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Shedding Light On The Hidden Fee Economy

SUV Drivers Really Are Bastards

from the damn-them-all dept

Mon, Jun 26th 2006 11:09pm — Mike Masnick

For a while it was quite fashionable to bash SUV (or, as some prefer, suburban assault vehicles) drivers for driving the big vehicles that cause problems for others on the road, and aren't ever used to actually go offroad. However, as the roads have filled up with more and more SUVs, it seems like, these days, high gas prices are punishment enough for most SUV drivers. Still, a new study done in the UK found that SUV drivers are much more likely to ignore no-driving-while-yakking laws and are less likely to be wearing seatbelts, than the folks driving around and their little sedans. When it came to driving-while-yakking, SUV drivers appeared to be four times as likely to avoid laws requiring handsfree kits. The researchers don't have much of an explanation for the discrepancy, so perhaps it means that SUV drivers just are that much more likely to be bastards. Alternatively, of course, SUV drivers might just claim that they're more rebellious, and don't believe laws requiring handsfree kits make sense -- but somehow that excuse seems unlikely to get very much mileage.

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Holly, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:08pm

SUV drivers are not bastards
I drive an Expedition, love it, and obey the laws. I sell cell phones and never talk on my phone while driving. It is hard when you are surrounded by idiots that do, so I do not want to be one of those idiots. As for the seatbelt thing. I feel naked without my seatbelt. From day one my parents brain washed me with seatbelts and I am forever greatful. Oh, and I am female. Imagine that!! New title for article should read, "Suburu Outback drivers are real bastards."
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Bob, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:24pm

Geesh.
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Sohrab, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:25pm

thats why I bought a MINI Cooper. Odd enough, I have a blue-tooth headset also. hhmmm.
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randomboy, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:36pm

Re:
That's a Cooper Mini, not a Mini Cooper :)

It's clear why SUV drivers ignore laws though - they drive big, fat, ugly vehicles that won't be as damaged after a collision with a sedan, so they're probably safer than sedan drivers ...
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Rikko, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:39pm

Re:
Actually, they're marketed as Mini Coopers in North American, lord knows why.
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Jeff Throckmorton, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:40pm

Don't generalize, it's not ethical and makes you into a narrow-minded extremist.
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Scotty, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:03am

Ya. I drive a SUV, but i always wear my belt, and if handfree was a law im my state, i would follow it. This article was a little way too one-sided...

side-note; reminds me of the jetta comercials ;)
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Scotty, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:03am

Ya. I drive a SUV, but i always wear my belt, and if handfree was a law im my state, i would follow it. This article was a little way too one-sided...

side-note; reminds me of the jetta comercials ;)
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Elric, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:13am

I drive a JEEP and wear my belt. This story sucks! Find better news.
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Pellet Gun in Glove Box, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:23am

Soccer Moms Can't Drive
It seems like even though they have a baby on board or whatever, that these stupid broads think that they know how to multi-task. As a woman, I know that even though my hormonal levels are not so extreme that I have PMS or anything, but women are not effective multi-taskers. Nor can most of them drive. I drive a 2-seater, and these soccer moms are talking on their phone, and change lanes without looking, and don't even hear me honk! If I didn't have such fast reflexes, they would have caused an accident! And are oblivious to their errors, and continue to go through their life thinking that they know how to drive.

I watched a great Fear Factor rerun episode today. This bitch is a "race car driver" but we all know that these "famous" female racers have nothing impressive in terms of mph. And this chick thought that she was gonna win the final event which involved a racing stunt, and she lost!!!!!

It was so funny, I knew that she was once she wouldn't shut up about how being a race car driver makes her so fearless. And she cried!!! It was ugly.

She was about forty years old with fake titties, and made me ashamed of being a female.
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Meh, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:32am

Of Course...
We already knew SUV drivers were bastards, regardless of their lawbreaking: they are willing to put personal convenience or satisfaction above the environment.
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Robbie Herbertson, 27 Jun 2006 @ 1:13am

I drive an suv, a 94' Ford Bronco. I take that thing off-roading all the time. Personally, I hate H2's because they are fugly, slow, and can't handle off-road. As for the enviornment, I could care less.
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Tom, 27 Jun 2006 @ 1:33am

Toyota Matrix PWNs all!
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Dave, 27 Jun 2006 @ 1:36am

Not all Jetta owners like hiking craig!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 1:37am

Re:
I disagree, not all Matrix owners PWNs all.
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Small Car Dave, 27 Jun 2006 @ 1:51am

I drive a small car because I am quite satisfied with the size of my penis
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Dandude, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:05am

Wow, what is this world coming to?
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Jeeper, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:08am

I drive an SUV and take it off road and use it what it is meant for and on the road I see more problems out of car drivers. I am a fireman also and most of the calls I go to involve only cars and a lot of the time cars as a result of cell phones and very seldom is an suv involved. I dont know where they are getting their information but it seems pretty one sided.
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SUV h8r, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:08am

Re: Wow, what is this world coming to?
I drive a Prius, so I aggree witht this article, but I also think that you cant keep making these generalizations. Yeah, so what if there are more SUV crashes from dumb blonde soccer moms then any other age, sex, or ethnic group driving any other kind of vehicle...
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Daragaaz, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:34am

Re: Re:
Couldn't agree more with you. They stand far less chance of personal or vehicular injury than other drivers, so caution takes a back seat.
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jucarie, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:40am

Re:
Jettas Kick ass!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:43am

Re:
Right on man! That's funny!
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UK Warrior driver, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:50am

WTF!
Whoever did this survey didn't ever stand by a school and watch all the mums drive off after dropping off the kids, mobile phone in one hand make-up in the other....

Or was it a survey carried out by .. women?
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Beckey76, 27 Jun 2006 @ 3:14am

Another Stupid Survey Based on Nothing
I drive a SUV, never put my car in drive until after everyone in the vehicle has their seatbelts on and use a handsfree headset for my cell. This survey is ridiculous!!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 3:19am

Sense of Entitlement?
Could it be that those who can afford to purchase and gas up their SUV's may have a stronger sense of entitlement than your average driver--combined with the sense of invincibility offered by a large, heavy vehicle? A deadly combination ...
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 3:36am

for those who are saying " I Have an SUV and a Handsfree Kit This survy sucks"

for god sake, just cause you dont do what the servy says dosnt mean its wrong

having said that i have seen a few suvs go off road, yea thats right up over the pavement(sidewalk) beacuse they are to impaitent to wait for the traffic to move so they go up the curb and put everybodys life at risk
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Clubber Lang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 3:57am

The Ant and the Elephant
Let me tell you a little story...

One day in the woods, an ant and an elephant were walking
down a path. The elephant fell into a hole and started screaming,
"Please, please, Ant, get me out of this hole." So the ant ran home,
drove back in his SUV, lowered a rope down, and pulled the
elephant out. "Thank you so much, Ant", said the elephant.

The next day, the ant and the elephant were walking down another
path when the ant fell into a hole. "Please, please, Elephant, get
me out of this hole", said the ant. So the elephant whipped out
his penis and lowered it down to the ant, who then climbed to safety.

The moral to the story: As long as you have a big penis, you don't
need an SUV. And, I've been riding the train for years.
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rush, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:03am

Slow news day?
Must be a slow news day when someone feels a need to create bogus news with a bogus survey.
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Beckey76, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:15am

In response to "having said that i have seen a few suvs go off road, yea thats right up over the pavement(sidewalk) beacuse they are to impaitent to wait for the traffic to move so they go up the curb and put everybodys life at risk,"

I've also seen people in sedans doing this too. So, here we go again blaming people who drive SUVs for everything.
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eeyore, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:17am

This is a direct quote: My wife has been bugging me for years to get an SUV so when I asked her why she wanted to get one she said "so I can look down on everybody."

I however get a kick out of driving my Saturn up to the pump, getting out, opening the gas tank, running my debit card, pumping my gas, getting my receipt, getting back in my car and driving away while the SUV on the other side of the pump is STILL pumping gas.
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Jack, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:19am

Gas is King
I think high gas prices are a wonderful thing although inconvenient in my wallet at times. They promote fuel-efficient vehicles (cars and SUV's alike) while also persuading some to use public transportation which decreases (yes, only a little but every little bit counts) traffic on the roads.

Gas-guzzling SUV's and car's will be a thing of the past in several years and only the super wealthy will be able to afford them. These gas-guzzling vehicles are obnoxious and many times ridiculous on the roads.

I cannot wait for $6/gallon gas. The question is not *if* $6 gas will happen but *when*. It is only a matter of time.
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topher3106, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:23am

Do a real survey
Sorry, but when I speak to most my friends in the Uk and Europe about SUV's, they have no idea what I am talking about. The SUV culture is not as big over there as it is here, and places like in London and other old European centers with their small roads, SUV's are completely avoided. Europe is a culture where the origianl mini-sized cars originated, so I can imagine that anybody seeing a full size SUV driving down the road probably just hates it out of hand.

Its not to say that ouside London, where the roads are wider that SUV's are not starting to take over, the Land Rover, one of the original SUV's did originate in England, but a survey about SUV drivers really should have been generated in North America. Its the difference between 10 SUV drivers compared to 1,000 per square mile
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Xterra SUV Driver, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:23am

Thanks for Lumping me in...
Once again I am lumped into a group and now called an asshole thanks to people that just want to group people into ranks and say this is what all people are if you have this type of vehicle.

I don't know how many times I have been typecast due to people saying, oh your that type of person because of something I own.

Enough of the BS. Stop with the type casting and just deal with people as they are. Individual per individual.

