Yeah, no child has EVER run into the street chasing after a ball. All drives (all SUV drivers) are just murderous animals. Yeah, I'm the despicable one. Are you ok? Like you don't sounds mentally all there. |
| My next vehicle will be a large truck or SUV. I need more space, towing capacity, and off-road ability. And because the proliferation of electric vehicles makes driving more dangerous, since they are heavy and more likely to cause serious damage in an accident. And since they are no better for the environment, given the mining needed for the batteries, the energy required to manufacture them, and the destruction to our roads due to the great weight - I no longer feel the need to do my part to protect the environment. |
NP. There's a balance to be struck here. Given the fact that there are so many full size pickups and large SUVs already on the road, I make the choice to have at least a CR-V around me, as opposed to the smallest car/sedan that would meet my needs. You're arguing this out of both sides of your mouth. You're saying that we should all buy the smallest vehicles possible to endanger everyone around us less (which is logically sound but impossible to accomplish on our own). Since I can't do that, I buy something reasonable, in the middle, and you say "well everyone else is bigger, so you've wasted your effort." A Suburban might be bigger and heavier than my CR-V, but I'll have a better chance in the CR-V than I will in a Chevy Bolt. |
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Know what vehicle is really big and safe?
A public bus. Maybe people should try riding in those, if their main concern is safety. |
If only we had that option
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Yes, children sometimes run into the street. They lack the practical experience or cognitive ability to know better. This is just how it is, there is no way to change this. Many kids are killed by vehicles because they get three steps ahead of their parents, or they suddenly pull their hand away and dash off because they are distracted or enticed by something. If you have had a young child, you know that you cannot perfectly control every movement they make. One solution to this is to just not let children go places that there are cars. This is what a lot of people have started to do. Kids don't play in front yards. They definitely don't play in the streets. They don't play in parks unless the parks are gated off. And so on. One solution is to just cage up the kids so that they can never accidentally run into the street, which is something kids will do sometimes because they are kids. Another solution would be to change the way our lives are set up so that kids can be safer without having to be caged up. That means: lowering speed limits, eliminating traffic on more roads, widening sidewalks. It also means reducing the number of vehicles on the road that pose the gravest threat to children -- SUVs. The difference between you and me is that you think you can drive your SUV and expect small children to just adjust their behavior to accommodate it, whereas I think you, the adult, should adjust your behavior and choices to accommodate the inevitable behavior of small children so that they can be protected. |
| It’s bizarre to me that people are fixated on SUVs like this. So weird. |
You do. You do have that option. I don't get the eye roll. If you're primary concern is keeping your family safe, you should get rid of your car altogether, move near a bus stop, and use public transportation exclusively. It's much, much safer. Then you only have to worry about being hit by a car while walking to the bus stop, but other posters have explained that pedestrian deaths are just a very small percentage of vehicular deaths, so that risk is still smaller than strapping your children in SUVs where at any time you could be hit by a truck, bus, or a larger SUV. |
It's bizarre to me that you are not fixated on something that leads to more people dying every single year, senselessly, simply because you like sitting up high and having extra leg room.
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Whatever you are, you are certainly boring. |
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A minivan is also a large vehicle. OP, are you equally worried about those? Genuinely curious.
Thanks to WFH, I drive very rarely. I think the best things we can do to prevent car accidents are (1) promote WFH and (2) promote safe walkable communities with footpaths (preferably separate from the road, protected by something more than a curb) which (3) necessarily means mixed use development, with stores near housing and housing near stores, as well as more of the right of way given over to paths and plantings. But FYI, your "big SUVs kill people" argument does not make me want to drive a smaller car unless everyone else is doing it, so talk to your legislators about that. You are not going to solve a collective action problem by yelling at individuals online. |
I don't have the option. The public transportation system in this country is abysmal. I can't afford to live in DC (and don't want to anyway). I like the peace and quiet of my neighborhood. I like the school my special needs child attends, I like my neighbors. I like that I can be on a hiking trail within 3 minutes. So I will live my life the way I want and I suggest you do the same. |
| How about you worry about you? |
So teaching your child basic road safety is somehow catering to my SUV loving lifestyle? Got it. You are INSANE! Whether you live here or in Europe children need to learn how to be safe outside/when crossing the street. YES THEY NEED TO KNOW that cars are going to be on the street and can kill them. In Europe the streets are a lot narrower and children routinely don't have the parks to play in they do here. Take your meds lady. You keep trying to |
Minivans tend to be safer than SUVs due to visibility. Also, in my experience, people buy minivans because they need them (they aren't considered cool cars, people buy them because they need the seating, or in some cases for accessilbity reasons since minivans can be the best option for people with mobility issues due to the low entry and the fact that seats can be easily removed). Whereas people buy SUVs for other reasons that I don't consider to be as valid -- often simply because they are trendy or convey status, but also because they like sitting up higher than others. The arguments that SUVs are safer are very unconvincing to me, as I've explained. In any case, SUVs are way more prevalent than minivans, so it doesn't seem people need to be deterred from needlessly buying a minivan. Whereas people by SUVs all the time just because. I share your dream of more walkable, safer communities with more mixed used development, as well as policies that reduce the need for people to drive, especially to commute long distances. However, I tend to view all of this (the proliferation of SUVs, and the development of car-centric communities and proliferation of long commutes) as part of the same cultural attitudes. I don't think legislators are going to be able to change much until we convince people that caring about one another, and community, is more important than just feeling really comfy in your big vehicle during your 30 minute drive to work. I think we need to shift the window. And the way I deal with the fact that big SUVs kill more people is by driving as little as possible, instead of buying a big SUV. It costs less and is always the safer choice. I think more people should try it. |