbelievably mushily and numbly that most people drive them all slumped in their seat, like it's a couch, steering with their wrist and weaving around in their lane. i almost can't blame them, though, because it's hard to drive straight in any vehicle where you can turn the steering wheel several inches at highway speeds and not get any particularly noticable change in direction. they belong nowhere but the slow lane, doing 55 MPH. warning signs saying "i am a selfish sheep who is not paying attention to driving" wouldn't hurt, to warn tourists from other countries to give them a wide berth.
and yes, i've driven them. from wranglers and grand cherokees, right on up to escalades. i've driven them on the open freeway, i've driven them in deep snow. words cannot express how horribly these heaps of crap handle. you are literally no better off than you are in a freaking U-Haul or delivery truck, because at least the truck has appropriate suspension settings for a vehicle of that heft, instead of artificially softened up to save Mrs. Soccer Mom's 400 pound ass from being uncomfortable when she goes over speed bumps in the school parking lot. you are basically driving a big top heavy boat... you have to plan everything ahead. "ok, i'll have to brake soon, so i better start now, and i know i'll need to turn in a while, so i better start the turn now because it will take a long time for this thing to react..." that's all well and good... until someone pulls out in front of you. and then you kill them, because you turned the steering wheel, but unfortunately it's connected to rubber bands and so not much happened. even if it did result in an actual turning of the wheels, it wouldn't help much because the sidewalls would just roll over and you'd plow straight ahead, DSC pumping in a futile attempt to cheat the laws of physics... 3 tons just doesn't change direction at anything faster than a glacial pace.
oh, by the way. that escalade i drove was sent into an ABS and DSC hernia going DOWNHILL in the same snow that i successfully navigated my 1991 accord (no computer-controlled nuthin', summer tires, and no chains) UPHILL. in the end, i had to baby the escalade every bit if not more than my car. but i guess i was more of a MAN driving the escalade, so it was all good, right?
edit: the same accord has tackled unpaved logging and fires roads, hauled small boats to the lake up steep rutted dirt and mud roads and unpaved boat ramps, and hauled everything from big dogs, to band equipment, to moving 4 or 5 times. it gets 25 MPG after 183,000 miles, and it's that blur that just blew your fvcking doors off on the backroad.[/quote]
You are simply wrong. There aren't more bad SUV drivers, they are just more noticeable, and you don't like them so that's why you notice.
You make a lot of generalizations about soccer moms, who tend to be some of the safest drivers on the road, due to their cargo.
You simply don't like them.
And I'm glad you like your Accord. They are good cars. I don't have one, because they can't do what I need my car to do.