I am sure I can easily typecast Christians into a demon group when they get behind the wheel also. How many times have I seen so called GOD fearing people change into Deamons once they get behind the wheel of a car. You don't see me writing stories about them do you.

Get off your kick about lumping people into groups based on shotty tallies. Individuals are Individuals, oh wait.. no they aren't.... their assholes that drive SUV's.
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Boo, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:46am

yanks stop complaining about gas price
try filling your tank in Ireland - then come back to me.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:49am

The simple fact is; SUV drivers are complete arseholes! I've known (to my shame) a couple of them and they have admitted that they like sitting higher than everyone else and feeling almost invincible. This must have an effect on the psyche.

It's not just the school run but generally, in a city like London, the roads simply aren't wide enough for SUV boy to be storming through parked cars with no respect for anybody else.

Plus it really irritates me when they park next to me at Sainsburys. I can't see through the damn thing and have to edge out of my space super slowly for fear of being involved in an accident.

They may be fine in american cities with big wide streets where everything is bigger. But in the UK, they should be banned! An extra 20 quid on the tax? Big deal... more is needed to stem the flow.

Ooh - even worse - the Porsche equivalent... couple a Porsche driver with an SUV driver and you've got a total f'ing knobhead on the roads.
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bluemarvel, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:51am

it's really simple to understand
The bigger the SUV the smaller the penis of the driver. That one fact explains everything else when it comes to SUVs.

ps. They're driving hummers because they're not getting hummers.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:52am

Re: Do a real survey
Sorry, but try *actually* living in London. Your friends don't know what you're talking about, and neither do you.

The survey is valid enough being taken in England because it's something that affects enough English people to the point of distraction.

There are many, many SUVs on the roads of London, and i'm sure other cities around the UK. Maybe the rest of Europe is different (i doubt that).
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Phactual, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:56am

The survey was undertaken by the British Medical Journal, it's not "bogus" or "stupid", it's "real". It's legitimate data.

IMO, had the BMJ observed any other class of vehicle owner, they would have found that most humans, period, drive like ignorant self-righteous arrogant jerks.

The problem is not SUV drivers specifically. The majority of lackwits on our roadways don't have the mental discipline to drive a lawnmower.
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stationwagondriver, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:58am

Re: Re: Mini Cooper
because the car company is called Mini, and the Cooper is a specific model of Mini (although in the current incarnation of the Mini brand, it's the only model) named after John Cooper, who was one of the creators of the model.
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Jermey Matthews, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:01am

Sensitive!
Don't be so sensitive SUV drivers! So the blogger is not a SUV fan. Big deal! It IS a corny generalization that SUV drivers are arrogant. It is a fact, however, that the SUV driver is more likely to be less concerned about the environment, and that is not good. I like to look at SUV's on the road and since I'm getting a baby soon, I've considered it, but based on the environment and gas prices, and SUV prices, I'll probably end up with...the sedan I already have.
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Jan, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:05am

Re: Re: Re: Mini Cooper
More precisely the manufacturing company is BMW. The brand is Mini and there is a bunch of different models like Mini One, Mini D, Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S (which for example is a "BMW R50" officially).
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British People Don't Know How to Drive, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:06am

DUH Right Side of The Road, Austin Powers
I think the British drive worse than Asians.
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tedrick, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:07am

I love the way people are referring to SUV drivers as "they" and "those people," have we really learned nothing from the Jetta commercials
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BirdFood, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:08am

Yes I Am!!
Yes.. You are absolutly correct I am a bastard.. So are Jetta drivers.
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John Cooper, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:14am

SUV's Coopers BMW
The BMW M3 would blow the doors off any SUV or Mini or Cooper.

Try filling up your gas in Pennsylvania- they make you choose between self and full-service to fill up.
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thecaptain, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:15am

I see a lot of SUV drivers in the thread
...and they seem to be supporting the results of the survey one way or another :)

The thing with SUVs is they aren't marketted for their original purpose as a "UTILITY" vehicle. They are marketted to ego and status and size.

Who responds most to appeals to ego and status? Assholes that's who! You may have an SUV and you may be a real nice person and real careful driver, but spend a month driving around in a normal car and you'll see you're in the minority.

I know many SUV drivers...my co-worker has one...was so proud the day he got the thing too. He's single, its a huge 4 wheel drive thing.

I asked him: "So why this thing? Its huge!"
him: "Yeah...I love it...so much ROOM and its four wheel drive!"
I: "Why do you need for wheel drive?"
Him: "Well so I can take it off road!! Its awesome...great traction"

I keep asking him "So have you ever taken it off road?"
him: "no"
(Its been 5 years since he bought the thing)
I: "Ever been on a dirt road in the country?"
him: "No not really...I live in the city"
I: "It must be good in the snow then"
him: "Oh yeah...if I ever want to go out of the city in the winter...for sure!"
I: " ever do that?"
him: "No"
I: "You must give rides to a lot of your buddies though right? Its big enough.."
him: "Naw...I ride alone...my buddies have their own cars"

Typical owner...he pays almost FOUR TIMES what I do in gas while driving a similar distance to and from work.

He's the reason I hate SUVs, and I don't even KNOW if HE's a bad driver...so when you add their driving record to the mix, I can't say I'd complain if they were ever taken off the road.

If you need offroad, get a real offroad vehicle, if you need "hauling" because you're a tough manly construction worker or something...get a pickup...if you're a family guy who needs room for kids..get a minivan. SUVs as they are have no real purpose other than ego stroking.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:16am

OK I have to respond
I have an SUV. I don't talk and drive, I ware my seat belt, I try to be as nice to other people on the road as possible, and I get better gas mileage than most cars in this city. But I still agree with this study. Most people who Drive SUV's are A**Holes. But maybe that’s because that most A**Holes buy SUV's so they can be that way.

And the people who think that someone is compensating for something are full of crap too. Try to drive the back streets of Pittsburgh without good suspension and then tell me what you think. That will make more than your penis shrivel.

PS. I drive a little SUV.
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Big Bastard, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:18am

SUV
I drive an SUV. I drive one so that during heavy traffic I can put it into 4W drive and roll right over Minis, Jettas and KIA. I do like the way the go crunch
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Big Bastard, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:18am

SUV
I drive an SUV. I drive one so that during heavy traffic I can put it into 4W drive and roll right over Minis, Jettas and KIA. I do like the way the go crunch
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World's Best Driver, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:21am

North Carolina
I am the only good driver in the entire state. Since I drive the perfect speed and obey all of the laws, it follows that if you're going faster than me, you are an idiot. If you are going slower than me, you're just stupid. Ipso Facto, Q.E.D., Et Cetera.
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Sanguine Dream, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:31am

The reason this survey makes SUV drivers look bad is becuase simply put most SUV drivers are bad drivers.

If your motivation for getting one is because you like them fine.

If your motivation for getting one is becuase you have a large family fine.

But we all know that most get one becuase, "I will be safer in an accident", or "I can drive normal speed even when the road is covered in rain, snow, or ice," , or "I can drive up on the curve to get around traffic"

No all SUV owners don't buy them for those negative reasons but all men are dogs but that sure as hell doesn't stop women from saying so.

World's Best Driver what part of NC are you in? I'm on the coast where the driving is pretty safe except for the wildlife.
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Just me, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:32am

Why is it a problem for some people that others can afford to buy and drive SUV vehicles. Yes I agree that they are more environmentlly unfriendly...but any car is unfriendly to the enivornment full stop.

Whether your are driving "MINI COOPER" or "COOPER MINI", you should not feel any better. You're my friend contibuting to climate change.

.Also, the report suggest that SUV drivers are more careless (i.e. they don't wear seat-builts). To me, If this says anything...it just says that the author(s) of the survey are against the use of SUV, and are just trying to come up with un-verified conclusions. This survey needs further verifications before such claims can be accepted.

With or Against SUV...Perhaps it is time we all started to think about using public transport, and stop making such stupid claims please...unless you have a way to verify them...and encourage the use of public transport...and not the use of smaller cars. After all, you may just be competitor trying to win some of the market share.

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hal4579, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:37am

Re: Of Course...
yep, all of us who drive an SUV are trying to eliminate all life on earth. Sounds about right to me being as I have 4 kids. Oh, wait, that's right, the sedan that I had before the 4 kids only had THREE seatbelts in the back. Although, I guess from your point of view my wife and I should have aborted one of them as to avoid having to drive a less fuel efficient vehicle.
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Sanguine Dream, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:38am

Re:
No all SUV owners don't buy them for those negative reasons but all men are not dogs but that sure as hell doesn't stop women from saying so.

fixed
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:38am

Lacking news as always. LOL Saying SUV drivers are bastards? So a person can't buy an SUV now, cause they're bastards? Seems to me like Mike is running out of good stories. What's wrong Mike, DRM and the RIAA not handing out anymore Lawsuits? And by the way WTF does this have to do with Technology?
Sounds more like a Dateline story: "SUV Drivers are Bastards, Up next on Dateline".
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hal4579, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:42am

Re: The Ant and the Elephant
My big penis can't tow my boat.
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SPR, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:50am

Re: Of Course...
Screw the environment, and screw you!!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:58am

Re: Gas is King
If you really can't wait for $6 gas go buy a SUV and convince all your friends to buy one, too.

Conversely, you and your friends can go buy a hybrid and make it cheaper for me to gas up my hemi RAM.

Oh, I know, there ought to be a law, every car in the U.S.
gets 40 MPG. Then the Chinese can sop up all the world's petroleum at discount prices and spew more of it into the atmosphere.
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Because I make more money than you, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:09am

What kind of asshole am I
Monday thru Friday I'm driving a Honda Civic Hybrid to and from work. Then on the weekends I drive my big evil SUV to go camping and boating with the fam. My wife drives a hybrid to work during the week as well. I love the way all the co-workers look at us as if we are a couple of tree huggers until they come out on the boat for a weekend. The look on their faces is priceless especially when they hear the boats twin 454's fire up.

