America Flipping out over SUV's

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SUV Rollover News

*** one of the most scariest expierences in my life is my friend trying to emergency stop a Land Rover going at 70mph

BrianD3

To be honest I've no sympathy for anyone who kills or injures themselves when driving a SUV. So, the more rollovers, the better. Perhaps it'll discourage the idiots who buy the damn things. Most (not all) people who drive these type of vehicles
a) have no need for them. Eg D4 mums bringing their obnoxious kids to school in the Pajero
b) have no idea how to drive them safely i.e don't seem to realise that they handle very differently to a normal car.

Also, people who buy SUV's usually give the reason of safety when questioned why they chose an SUV. Their idea of safety seems to be buy the biggest, heaviest strongest vehicle which will do the most damage to other vehicles/road users in an accident. Anyone who's seen a collision between a normal car and an SUV will know what I mean. Even when parking, a light knock between an SUV and normal car can cause significant damage to the car as I found out when some dozy cow reversed into my car with her landcruiser making **** of my bonnet. As for bullbars - don't even go there.

BrianD3

Sleipnir

also because the bonnet etc is higher, if an SUV is in a collision with your regular sized car, you can forget about your crumple zones absorbing the impact. The front of an SUV will ride up OVER the crumple zones and bumpers and into the cabin.

drivers don't know how to drive them correctly,
Very dangerous for other motorists
They pulverize pedestrians in a collision.
As BrianD3 said, don't even start me on bullbars; no use whatsoever on the road

K2

Are bullbars not illegal ? I've seen them on imports but didn't think you could get them on a new vehicle.

BrianD3

The front of an SUV will ride up OVER the crumple zones and bumpers and into the cabin.

Yeah. About ten years ago, Auto Express did a crash test between a VW Golf Mk3 (a car with a good reputation for safety) and a Nissan Patrol. They were driven into each other head on each going 30 mph. It was an offset head on crash i.e 50% of the front of each vehicle took the impact. The results were horrendous, The Patrol rode up over the Golf crushing the passenger compartment. The Golf dummy ended up embedded in the dashboard which was also shoved downwards causing horrendous leg damage. The dummy had to be cut out of the Golf using an angle grinder. If it were a real driver, he would have had no chance of survival. In contrast, the Patrol seemed hardly damaged. However due to its crude design it didn't absorb the impact well and the steering column broke loose delivering a massive blow to the Patrol dummy's head. If it had been a real driver he would also have died.

They also did a few more tests. Golf into a concrete block at 30 mph - driver would walk away with cuts and bruises. Same test using the Patrol - due to its poor impact absorbing capabilities it collapsed like a house of cards. Driver would have died.

Another test was to drive a Patrol into the side of a Golf at 30 mph. As expected, the Golf was a mess, with the Patrol intruding more than half way into the car. Golf driver - no chance of survival. Patrol driver - uninjured.

Finally a crash test was carried out between a Golf and an Opel Astra (exact same test as the Patrol vs Golf offset head on) Both drivers would have walked away with minor injuries.

So this just illustrates the damage that SUV's can do, both to their own drivers and to other road users. Now, SUV's have moved on a lot and with airbages and better design etc. Modern ones are probably a lot safer than a 1993 Nissan Patrol. But still, there's no doubt that they do horrible damage to other vehicles in an impact.

BrianD3

weemcd

typical fukin americans, firstly they should call it a jeep or a "truck", and secondly there is no need for anyone to have a car like that, evn it you are safe in a crash you will probably kill others with your big gas guzzling SUV ceptic tank.

gah americans
just ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i hate the fukin gobshoites

Victor

Apparently for the same price category, a conventional car is always safer than an SUV.

It's all about having a bigger willy (even for those that don't have them).

Barry Aldwell

Originally posted by Victor
It's all about having a bigger willy (even for those that don't have them).

And the legroom, and the better view over traffic, and the storage space.

Victor

Originally posted by Barry Aldwell
and the better view over traffic

Wahoo! You get to see 20 more cars stuck in traffic in front of you, how reassuring.

Capt'n Midnight

Must dig up the old SUV sucks links..

The most important fact about an SUV is not that are no safer than other cars in the same price bracket, but that they are SIX times more deadly to other car drivers. And as for a cyclist or pedistern getting hit by an SUV - put it this way when you hit a kangeroo with kangeroo bars - it bursts...

One trait that comes out with SUV's is Selfishness - "I get it to protect ME, I can see over other cars (I don't care who's view I block), I wouldn't be seen dead in a people carrier on the school run. "

I have no problem with a 4x4 that looks like it gets taken off road - dirt/dents etc.

Imagine if all the drives in the US that do not need a 3.5L petrol SUV were forced to use a normal car with an engine half the size ..


PS. anyone got stats on Mondeo accidents or Roadkill in general - I feel like contacting the Ads standards people re :"one of the safest places to be" and showing images of CATS and KIDS - two groups for whom cars are possibly the biggest preventable Killer.

Victor

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
Imagine if all the drives in the US that do not need a 3.5L petrol SUV were forced to use a normal car with an engine half the size

I think you are understating the engine size of the average american SUV by about 50%.

BrianD3

And the legroom, ..........and the storage space.

Nope. SUV's are very space-inefficent. They take up a lot of road and are extremely heavy yet they don't actually have that much space for passengers and luggage. Probably because the 4wd drivetrains are using up a lot of space. MPV's and large estate cars are far more space efficient and also have many other advantages compared to SUV's.

