Scapegoat Utility Vehicle=SUVs are much safer than those puny cars.

Wall St Journal ^ | October 13, 2003

[SJackson]

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Jeffrey Runge rarely misses an opportunity to warn Americans about the "rollover" risk of SUVs. Perhaps he might also find a moment to point out his own agency's findings that overall highway safety -- even with millions more SUVs on the road -- is improving.

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[backhoe]

[Ditter]

Big 'ole SUV bump!

[Prof Engineer]

I love my SUV ping

[showme_the_Glory]

I continue to drive a "scapegoat" SUV. I love it......

[tubebender]

I'm bookmarking this article for future reference. Time to que the song "In a Yugo".

My first SUV was a 1956 Jeep 4WD Station Wagon in 1965 followed by many others. My current ride is a 99 Silverado 4X4 Club Coupe (Extended Cab).

[IpaqMan]

Our second vehicle is a 6000 pound Roadtrek camper van with bathroom, frig, sink, tv, and other amenities. Nice for those who hate public restrooms!

[No.6]

I don't happen to be a SUV fan myself, but I wouldn't consider forcing people to adopt my preferences.

[gura]

I'd prefer to just have a bigger station wagon rather than a top-heavy SUV, but because of CAFE I don't get a choice.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I'd prefer to have a medium size SUV (or AWD crossover wagon) that gets the same tax treatment (up to $100,000 immediately expensed as business expense) as the large SUVs do.

[Salman]

Never mind a wimpy little SUV. I want a Bugatti Royale.

[Redbob]

From a separate Nat'l Academy of Sciences report:
Between '76 and '93, the difference in weight between the average light truck and the average passenger car increased by almost 500 lbs.
In '76, the avg car was 3522 lbs, and the avg light trk 3770 lbs.
By '93, the car had dropped 705 lbs, to 2816 lbs, while the truck had dropped only 309 lbs, to 3461.
NHTSA has estimated the annual increase in highway deaths due to the weight reduction in cars and trucks at about 1500 per year.
1500 dead so that the Greens can be happy!

Might may not always make right, but weight sure does!

[UNGN]

The biggest SUVs, weighing 5,000-plus pounds, were the safest of all with a rate of 92. Politically correct mini-cars, meanwhile, were the most dangerous with a rate of 249 deaths per million vehicles

And this isn't even a PASSENGER MILES comparison.

A small can can only carry 4 people, so the maximum number of people that could be killed in a collision would be 4 (except in southern states, of course)

A large SUV could have 8 or 9 people, doulbling the amount of people that could possibly be killed per accident.

If Large SUV fatality rates were figured on passenger miles instead of the total number of vehicles, the rate could be 1/2 of the 40% shown above vs. small cars.

[Xenalyte]

They may be safer in a vacuum, but the dipshits who drive 'em in Houston are congenitally incapable of confining their vehicles to ONE LANE, DAMMIT.

[newgeezer]

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

[William Tell]

My older daughter caused an accident by entering a roadway and being hit by a pickup. She was driving the 87 Chrysler New Yorker I had bought her. The car was completely spun around during the accident and was totalled. She received minor scratches from a broken side window. If she had been driving her present Honda Civic, she would probably have been killed.

My youngest daughter was following too closely while driving my 87 Jeep Cherokee. The front fenders were crumpled but she was unhurt.

In both cases, my daughters were driving the larger vehicles by my choice. Now they are older, wiser, and responsible for their own choices.

[Octar]

I love my Silverado. I'm fortunate to own an 02 Silverado 2500HD, 4x4, Extended Cab, Duramax Turbo Diesel, Allison 5 speed, Eaton rear diff. locker. What a ride!