So, what kind of asshole am I? Smug hybrid driving tree hugger, or Evil environment destroying bastard.
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Biker, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:09am

Damn too many emotions
BIKES ROCK!!!!!!!!! love my gsxr750.
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BigJim in STL, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:12am

Don't focus SOLELY on SUVs
Every time I see one of these articles bashing SUV's, primarily because of the gas-guzzling, I think, where are the articles bashing drivers of Corvettes, the new 500-hp mustang, and other sports cars? At least some percentage of SUV drivers use them to do things cars can't (pull a boat or trailer or whatever). The sports car segment is built for one reason and one reason only - to go fast. None of them exactly sip gas at the pump either, but we never see an article saying, 'oh, look at those wasteful Porsche drivers'.
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Bob, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:15am

Fuel efficient vehicles suck. When they make one that performs like a V-8 and isnt the size of a lawnmower Ill buy one. Until then Ill keep driving my SUV. It comes in handy when it snows and I have to get to work. USing more gas doesnt hurt the environment as long as the emissions are clean. Besides we will all be dead before the earth is destroyed.
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Clint, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:16am

SUVs not just for off road
I grew up in a family that owns cars, trucks, and SUVs. I can tell you that SUVs have a lot more purpose than just comfort and off-roading. Towing is also a big thing. Living in rural Colorado, we put in a fair amount of off-roading and towing. From the article, you also kinda have to wonder if they took all the people they saw on the road driving and took statistics on how many people they actually saw holding the cell phone to their head. What they probably forgot to include in the statistics was that people that drive SUVs probably have more money to have luxuries like a cell phone whereas people that can only afford a $500 geo can't. I'm willing to bet that the percentage of SUV drivers that own a cell phone is higher than the percentage of car owners that have cell phones.
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DreadedOne509, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:17am

SUV's & Ewe!
I drive a big honkin' SUV. It's shiny and black.
Damn straight the laws don't apply to me!
Drive your little crappy, environmentally safe car in front of me you'll get run over while I talk on my cell phone, eat my non-organic burger and fries while going 20 over the posted speed limit. When we impact, I'll walk away and you won't.

When they start making cars as safe for the driver and occupants as the SUV's are, that's when I'll go eco-friendly. Until then, pound sand :)

Have a nice day.
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wolff000, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:19am

YES , SUV Drivers are bastards.
Most people I know and I know alot that drive SUVs and most of them are bastards. They pay no attention when they drive because, " I have a big vehicle I can just run stuff over." So I defend the article and all you SUV driving people are bastards. Well not really just the ones I know. This is a valid article for tech dirt though. If you dig through there are lots of articles talking about handset laws and this ties in with those articles well. Just in case you all haven't noticed headlines like "SUV Drivers Are Bastards" have been used in journalism for a long time they are called attention grabbers, or sensationalism. Considering how many replies this article got I say Techdirt is doing well. So all those bitching about one sided articles and this story being non-tech, remember tech dirt didn't write the story so it being one sided has nothing to do with them and sencondly it ties in with alot of other articles that were tech and got posted so it makes sense to have this one. Read and enjoy just stop whining you SUV driving bastards.
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Roger McCOok, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:22am

It's the machines
It's not the people's fault. It's the machines, man. The SUV's need to be rounded up and thrown in jail for thirty to ninety days. That will teach them.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:23am

Its not about the environment, or about how people are assholes, etc. Those stuck driving their Mini Cooper Minis and Priuses at 15 MPH while straining the hampsters or batteries are just as annoying as any SUV driver. So SUV drivers are assholes, is that any worse than being a self-righteous Hybrid owner? No. The fact is that hybrid vehicles simply shift the burden elsewhere. Someone else said it above, most people arent qualified to drive a lawn mower, and Id agree with that. People Suck, what they drive is irrelevant.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:26am

Re: SUV's Coopers BMW
"The BMW M3 would blow the doors off any SUV or Mini or Cooper."

- I have a red pencil box.

"Try filling up your gas in Pennsylvania- they make you choose between self and full-service to fill up."

- And this has anything to do with the conversation, how?
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RMcCook, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:27am

Re: Thanks for Lumping me in...
RE: You don't see me writing stories about them do you.

No, man. You didn't just write that story and publish it on the Internet and I didn't actually read it, did I? I'm confused.
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Big Bastard, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:37am

Size Does Matter
Seriously. I am a fairly large person (6'2" 270 lbs.and sorry the vast majority of that is muscle) I commute about 40 miles per day to and from work, so fuel-efficiency is important to me. When they make a vehicle that gets 30+mpg and doesn't require me to be a trained contortionist, I'll drive it. Until then gimme big pickups and SUVs, so I can drive in relative comfort.
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DJ Gale, 27 Jun 2006 @ 6:47am

Re: Re:

Ha! My 2002 VW GTi was recently rear-ended by a GMC Jimmy as I pulled away from a stop light. No damage to me, but the Jimmy suffered from the collision. And the brand new Ford Explorer that consequently rear-ended the Jimmy crumpled its brand new plastic bumper and the Jimmy's hatch was mangled. Suckers.

And yes, my car is equipped with handsfree telephony provided through my sweet carputer's microphone and stereo system.
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Joe, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:08am

Re: I see a lot of SUV drivers in the thread
On a side note, i drive a Land Rover. I pay out the nose for gas just outside Washington DC. Buy what i pay for in gas i make up for with the assurance that anytime i step in my car i am safer than i would be in a sedan. Does that make me an asshole? I also talk on a cell phone without a headset and i usually wear a seatbelt but not always... but my behavior doesn't change when i setp behind the wheel of a sedan, so this really has nothing to do with SUV owners but people. I very seldom use my SUV for offroading but when the streets flooded yesterday and people in sedans were taking water through the air intake, i was there to stop and offer help in my SUV. If it snows 2 feet and theres an accident at my house, i can take the person to the hospital. The OPTION to do that is just as important as actually doing it or taking it offroading. Who here wouldnt gladly pay 3 times as much for gas so that they're kids will get to school safely?

I am by no means a wealthy man but next time you start criticising me for owning an SUV, know that i pay more for a better service than you and thats all. Its my money to spend on what i value and i dont consider myself an asshole for wanting to be safe. This is a major concept of economics.

One more thing to add is that studies have shown that every time a car innovation has been implemented to make cars safer (seatbelts, airbags, curtain airbags, stronger chassis, etc.), people drive worse and worse because of their new sense of safety. By youre logic, we should do away with seatbelts and airbags and make cars that explode in a fender bender. I guarantee people would pay more attention and drive more carefully. I can guarantee it would also cut down on gas consumption.
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Chuck, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:15am

SUV
I dirve a Chevy Suburban with pride. It's great in snow, and pulls my trailer like it not even back there. I can get my whole family into it - brother&sister in-law and their kids too. We breed like rabbits! I feel safe knowing that driving 60,000 miles a year in all types of weather and types of roads, I am safe. It's also fun to force it infront of some classist, greener-than-thou geek when he thinks he's not going to let me change lanes. I love it when you little people in a toyota beep like thats going to stop a 3 ton, 8 passenger truck from rolling in. Screw your little Japanesse car - may you get crushed in it. BTW $3 a gal/ no problem.
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Killer Cam, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:16am

Every time fuel prices go up I applaud it. I would support a very heafty gasoline tax, if the revenue went to alternate fuel research. Hopefully some of the SUV driving Dimwhits will be pushed out of the market if gasoline prices continue to rise. SUV's are: more likely to roll over, incompatible with smaller vehicles, even though you feel safe doesn't mean you are, and doesn't mean that you should drive around with the brain level bumper bullying your way through traffic.
SUV drivers are just plain selfish and irresponsible.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:23am

Re: Gas is King
If you really can't wait for $6 gas go buy a SUV and convince all your friends to buy one, too.

Conversely, you and your friends can go buy a hybrid and make it cheaper for me to gas up my hemi RAM.

Oh, I know, there ought to be a law, every car in the U.S.
gets 40 MPG. Then the Chinese can sop up all the world's petroleum at discount prices and spew more of it into the atmosphere.
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Anton, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:25am

?
Techdirt or Road and Driver?
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Neal, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:27am

Survey and whatever else ails ya!
You should also take into account that owners of SUV are also more likely to have $ and own cell phones than those of us driving Cutlasses (unless we are drug dealers). This article doesn't generalize, bloggers do. The article states from a factual survey that SUV drivers four times as likely ignore use of cell phones with hands-free equipment laws than people who have cars. If the interpreters of that think that means all SUV drivers, then they have made their own judgement.
Truth is that SUV's really are pointless. Minivans used to be big, then soccer mom thought she needed to drive an off road vehicle so she wouldn't look like a soccer mom. Now we see a SUV and we are pretty sure that is a soccer mom inside with her twerps. Minivans have more seating and get better gas mileage. When family time comes we will not even consider a SUV and go with a more practical minivan.
As for electric or hybrids. Whatever form the energy that powers your car it was all made the same way, the dirty way. Unless your car is completely electric and you plug it into a wind turbine or a hydroelectric dam power outlet, your energy is made principally by oil or coal. I think those are clean fuels, aren't they?!
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Fo' reals, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:32am

Bumper stickers seen on the back of SUVs:

"Fuck that, let our troops support me for a change."

"Doing my part to keep our troops in Iraq."

"I get 1.5 troops per tank of gas."

"My SUV gets better troops per gallon than your SUV!"