PS I know what i'm talking about - I regularly drive a LWB commercial Landcruiser and a Mitsubishi L200 crewcab. These vehicles are used for towing boat trailers and admittedly they are excellent vehicles for this purpose - however I'd never have one as my normal daily driver.

BrianD3

Spunog UIE

mmmmmm, I think that they are useful to some people. I don't think you should swipe people with the one brush. I do not agree with them for the school run mothers dropping off kiddies to school (and I swear the line of cars outside our local schools half of them are these). (okay biased and sexist here) but I don't believe that the majourity of these mothers have enough knowledge of them or can control them. They call them a car for one, that realllllly bugs me.

Again you don't have to take a 4*4 off road for you actually need it, they are a lot more powerful, more space, and better pulling power and grip for loads.

As for protecting yourself I don't see anything wrong with this either, yes of course you want to protect yourself and your family if you don't your the gob****e! They are safer, if you have the skill to drive them. Key diff that you are protecting yourself and not endangering others. If i were to follow my logic on some of the above arguments sure everyone should be on bikes, like they'd cause less damage to other people now in an accident like, oh no wait thats too far, everyone on pedalbikes, graze the ol knees like.

Better visabiltity is good and is always helpful. As for blocking other peoples view, thats bull****. What about regular vans trucks etc' Everybody should drive safe and be aware. If they are NOT then its THEIR fault, period. " well yes its true i wasn't paying attention, had a few jars, didn't get time to go for that nct that woulda picked up on my faulty breaks and havent' gotten around to installing those seatbelts, and it was an important call, about the glasses someone said i needed cos i'm a blind git, BUT if it hadn't been for that ****in SUV I'd might not be dead' *ahem* such crap.

The thing is, it comes down to are you able to control it, are you a safe driver, do you know its limatations.

Should you drive it, if you don't NEED it, well should it really matter to people if you are in control of your vehicle.

I think the licensing should be changed. Different seperate test and education.

Victor

Originally posted by Gideon
They are safer, if you have the skill to drive them. Key diff that you are protecting yourself and not endangering others.

No a $50,000 BMW (or whatever) is no more dangerous to the occupants than a $50,000 SUV. However, the SUV is several times more lethal to other road users.

Samson

Talking about the D4 mums driving 4x4s, here's an anecdote which I relay to just about anyone who'll listen:

Many years ago, I had just started a job in a certain Leixlip multinational and used to cycle to work (lived in Lucan at the time). Anyway, there was a particularly bad snowfall this one January evening and there was traffic chaos everywhere, people abandoning cars left, right and centre.
So there I was, merrily cycling along home on my mountain bike (was a bit wobbly, but I was making good progress) when I came to a holdup at a bridge, with lots of horn honking.
As I got to the top of the queue, I saw the cause to be a woman in some sort of jeep thing attempting to get over the bridge amidst much (front) tyre spinning. She was getting herself into an awful state (people were shouting, honking horns, you get the picture).
So, one particular guy gets totally pissed off with this stupid bitch and gets out of his car and starts shouting at her,
"Jesus Christ woman, what's the fucking hold up?"
"I'm stuck, the wheels are slipping." she replies, almost tearfully.
"Well put the fucking thing into four wheel drive!"
"I don't know how." She screams back.

I laughed all the way home.

True story.

Capt'n Midnight

Making the driver feel safe puts others at greater risk
I think the most important road safety device would be to replace drivers seat belts / airbags with a harpoon in the steering wheel. Motorists would then obey the law that says you must be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear ahead. At present every safety aid given to drivers (third class road users) has had a knock on effect in increased risk and deaths in first and second class road users. You see most people (not just muppets) will take the same level of risk as before - if you feel safer the risks don't seem as big - eg: look at what happened speeding when there was the risk of penalty points.

http://www.rightofway.org/littera-scripta/tiregate.html
Indeed, the author of a study commissioned by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has calculated that some 950 "excess" deaths occur each year due to the presence of SUV's on the road instead of a corresponding number of ordinary cars .. (These figures don't take into account "excess" deaths among pedestrians and bicyclists due to SUV's, which NHTSA hasn't bothered to study but are likely to be numerous.)

study of car alarm usage
http://cartalk.cars.com/Mail/Letters/06-05-98/3.html
SUVs ovners are obsessive-compulsive ...

Higher, Heavier, Deadlier
http://www.cglaw-suv-rollovers.com/suv_risk.htm
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, since 1995 nearly 98 percent of the people killed in crashes involving passenger cars and SUVs were occupants of the passenger vehicles.

So if you are in an SUV you are 49 times more likely to kill the other person than die yourself - this would indicate to me that you will take a lot less care when driving also since SUV's handle like pregnant hippos' on roller skates it's a safe bet that in more than 50% of the accidents caused by driver error it was the SUV driver at fault. Hence they should be treated as a dangerous weapon.

I still haven't found the article that detailed the characteristics of the typical SUV owner - but suffice it to say they are not as nice and easy going as your average person....

sceptre

Originally posted by Samson
a certain Leixlip multinational

Nice and vague that:D

Class story. I put sound effects into it in my head to make it even funnier.

Silent Bob

Originally posted by Gideon
Again you don't have to take a 4*4 off road for you actually need it, they are a lot more powerful, more space, and better pulling power and grip for loads.

That space argument is pure rubbish. Compare the amount of space available in any SUV with the amount available in a 7 seat MPV.

The MPV wins hands down.

Why would you need more power? Our last MPV had 150 brake horse and had no difficulty pulling boats, trailers, being piled high with 'stuff' etc.

And MPVs offer a high driving position along with loads of room for all the whiny school kids.