"Supporting Bush/Cheney's blood-for-oil program."

'Nuff said...
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:33am

Loved It
True, True
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Tom, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:35am

Re: Clint, Phactual
Phactual:
"IMO, had the BMJ observed any other class of vehicle owner, they would have found that most humans, period, drive like ignorant self-righteous arrogant jerks."
Quote from the Guardian about the same survey:
"Observers watched 38,000 ordinary cars and nearly 3,000 four wheel drive vehicles pass through Hammersmith in west London over two weeks in 2004. They say in the British Medical Journal that 8.2% of the drivers of four wheel drive vehicles were using a mobile, against 2% of drivers of ordinary cars"
Sounds to me like they were observing everyone, not just SUV drivers. Although, fair point, there are far too many morons out there behind the weel.

Clint:

"What they probably forgot to include in the statistics was that people that drive SUVs probably have more money to have luxuries like a cell phone whereas people that can only afford a $500 geo can't."

Reality check: Everyone owns a mobile phone. The only person I know who doesn't is my 79 year old grandma.

[rant] The reason SUV drivers talk on their phones is because they think that driving the latest Mitsubishi Monstrosity to the shops and back makes them bad-ass and that they don't need to obey road safety rules because if they hit someone, they'll be safe. The reality is that if they hit another car, the sheer mass of their big off-roader makes it much more likely to crush the other car and kill the occupants, and if they hit a pedestrian, the higher point of impact combined with the stupid bull-bars they probably have on the front mean the ped is roadkill at any speed above 20mph. [/rant]
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:37am

Re: Re: I see a lot of SUV drivers in the thread
I totalled a Land Rover Discovery three weeks ago. It wasn't my fault. When a Semi side swipes you and then another vehicle rear ends you into the wall the last place you want to be is inside a sedan, or coupe. The car saved my life, i walked out without a scratch. The car itself was totalled not from impact but from frame damage. I am greatful for that car and that is why i bought an LR3. Gas aside, you can't put a price on your life. Being from Europe you get used to not having as many SUVs as in the US. But if you drive in the US than you know how people here drive on their $15 license. On another note. My safety first, then others. I don't pretend to be better than anyone because i drive an SUV, nor do i think my manhood is at stake. The truth of the matter is that bad drivers exist, only they aren't just driving SUV's.
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mobilene, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:39am

Re:
I own a Matrix. It's reliable. That's about all you can say for it.
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Frankie, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:42am

Re: Soccer Moms Can't Drive
Women are great multi-taskers, I don't know what turnip suv you fell out of but get back in.
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Bark Muckman, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:43am

Bad drivers drive all kinds of vehicles
Bad drivers can drive little cars and big cars, why single just one group out?http://PlateWire allows anyone to report bad drivers, no matter what vehicle they drive! See for yourself.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:52am

SUV owners are perhaps the most selfish of all vehicle drivers. Listen to some of the rhetoric on here, and you can see why. What nobody seems to grasp is that it's not about size. It's not about safety. It's not about comfort. It's not about small penises. It's not about affordability.

No, what it's about is feeding the beast. There is a belief in this country that having more equals success. This gratuitous behavior is where so many people get their validation. In a world of designer labels and convenience-above-all, it is not even surprizing that there are so many SUVs on OUR roads. SUVs are a symptom of a much deeper underlying issue for this country. But as long as we have the corrupt, Godless leaders that we do, this will not change. It will get worse, waaay worse. Good luck, America.
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Wolfger, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:52am

Re:
I drive a JEEP and wear my belt. This story sucks! Find better news.

I drive 3 vehicles: a Jeep, a 2-door sedan, and a full-size pickup.
In the Jeep, I usually wear my seatbelt, because there's no roof to speak of, and a roll cage won't do me any good if I don't stay inside the vehicle.
In the sedan, I occasionally wear my seatbelt.
In the truck, I virtually never wear my seatbelt.
I have been in several accidents, during none of which was I wearing a seatbelt. Twice, the vehicle I was in was totalled. Only once was I seriously injured (cracked ribs... seatbelt would not have prevented that, either), and the other passenger *wearing* a seatbelt was injured worse than I was.
Seatbelt laws suck. Failure to wear a seatbelt is no indication of intelligence or demeanor.
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js, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:54am

This article is flat-out wrong-
I drive a Nissan Pathfinder, wear my belt, don't use my phone downtown (where it is illegal), recycle all of my aluminum plastic and paper, and occasionally clean up trash from the side of the road.

Oh yeah, I also ride my bike.

You can't generalize a person's lifestyle based on the car/truck they drive-
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KevinG79, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:54am

Re:
Yup and the funny thing is...to all to SUV drivers who thing you are so safe in your big, "secure," gas-guzzling monstrosity... SUVs are among the most UNSAFE vehicles you can buy. Idiots here in WI during the winter think they're SO SAFE with their gigantic "4 wheel drive" SUVs and trucks. But as I'm driving along the freeway during a snowstorm, what do I see flipped over in the ditch every 50 feet? Yep...an SUV.

Sorry, but this article is true. MOST (notice I said MOST, not ALL) SUV drivers ARE bastards. And the reason they drive around in them is what other's have been saying (but I'll do it in a less graphic description). They are insecure. That big gas guzzing peice of crap makes you feel all big and cool. But in reality, it just makes you look like yet another annoying idiot on the road who is responsible for causing yet another accident.
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be2be, 27 Jun 2006 @ 7:58am

Aggressive much?
My experience is that SUV drivers are very aggressive - and I imagine a similar demographic buys muscle cars as buys SUVs. When I'm driving along, I daily have an SUV race up behind me within inches of my bumper before changing lanes. What is up with that? They never seem to act normal. They do seem to have less respect for others on the road, and nine out of ten times they fit the soccer mom description.

btw I was nearly killed in an accident with and SUV - this crap about being safer annoys me - does that mean we all have to buy SUVs? Because rather than designed to be safe - they seem designed to kill the other driver. Volvos are still safer than any of these monsters and they don't endanger erveryone else on the road. Bumpers that don't match any other cars on the road - are anti-social. Lights that glare through the whole of your car blinding you are anti-social. and cars designed without any consideration for the environment are anti-social.
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Wizard Prang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:02am

Over-reacting?
Not at all. Nobody here is telling you how many kids to have.

It sounds to me like you don't need an SUV... you need a Minivan.
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Gym, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:05am

Big Fish Lives in a Big Can!
To all you sardines that fit and love your sardine can vehicles - "get a life"....I see just as many drivers with cell phones, shavers, and lipstick driving hybreds and sardine can style cars. All I have to say is good luck to ya - when you get to close to a tree and give it a real hug...We SUV lovers pay at the pump, but I would rather have an additional 2 tons on my side when a "accident happens". Call me selfish or a bastard, but I have the better odds of staying alive in a crash. You for that matter will be packed like a bunch of sardines, in your sardine cans.....
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Brutis bEEFCAKE, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:10am

Jettas are homo cars
or chick cars.....whats the difference?
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Anonymous with a big one, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:11am

Re: it's really simple to understand
I wouldnt say that everyone who drives a SUV is an asshole or have small penis', i am a little above average, but hey I am not going to put a sticker on my car that says that now am I

Also people always say the SUvs are eating up the gas, what about sports cars, corvettes, porches, ferraris, lambourghinis, what about all you F1 fans and NASCAR fans how much crap gets burned iunto the environment by those groups??
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JD, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:15am

Re:
"by Robbie Herbertson on Jun 27th, 2006 @ 1:13am

I drive an suv, a 94' Ford Bronco. I take that thing off-roading all the time. Personally, I hate H2's because they are fugly, slow, and can't handle off-road. As for the enviornment, I could care less."

So you DO care about the enviornment? I think you meant "I couldn't care less". I could care less too because I do care. Understand smart guy?
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Wizard Prang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:17am

Don't focus SOLELY on sports cars!
"At least some percentage of SUV drivers use them to do things cars can't (pull a boat or trailer or whatever)."

How many SUVs do you see on the highway pulling boats/trailers? Not may. It is rare to see SUVs with more than one passenger.

Sports cars are built for speed. Trucks are built to carry stuff, minivans are built to carry people. What are SUVs built for? Many have never hauled a load and most have never been off-road. Cabin space is similar to a family sedan, but they use more fuel and obscure the view of the driver behind you.

SUVs are marketed as being "tough" and "safe", which they achieve by being big and heavy... which means expensive to run - and THAT'S why people bash them.

If you often went off-roading, boating, camping, kayaking, mountaineering etc, then an SUV makes sense. Otherwise it's like the Sports car that never goes over 55MPH or the poseur Sport Truck that has 4x4 but has never been off the road or carried a load in the back- a solution to a non-existent problem.

Finally, sports cars look nice, while most SUVs have the aerodynamics of a brick.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:21am

Everyone driving on more than 2 wheels is a jerk
I drive a motorcycle, and can personally tell you take ALL car drivers Suck!!! EVERY car uses more gas than my bike. On a bike you don't deal with ANYthing besides riding!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:26am

Re: Aggressive much?
this crap about being safer annoys me - does that mean we all have to buy SUVs?
Sorry to say but humans are self interested. This happens all the time... yeah we hate the guy who stands up in the front row at the baseball game because then we all have to in order to see, but we still do it. The rest of us are not assholes just because we all want to see too... just that guy in the front who started it. If you dont want to "see", thats your business.
Volvos are still safer than any of these monsters and they don't endanger erveryone else on the road.
Volvo in fact has an SUV called the XC90 which my mom purchased after a sedan rear ended her at a stoplight at 30 miles per hour while she was in her sedan. I dont know how that happens... 30 miles per hour??? The guy walked away fine. Several disks in my moms neck were crushed and she has to take pain killers now... a year later. Next time she gets rear ended by a sedan at 30 miles per hour at a stoplight, i hope the guy in the sedan has to be scraped off her SUV bumper.
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Chewiee, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:26am

KMYMF! I drive an SUV and wear a belt and hfk
Well what a narrow minded news article... my 4x4 is used offroad recreationally, I use seat belts and I also wear a bluetooth headset when I make/receive calls.

Mine is also used to cart stuff about, so used as and when needed.

This article is a poor waste of space on your site and surely requires some proof in what they say.

In the UK we pay almost 1 GB pound for petrol and that's enough of a pXsstake!

This is typical of what are known in the uk as "Daily Mail" reader mentality...

Bite me
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Wizard Prang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:26am

McCavity's not there...
"I drive an SUV and take it off road and use it what it is meant for"

Bravo!

"very seldom is an suv involved"

The worst examples of inconsiderate and careless driving that I have seen are drivers of expensive late-model import SUVs who are not paying attention (phone, kids, making eye contact with passengers etc).

Just because they cause accidents does not mean that they will have them. If an SUV swapped lanes without looking - as has happened MANY times - and ran me off the road, what would you find at the scene of the accident?
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:27am

I would love to get myself a bike. There are only two things stopping me from doing so: 1) all the really shitty drivers out there, and 2) my wife.
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Alex Singleton, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:29am

Driving and risk
It's entirely rational. SUV drivers feel safer.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:32am

Re: Don't focus SOLELY on SUVs
where are the articles bashing drivers of Corvettes, the new 500-hp mustang, and other sports cars?

There are none because those cars are pretty. We don't like the ugly cars that are too hard to see around.
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Wizard Prang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:33am

Amen brother!
It seems to me that small women view trucks and SUVs as four-wheeled platform shoes.

My wife agrees - she is 4'9" and once wanted a big truck or SUV, but is happy with her Camry.

As for me, I too drive a Saturn (93 SC2), and have had the same immensely amusing experiences at the gas station. On one occasion it was a Hummer H2. I was grinning as I left. He looked miserable.

They must really like paying for gas.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:35am

Yep, they are dicks. LOL!
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Cube, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:36am

This is crazy. Lets blame one area of people. If you ask me this is on the same issue of being black or white. I personally drive a 2001 Expedition on 33's. Yes I am running larger tires. Reason better ride quality and price is better. I also currently have a Ranger on 35's. The Ranger is used off-road alot and driven on the road. Expedition also see's some back roads also. Reason for the larger vechile is I feel safer with my family in it. I looked at newer cars and they don't hold up in accidents. If you ask me the ones that need help driving are the tuner scene. Just beacuse you add more plastic to a car doesn't make it move faster. Look at the whole picture before you look at the fine detail.
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Wizard Prang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:40am

Safer = Heavier?
"anytime i step in my car i am safer than i would be in a sedan"

That's not because you're driving an SUV. It's because your vehicle is bigger and heavier than the next vehicle.

It is accepted that in an accident the driver of the heavier vehicle "wins". You're simply betting that its you.

Where would be be of everyone thought like that? What happens when everyone drives a Navigator or a Yukon? Where's your weight advantage then?
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Wizard Prang, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:49am

"Monday thru Friday I'm driving a Honda Civic Hybrid to and from work. Then on the weekends I drive my big evil SUV to go camping and boating with the fam"

And that's the way it should be.

SUVs do have a purpose... but the vast majority of SUV drivers are not like you.
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Bill, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:50am

Hands Free
It does not matter what kind of car people drive. Sit at a busy intersection and watch all the people who have a cell phone to their ear. It should not matter either if there is a law in your state or not about driving while on a cell phone. I drive most of my day at work and cover alot of miles. I wish people would just drive! Not talk, eat, read, put on makeup, brush teeth, shave and last turn around to feed your children. Please! Just drive for everyones safety.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:53am

I drive an SUV
and I get about 32 miles to the gallon. Not bad for a gas guzzling beast is it.

And I can proudly say I don't use a hands-free kit either.

I also don't talk on my cell phone while driving, unless its an absolute emergency. And I'd probably wreck trying to plug in a hands-free set while driving if I did use one. As it is I just pop it open say who I want to call, get it done and get back to driving.
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Bastard, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:55am

I like to hit animals in my SUV while talking on the phone and watching teh prOn and drinking Lattes.

In all seriousness, I use it in the snow and offroad. I have a little BMW "baby six engine" that gets great gas milage otherwise.
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Faz, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:56am

Seatbelts are common sense. do not generalize about SUV drivers. and to saying they do not care about the enviroment. ever hear of Hybrod SUV :@
silly survey
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Boyd, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:56am

SUV drivers can't see
I agree. I am amazed that, despite the claims that SUVs are safer because the driver has better visibility of the road (higher seating position), it's almost always an SUV that pulls out from a side street and almost smacks me when I have right-of-way. Why can't they see? Of course, they're also often on the phone.
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John, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:00am

SUV's
Have you ever noticed that big, fat, ugly people drive big, fat, ugly vehicles.

It seems to go hand in hand...
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Randum, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:02am

Thank about it-they buy a car that gets less than 20MPG , sometimes 15MPG-and they don't need the SUV for cargo room, but merely a social status.....
so being smart people goes hand in hand!
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Sanguine Dream, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:04am

Most SUV drivers...
just assume that by driving an SUV they have vastly increased their odds of coming out on top in an accident ( by that I mean less risk of injury ). What they fail to do is learn how to account for the fact that they have much larger vehicle and not only have they decreasd their odds of injury in an accident they have also increased their odds of being the cause of the accident because they dont know how to handle such a large vehicle. And I dont care if you have an SUV you cannont get on the highway the morning after a snowstorm and still drive 85mph.

It seems to me that oversized SUVs have become for tiny women what fancy sports cars have are for middle aged men, ego boosters.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:05am

Re:
You get a kick out of having a smaller gas tank? But with all the processes you did- oh wait, they did that too. Thnk before you post, jackass.
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Get over yourselves, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:08am

A year and a half ago my husband and son were killed by a woman who was talking on her cellphone and she ploughed right into the side of them. They were in a Subaru station wagon, but they never had a chance against her F350. I will never understand why a woman with two small children of her own needed to drive a Lincoln Navigator. If it were another car that hit my husband and son, then maybe, just maybe one or both of them might still be alive today.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:12am

Re: Re:
You get a kick out of having a smaller gas tank? But with all the processes you did- oh wait, they did that too. Thnk before you post, jackass.

???WTF??
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Brian, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:13am

I learned my lesson while driving an SUV, someone hit my SUV, because while dirving his Infiniti, he decided that if the turned to look to see if there was a car/SUV/Truck/Motorcycle next to him it would have interupted his cell phone conversation. So what happened, my SUV ripped up the front end of his car, and I had minimal damage to my SUV.

So Yes I feel safer in my SUV, and yes I will deal with gas prices.
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whargoul, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:15am

Re: Aggressive much?
My experience is that SUV drivers are very aggressive
Actually, I'm more aggressive in my wife's Jetta. It will reach 100mph way faster than my truck will reach 70

When I'm driving along, I daily have an SUV race up behind me within inches of my bumper before changing lanes. What is up with that?
What's up with that is you need to get out of the fast lane if you're not going to speed up. Rarely do I have an SUV try to run up my ass, usually it's some punk in a smaller car who thinks tailgating me is going to make me move. I just laugh at them and slow down - if they're really close I slam on the brakes for a sec to make their butt pucker...and yes, I do that in the Jetta too.

Bumpers that don't match any other cars on the road - are anti-social.
So what.

Lights that glare through the whole of your car blinding you are anti-social.
So what. That's what that little switch under your rearview mirror is for.

and cars designed without any consideration for the environment are anti-social Again, so what.
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Whatever he said, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:16am

kiss my....
As long as everyone has decided my wife's a bitch because she wants more room for the kids and better visability, I have given her complete freedom to run any small car she wants off the road.

If you are so quick to psychoanalyze us, you should realize you are just projecting your own short comings on others you consider different.

In the meantime, you have declared war, and choose the losing side -- I hope your airbags work.
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Ese, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:18am

SUV driver's are homo's!
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DeepDave, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:19am

Here's the real point...
For those of us driving sedans in this age of bigger and bigger SUV's, it's time to get to the bottom of this issue.

Fear. Plain and simple, if you're in your car and a giant SUV rides climbs up on your a** while doing 65mph, it's a little scary.

That kind of fear breeds an us against them mentaility (cars vs. SUV drivers), which this article exploits.

I miss by Jeep Cherokee for one reason only: I felt like I was safe in it. I could drive as fast as I wanted, around whoever I wanted, and nothing could stop me.

All of this leads to this point: SUV drivers need to be more responsible when driving, more so than car drivers. That's because when the Jeep Cherokee runs into the Mazda Miata, the Mazda is going to be in big trouble.
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Ese you suck, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:19am

You dont know how to spell, you SUV-bashing putz.
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bmac (profile), 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:26am

Jettas are gay
This is what I love about TechDirt. Take a flawed or vague study, post an opinion, and then watch the flame war take off.

The conversation would get even better if we could somehow tie in abortion, gay marriage (for all the VW owners out there), creation vs evolution, and the Iraq war (oops, someone already did that one).

TechDirt: Becoming more and more like /. every day!

For the record: My big, heavy 1997 GMC Yukon gets about 17mpg city, 19 hwy. That's not much worse than most mid-sized sedans on the road today. My wife drives it for errands close to the house. I drive a 2002 Camry for the savings on gas, not to help the environment.
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TreeHugging A'hole, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:27am

This is fun, but solving nothing.

People are going to drive, wear, use, and generally consume whatever they want (and can afford.)

I remember when gas broke $.50 a gallon and everyone was "going to start using mass transit because it was too expensive to drive." To the best of my knowledge, there are many times more drivers now than there were when gas was "cheap." So the cost of gas seems irrelevant to the conversation.

Cars and trucks in general have gotten larger as of late; but if you will notice, they are still not as large as they were in the '60's (trucks aside, they have gotten larger.) Does that mean that we were "safer" in the past??? If all anyone cares about is safety, then why did we start making cars of smaller stature to begin with? Why aren't they twice as large and heavy as they were then? I guess that takes "safety" out of the mix as well.

I drive a Chevrolet 2500 Crew Cab w/ Z71 suspension Monday thru Friday, and a Honda Hybrid the remainder of my driving time. The Honda has been "off road" more than the truck.

The truth is I am a geek for a construction company, and occasionally (read twice in the last 3 years) have to haul something to a job site. Therefore, I need a truck that gets a wonderful 14mpg and costs almost $100 per tank to fill up. I hike and mountain bike extensively so my Honda takes me to where I want to go and costs almost $20 to fill up.

I am on the phone constantly. I use my BT headset when the battery isn't dead, and stick the phone to my ear when it is, REGARDLESS of whether I am driving or not.

A driver of a Prius the other morning was putting on her makeup and swerved into my lane. As a result, I dropped my electric razor into my coffee, which burned my lap, which caused me to cuss during an important conference call. Luckily, my “big bad vehicle” has a large center console for my to put my breakfast sandwich on so I could flip her off. Guess that proves that women can’t drive, and SUV drivers aren’t as bad as some would have you believe. [/tongue in cheek]
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:30am

Re: Re: it's really simple to understand
"Also people always say the SUvs are eating up the gas, what about sports cars, corvettes, porches, ferraris, lambourghinis, what about all you F1 fans and NASCAR fans how much crap gets burned iunto the environment by those groups??"

But for every 1 ferrari on the road there are probably 500,000 SUVs. So eliminating the 1 ferarri isn't going to change gas consumption that much compared to eliminating SUVs.

FYI - Corvettes get 30 mpg highway. The average SUV - 18 mpg. That's a huge difference.
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Mark, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:32am

We have met the enemy, and he is us.
I've learned two things in reading this thread:

1) SUV drivers are, indeed, assholes.

2) They read this blog.
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ebrke, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:35am

Re: Re: Aggressive much?
It happens to me daily, too, and I am almost invariably in the far right lane. No one knows how to drive anymore--idiots use the right lane to speed around those in the left lanes who are going only 20 mph over the speed limit instead of 30.

I have read this entire thread, and honest to God, it makes me want to emigrate; what the hell has happened to Americans. And yes, I'll save someone the trouble of posting it, I realize that the majority of people in this country would be glad to see me go.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:37am

Re: Here's the real point...
"I miss by Jeep Cherokee for one reason only: I felt like I was safe in it. I could drive as fast as I wanted, around whoever I wanted, and nothing could stop me."

That's exactly the point of this article. SUV drivers have that attitude and drive like morons. Also, that attitude is incorrect. You are more likely to roll in a sharp turn at a high speed or cause a rear end collision when trying to stop from a high speed. That is why SUV drivers are perceived as being bastards.
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NullBull, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:44am

Name calling
I don't think SUV drivers are more likely to have a sense of entitlement. I don't think they're narrow-minded, and I don't think this study means much of anything aside from exactly what it says: For the group sampled, SUV drivers were more likely to have X behavior. Interesting, but hardly a dramatic illumination of an entire subset of society. You don't like the study? Fine. Think it's a waste of time? Fine. Not liking it doesn't make it invalid.

And for those who say they don't give a *@#$! about the environment: Great, tough guy, because it won't give a #&$*! when you and your family are dying in a drought, hurricane, tornado, flood, etc. It's not about saving the planet... it's about saving your own @ss you ignorant moron!
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Egat, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:47am

Re: Re: Of Course...
Wow, that's sure a true committment to the future of life on Earth. I mean, it's not like Earth is overpopulated already. A responsible couple that really cares about the future should have as many kids as possible. More so if they live in a first-world country where those extra kids will consume resources that could keep many more in a third world country fed and sheltered.

I'm just glad to hear you drive an SUV on top of all that. Hurrah! The world will be such a great place for future generations because of your sacrifice!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:48am

Re: Re: Of Course...
Or you could have just bought a mini van.

Do I miss my Blazer? Hell yes I do. I miss the 4 wheel drive during the Wisconsin winters and I miss being able to get back into the woods on some of the trails that my car can't take me. Now i just walk those trails and I take my time in the winter.

I'm just trying to save money and help the enviroment. Mainly just saving money because i know china is just going to get worst as far as polutiton goes. But who are we to tell them they can't. We did it.
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Carl, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:48am

First off why bother with the environment anyway. Every living person will be dead before we could destroy the earth. Second of all SUVs have to follow the same emission standards as any other car so they DO have clean exhaust.

Second, stop bitching about not being able to see around them. If you wouldnt ride up our asses in your "green" cars err lawnmowers you could easily see around. You do know that you should be one car length behind the person in front of you for every 10 miles an hour you are traveling.

Third a lot of SUV owners need the 4 wheel drive because it SNOWS where we live and while I agree a lot of SUV owners think they can drive in the snow like the roads are bare, we arent all like that. Some of also have very LARGE dogs and they dont fit in sedans.

Ill buy a green vehicle when they can make one big enough for me and my English Mastiff and when they can perform like my supercharged Xterra.
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Whatever he said, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:48am

get out of my way
Sorry, I was trying to reply while driving my SUV on the freeway -- looks like I hit a few people. F-them, they bitch about what they don't have because they don't want to work harder for it.

Capitalism ROCKS!

And Altruism is nonesense -- who really drives small cars for the environment? I call bullshit on that, get a clue.

Bitch about what you don't have, and you'll always be a bitch.

And if you think you know why I drive 130 in my Magnum I really don't care -- all I know is I don't have to hang around in traffic with you under acheiving whiners -- bye bye .....................
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Ezekial, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:52am

Perhaps we should just ban all small cars, then they couldnt complain that someone in a big vehicle could hurt them more because they chose a small car. You live with the consequences of buying whatever car you bought, its called personal responsibility which nobody seems to have anymore. Its always blame someone else for your problems
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Hate All Traffic, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:52am

Late to the post....But
Move to Florida and drive with old people and douchebags on crotch rockets! SUV drivers dont look so bad!!!
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bmac (profile), 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:57am

Re: Name calling
Again, for the record:

Not sure who your comments were aimed at, but I didn't say I don't care about the environment; my main reason for driving the Camry is the cost of fuel. If the environment benefits (which I really don't believe it does, but anyway) then so much the better.

I would rather drive the Yukon; I'm 6'4", and not slim, so the Camry is not as comfortable. I've got a bad back, so getting the kids in their car seats and strapped in is a LOT harder to do in the Camry. And try as I might, I just can't get a sofa in the Camry, no matter which way I turn it.

My wife had a wreck in the Yukon while talking on her cell phone. She was on the way to a funeral and was lost in an unfamiliar part of town. She was crying because she didn't want her friend to think she had bailed on the service. So driving an SUV while talking on the phone, while crying and distraught over being lost caused the accident.

Moral to this story: Don't judge anyone based on their vehicle, their phone use, their penis size, their gayness for driving a Jetta, their posting of a flame-bait article, etc.
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German, 27 Jun 2006 @ 10:13am

SUV Drivers
SUV drivers feel safer but being on the cell phone and leaned way back riding high up also gives them a kick. PPL that want those vehicles want it for the style.
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gti owner, 27 Jun 2006 @ 10:48am

Re: Re: Re:
bulls**t
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JM, 27 Jun 2006 @ 10:52am

Morons
FTA: The researchers don't have much of an explanation for the discrepancy, so perhaps it means...

Did any of you doltz that complain this story is too one-sided even read it? Oh, sorry, you all drive SUV's - hit a little close to home (cry me a river)?

It's a study with an unexplainible discrepancy.

Just because some of you own an SUV and follow laws doesn't mean there isn't something to this - put down your big stick (sorry cell phone) and think a litte more critical. Christ.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2006 @ 11:42am

Re: North Carolina
May have been an attempt to quote a comedian I heard somewhere..."People who drive faster than you are maniacs, and people who drive slower than you are idiots...."
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Gabriel Tane (profile), 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:17pm

Really Simple...
1) Such statements as "SUV Drivers are assholes" and "Ricer drivers are speed-freak punks" et al, are based in observation. Overgeneralization? Yes, but they are based in what people actually see. But if you feel you don't fit that category, fine. Feel good about yourself and have a Fudgesicle(r).

2)Magnums, Hemi's, SUV's, Hybrids, trucks... whatever. This whole thread is missing the point that your car is supposed to be a tool to get you from A to B. America (primarily) and other countries have made them into status symbols. It's human nature. And its that nature that's going to be the end of us. Have a Fudgesicle(r) before we all go.

3)Responsibility of SUV's versus Small Cars... my favorite, by the way.

Ezekial said it, I believe, with "You live with the consequences of buying whatever car you bought, its called personal responsibility which nobody seems to have anymore. Its always blame someone else for your problems." But, unfortunately, he said it to illustrate that it's the small car owner's fault if they don't survive an SUV.

Sure, if the car causes the accident. But what about the greater responsibility that comes with choosing a larger vehicle? What about Semi's? Should they just scoff at all drivers that aren't in a Tractor Trailer just because he's the biggest on the road?

How about we all just drive defensively and excursive an amount of responsibility relative to the damage you can cause. If some punk in a riced out civic cuts your SUV off and dies, hey, it ain't your fault. Have a Fudgesicle(r)

4)Environment?... don't worry, we'll be out of oil long before the damage to the environment is irreversible. And besides... it's not going to destroy the earth, it's just going to make it uninhabitable to us. So have a Fudgesicle(r) while you can.

In closing... Honestly this whole thread reminds me why I'm ashamed of being an American. You all rant and rave about what group you're pigeonholed in based on what car you drive. I'm sick of being grouped in with all of the idiots and self-serving, short-sighted, elitist, money-grubbing, whiney self-centered bastards out there who share borders with me. Trust me... if I could, I'd be out of here. To borrow and adapt a quote from a wise actor playing an even wiser man: "This country needs an enema."

I'm off to have a Fudgesicle(r)
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Alex, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:42pm

Please people. They aren't generalizing!!! THEY TOOK A SURVEY!!!! Just because YOU aren't a bastard*, that doesn't mean that most SUV drivers aren't. They aren't saying that you specifically are a bastard, they are saying that statistically speaking, one is more likely to be a bastard if he buys an SUV. Owning an SUV doesn't make you a bastard, SUVs attract bastards. Doesn't mean that plain polite folk like you and me can't buy an SUV. It just means that bastards are more likely to appreciate the extra advantage an SUV gives them. And the SUV allows them to abuse other drivers more than a car would. So of course they would want an SUV.

*'Course I don't know what being born to a single mother has anything to do with owning an SUV
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Robbie, 27 Jun 2006 @ 12:49pm

Re: Re:
Wow, a grammar error, my bad...
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Ken, 27 Jun 2006 @ 1:53pm

RE:RE:
While I don't agree with the generalizations about SUV drivers being assholes, it's a fact that most SUV drivers are "simply mislead" thinking that an SUV is somehow safer than a good mid-sized sedan.

The fact is, SUVs are involved in rollover accidents 7 times more often than passenger cars, and rolllover accidents generally cause far more bodily injuries than regular crashes due to the tumbling and tossing around effect they cause, even worse if seatbelts aren't worn.

So to all those who say, oh I'm in a bigger vehicle, I'm safer, remember that the next time you're going down the highway doing 65 and have to swirve to avoid a crash, it'll be nice looking down on everyone doing the SUV infamous "bottoms up". :-)
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Rollover Fido, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:06pm

SUV rollover rate
Actually, they don't include full-sized SUVs in those tests, only minivans, mid-size cars and SUVs and smaller. You won't find any crash test stats for Expedition/Navigator, Tahoe/Yukon, etc.

There's a good reason for this: They aren't likely to roll because they are heavier with a very low center of gravity. And they usually destroy what they hit with very little collateral damage.

An Explorer, Trailblazer or Xterra would be much more likely to roll due to the high center of gravity. If it's 4x4, then the CG is even higher.
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Ken, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:12pm

Expeditions Rollover, who fooled you
Maybe the following article will enlighten you. The bigger they are, the harder they roll.

http://www.rolloverlawyer.com/ford_defects/expedition.htm

I do agree some SUVs roll easier and even much easier than others, but when it comes to staying on all 4s there is no comparison to the standard car.
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zig, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:18pm

Re: As for the enviornment, I could care less.
Typical, slothful, blockheaded ignorance. Fortunately, before long you will care very much about the environment. You won't have a choice - fool.
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Rollover Fido, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:28pm

Re: Ken
You're taking the bloodsucking lawyer's word for it??!! Or maybe you're the bloodsucker?

Rolloverlawyer.com is in the business of making money from these tragedies. Of course their web site will look like a treatise against large SUVs. They want to sensationalize the subject to attract more suit seekers. How many of those rollovers were caused by negligence or stupidity on the part of the driver? Doesn't matter 'cuz we can say it's Ford's fault for building a faulty vehicle??

Next you'll be telling me that the fiberglass body panels on a Corvette won't protect me in a crash at 180 mph, and maybe I should sue GM for building an unsafe car.

Rolloverlawyer.com has nothing to do with SUVs being more likely to roll. It has to do with $$$$$.
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Ken, 27 Jun 2006 @ 2:42pm

I'm not a lawyer
You know, let me sum this up Fido, I drive the busy highways of NJ on a daily basis, spring, summer, winter and fall, I can count the amount of car rollover accidents I've seen in the last 5 years on one hand.

SUVs, big and small, I can't count the number I've seen in two months on one hand. No lawyers, no dollars, just accidents you see daily. It's amazing that the only thing you harped on about that article was the word "lawyer". You are clearly avoiding the head on fact that SUVs, large or small are no match for a car in emergency maneuvering, thus clearly NOT SAFER. Can you address that?
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haplesboylard, 27 Jun 2006 @ 3:29pm

both sides of the fence....
I drive a off-roader (not an SUV, there is a difference), and i also drive a Smart.

Strangly enough, i see different attitudes to me depending on which car im in at the time, despite the fact that i only have one style of driving.

It seems that if anyone has a bad attitude on the road, its the drivers of "normal" cars.

Fuel consumption? I get 30mpg out of my off roader, you may scoff at that, but then i can scoff at your car as my Smart is the most efficient production car on the planet. Bar none.

Dominate the road? Everyday vehicles have to be narrow enough to stay well with lane markings, so my off-roader does. As for length, a Ford Focus estate is 1 inch longer than my off roader.

Saftey. A woman once ran a red infront of me at the last second. She had to be cut out of her car, i had my off roader back from the body shop in 4 days. Which one is the safer?

Road holding. The chassis on my car was designed and tweaked by one of the world's top sports car companies, can you say the same? Unless you drive a TVR, Lotus, Ferarri, Lambo etc... you cant.

Does it go off road? Yes, as frequently as possible. Now, ask Porche drivers when they last took their car on a track. Ask MPV drivers when was the last time they had 7 passangers.

They are for snobs to show off their money! Thank you for thinking that im a snob for driving around in an 8 year old Vauxhall.

If you feel the need to vent your spleen at a section of road users, pick on Prius owers who buy an overy complex hybrid thats nothing like effieicent, or the drivers of diesels that kill thousands of people every year (NHS figures).

Or you could just hit the next idiot who has one of those stupid St George flags sticking out of their window.
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Detroit Muscle, 27 Jun 2006 @ 4:58pm

...I don't have that problem...
I have to say that I don't have that problem. I can't hear my cellphone over my 440+ cubic inches of pure 1969 Detroit steel and 3 inch exhaust. I use 93 octane and get less than 5 miles to the gallon--and happy to pay it. My Quad Cab Hemi Ram can push over 20mpg on the highway cause I don't drive like a-hole. You folks can take your little "ecologically sound" Japanese POSs and I'll take my classis Detroit muscle...and support my American manufacturers at the same time.
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Detroit Muscle, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:01pm

...oh...and another thing...
I'm in the military and have done several tours overseas fighting for my right to waste oil! Long live the American V8.
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BillDivX, 27 Jun 2006 @ 5:08pm

umm, yeah.
Ok. Honestly. Enough with the SUV bashing. I have one. I use it for hauling musical equipment, which doesn't fit into a sedan well, and can't be outside in the bed of a pickup. I drive respectfully. I have had only two minor accidents in 11 years of driving, neither while on the phone. It's just like blaming accidents on cellphones, or ipods, or that damn candy you can't get out of the wrapper. When will people learn that It's not soccer moms, it's not people in SUVs, it's not cellphones, it's not ipods, it's not the freaking makeup in the review mirror, people, it's the IDIOTS!!!!! IDIOTS are out there, ruining everything for everybody. They are everywhere and you've probably been one before.

"I see stupid people...."
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Boogidee, 27 Jun 2006 @ 8:20pm

I have an SUV
I live at the foot of a mountian. We often get 11 inches of snow and it takes days to have our road cleared. I also have a 65 acre farm I use my SUV to get around on. I have a Toyota Rav4. It gets 32 mpg. I know not everyone needs a SUV, but I do. I am sick of getting lumped into the same group of the people who get a huge hummer, never stay on their side of the road, and get 5mpg.
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R-Bro, 28 Jun 2006 @ 11:36am

Nuh-uh
It's PICKUP drivers who are the real jerks. Every time I look in my rear-view, there's a pickup on my ass--and, no, I'm not doing 55 in the fast lane. Seems like everyone who gets behind the wheel of a pickup becomes an instant bastard. (Or maybe they started off that way :)
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Wizard Prang, 28 Jun 2006 @ 12:17pm

Missing the point.
No, we get our kicks out out of

1) Using less gas...
2) Wasting less time filling up...
3) Spending less money on gas...

than SUV drivers.

Oh, and keep on calling people names. That makes you look really smart.
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Wizard Prang, 28 Jun 2006 @ 12:20pm

Half right
SUVs are not popular in England... but they are catching on.

Let us not forget that the grandaddy of all SUVs - the Land Rover - was built there...
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Wizard Prang, 28 Jun 2006 @ 12:28pm

True, but...
...which is the more environmentally unfriendly way to carry around 150lbs of hair, teeth and eyeballs?

- a 2500-lb Mini Cooper
- a 8114-lb Hummer
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Lewis Salem, 28 Jun 2006 @ 1:07pm

I can drive whatever I want.
My wife drives an X3, oh the humanity.
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Sanguine Dream, 29 Jun 2006 @ 5:24am

Re: I have an SUV
I live at the foot of a mountian. We often get 11 inches of snow and it takes days to have our road cleared. I also have a 65 acre farm I use my SUV to get around on. I have a Toyota Rav4. It gets 32 mpg. I know not everyone needs a SUV, but I do. I am sick of getting lumped into the same group of the people who get a huge hummer, never stay on their side of the road, and get 5mpg.

All lot of people (myself included) arent lumping you and those in your situation with the bastards. Unlinke most of SUV owners that forfeit the safety of others for the illusion of their own safety (alot of them fail to realize that not knowing handling a massive SUV is different from a small sedan makes them dangerous on the road) you have an actual reason to own one.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2006 @ 11:17am

I was nearly killed once when a Yukon ran a redlight (the driver was talking on a cell phone and never noticed the error). Fortunately I was alert enough to get out of the way. I remember taking a minute to recompose myself. Get my heart back to normal, etc. It was a truely frightening event.

Had the vehicle that nearly hit me been economy class I doubt I'd have needed that minute. A honk, a wave, no harm no foul, it's forgiven. But I'm not sure I'd be out of the hospital in the case of an SUV.

I think the article is really saying that SUV drivers feel safe -- safe enough to disregard other's safety (and own in regard to seatbelts).
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Jul 2006 @ 8:21am

Re: Another Stupid Survey Based on Nothing
you moron. Cell phone use while driving increases the risk of accidents where you use a hands-free unit or not. Might as well take your seat belts off too while you're at it...
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Armin, 23 Jul 2006 @ 6:33pm

Yes, SUV drivers ARE BASTARDS
I think the comment made by Anonymous Coward is so true... "SUV drivers feel safe -- safe enough to disregard other's safety."

Granted, not ALL SUV owners are a$$holes. If you have an SUV with mud on the side, you kick butt. But here in DC the recreational SUV-er doesn't exist. Only soccer moms with cell phones and rich husbands. There are too many out here that disregard the safety of others out of convenience. Do SUV owners need to exercise more safety than others? HELL YES! If i am riding a motorcycle down the road at 100mph and I broadside a sedan, I'll be the only one seriously hurt. Now, what if I was driving an '06 Durango instead of a scooter and hit that same sedan? Little Jimmy, Billy and Susie sitting in the backseat will need some very small coffins.

It may be gruesome, but it's true. Safe for you but not for me is beyond selfish. Hang up the damn phone and put your FULL attention on your surroundings.

I'll conclude with a funny story. While shoveling snow off my front sidewalk one wintry morning I heard cars at the stoplight honking their horns at a woman talking on her cell phone in her SUV. She hits the gas, and I give her the "hang up the phone" sign with my hand. She let go of the steering wheel to give me the finger (holding her phone to her ear with the other) and her car swerves, jumps over the pile of snow I was just shoveling and hits a sign on the sidewalk... all with her 10-year old son sitting in the front complete with soccer jersey on.
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Mary, 1 Aug 2006 @ 8:53am

suv drivers
Maybe there is a link here to why suv drivers like to be
"higher up" and they like power. My friends ex only drives suvs and she has a very controlling personality.
I have often been passed by an suv driver on the road while they are driving wildly past me even though I was already over the speed limit. I guess they have to be first or be in front because they are "special" I don't like to have them in front of me because I don't like not being able to see in front of me and You can't judge very well when n exit or intersection is coming up. I wish they would stop making these big suvs and the only person that should be allowed to drive them is someone who is so tall or big they have to.
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RASTUS, 19 Aug 2006 @ 6:47am

H2
WHO YOU IS TELIN ME I CANTS DRIVE ME H2 OF ROAD. IT HANDLE GREAT IN WEED.
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Italo, 16 Dec 2006 @ 6:31am

I have seen the end of the world as we know it...
...and it is the SUV! I've chuckled when I've read in different Web blogs that describe SUV drivers as yuppies, upscale, or more intelligent.. In fact, my experience on the road is that I think that it's ignorant, self-centered, stupid, and obnoxious people who seem genetically hard-wired to buy these obese road-hogging vehicles! I actually think you put someone behind the wheel of an SUV, and they go brain-dead (if they're not pretty close to that stage already). Giv'em a dedicated lane on most big highways just like carpoolers, I say -- unless I somehow knew the person's on the way to the hospital or giving birth -- I make sure that every attempt at an SUV to cut me off or cut into my lane in front of me is SQUELCHED. I want their drivers to constantly be reminded how annoying they are to the rest of us. If they don't like it -- tough; buy a "normal-sized" car again, it's their problem not mine that they decided to buy a four-wheeler the size of one of Onassis's tankers..! ;)
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SUV Hater, 3 Jan 2007 @ 5:04am

Re:
"by Carl on Jun 27th, 2006 @ 9:48am

First off why bother with the environment anyway. Every living person will be dead before we could destroy the earth. Second of all SUVs have to follow the same emission standards as any other car so they DO have clean exhaust. "

Hey Jacka$$ -

Current federal tailpipe standards allow sport-utility vehicles and trucks to pollute over twice as much as the average new car. In 2001, this gap will more than double under the National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV) program as cars become cleaner, while the larger light trucks continue to receive special pollution exemptions.
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chris, 31 Jul 2007 @ 7:16pm

insulted owner
although i agree there are too many people driving suvs who shouldn't, but don't label us all in the same catagory. i drive a full size chevy blazer. i use it to hual livestock on the dairy farm i help out at. i drive it because the roads are crap during the winter and anything smaller tends to get stuck faster than you can say snowdrift. and yes i (unlike all those yuppie bastards) take my truck off road frequently and make good use of it's off road capabilities. my opinion is that if u drive an suv and you don't hual something or take it off pavement (and gravel roads sure as hell don't count), you shouldn't be driving it and should be run off the road with much haste. p.s. get off your damn cell phone of use a hands free kit/device and pay attention to the road.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
mikie a, 6 Nov 2007 @ 6:36pm

SUV bastards
Why do these suv jerks get away with anything. Why doesn't the lazy police do anything about them. An suv driver was tailgating me (very close)I was driving the speed limit. I called the police dept. on my cell phone. The dispatcher acted like I didn't have a legitament or serious enough complaint. I talked with an officer and he calmly said "I guess thats the going trend, basically saying that he could do nothing, even though I had his license plate. A worse incident. I pulled out in front of a big new Dodge pick-up truck. I couldn't see very well because some idiots in pick-ups were parked on the side of the road instead of their driveways, and I had to make a quick decision, so I pulled out and was at the point of no return, the guy in the Dodge truck came barreling from an intersection and he was mad because I was in his way. He got real close to my little car, I turned left and he got about 4 inches from my car. He was following me and he was going to get out and beat the living aylights out of me. I am 51 and had major back surgery. I pulled in at a police officers house. My town is getting so bad with suvs. I see 7 missing (front end) grills a day and numerous cars with dents in them. I have been living here for 30 years and have never seen so many dented vehicles. My town has 54,000 people. I am going to move out of state to a small town because there are so many suv bullies on the road. I hate to leave my beloved town, It's beautiful here. But the suv-ers and the indifference of the police have ruined it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
mikie a, 6 Nov 2007 @ 6:37pm

SUV bastards
Why do these suv jerks get away with anything. Why doesn't the lazy police do anything about them. An suv driver was tailgating me (very close)I was driving the speed limit. I called the police dept. on my cell phone. The dispatcher acted like I didn't have a legitament or serious enough complaint. I talked with an officer and he calmly said "I guess thats the going trend, basically saying that he could do nothing, even though I had his license plate. A worse incident. I pulled out in front of a big new Dodge pick-up truck. I couldn't see very well because some idiots in pick-ups were parked on the side of the road instead of their driveways, and I had to make a quick decision, so I pulled out and was at the point of no return, the guy in the Dodge truck came barreling from an intersection and he was mad because I was in his way. He got real close to my little car, I turned left and he got about 4 inches from my car. He was following me and he was going to get out and beat the living aylights out of me. I am 51 and had major back surgery. I pulled in at a police officers house. My town is getting so bad with suvs. I see 7 missing (front end) grills a day and numerous cars with dents in them. I have been living here for 30 years and have never seen so many dented vehicles. My town has 54,000 people. I am going to move out of state to a small town because there are so many suv bullies on the road. I hate to leave my beloved town, It's beautiful here. But the suv-ers and the indifference of the police have ruined it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rich, 12 Apr 2008 @ 5:58pm

SUV drivers
Are losers!
Every time I see one, I think of the driver as a looser.
Big time looser!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tom, 12 Apr 2008 @ 6:00pm

Re: SUV drivers are not bastards
You are insecure!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tom, 12 Apr 2008 @ 6:02pm

Re: Another Stupid Survey Based on Nothing
Good for you!
Your still a loser!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thom, 29 Apr 2009 @ 11:34am

Ok, all you teeny weeny people who nothing better to complain about. Next time you get stuck in the snow push your car home. I will just drive by in my Dodge 3500 4x4 and throw you a wave.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
brad, 15 Oct 2009 @ 6:55pm

pointless
i got an idea why doesn't the person who made this bull shit up about the whole suv thing just stop bitch'n about what every 1 else drives and get a live. y the hell should it matter what the hell other people drive. so fuck you who ever made up this story about the suv drivers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
FordAngel, 12 May 2011 @ 5:27pm

Re: Mini
My SUV can eat your Mini Cooper, Cooper Mini or whatever else you want to call your toy on wheels. A bastard I may be but lets see who walks away in a crash.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2013 @ 5:59am

Re: Re: Mini
You are a fucking douche bag and should be executed
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Mar 2014 @ 5:23am

Response to: Anonymous Coward on Jun 27th, 2006 @ 3:36am
Spelling errors! Is this supposed to be tongue-in-cheek or did you write with your thumbs while driving?
[ link to this | view in thread ]

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