I"ve had it with SUV Drivers!!!!!

[Korean_redneck]

I was driving my small Hyundai going from Holland to Grand Rapids this morning at 6:00am going about 40 MPH on a 70MPH highway. I was pretty upset that all these SUV's were passing me, flashing me, splashing all that slush and salt in my windshield, blinding me with there light.

I saw 6 incidents where automobiles slipped and slidE into the medium and get stuck.. I felt so sorry for the Michigan State Police and Highway patrol. Guess what the 6 automobile was? ALL SUV'S.

this wasn't the only time it happened. Remember the Blizzard of 2002 in the east coast? I was driving a very small Daewoo from New York CIty to Virginia Beach, VA. ALmost all the East coast states declared an emergency. I"ve never seen so much cars stuck in the median.. most of them were SUV's It was so bad , i was driving 25 MPH ... I saw an average of 2 stuck SUV's every 1/2 hour of driving.

SUV DRIVERS CARE TO EXPLAIN YOUR DRIVING BEHAIVORS?

 

[Pablo]

Can't generalize. Some, but not all, think they are invincible. It's been like that since the late 80's.

 

[flynavydiesel]

It is not just SUV drivers, it is anyone who thinks their AWD vechile can handle anything. All vehicles stop the same on snow and ice covered roads.

 

[chewbacca]

I work for a law enforcement agency in Oregon, and most calls we get for rollover accidents or vehicles in a ditch due to snow/weather are SUV's. Some, not all people that drive them have a false sense of security when they drive one.

 

[otis24]

Ditto to all of the above. Travelling across Oklahoma and Texas along I-40 one winter, numerous cases of vehicles in the ditch or rolled over. The majority were SUV's. I crawled along in my FWD Mercury Sable and made it to my destination just fine. If these idiots want to spend their time in the ditch, fine by me. When they endanger others, its time to take them off the streets. That's wny all vehicles should be equipped with rocket launchers: Self-defense against idiots.

 

[brianl703]

A few years ago one of the local car dealerships had a commercial where the office chick was the only one who made it into the office during the snowstorm (because she had an SUV purchased from that dealership) and got a promotion as a result.

Or something like that. The implication was clear: Buy an SUV, make it into work when nobody else can during a snowstorm.

If that's how they're marketed, then you can reasonably expect that people (who somehow can't manage to drive a regular car in the snow) will buy SUVs for driving in the snow.

(I've never had a problem driving a regular car in the snow).

 

[V1]

What burns me most is the way some drivers pass others! They fly up behind you, but they wait until the very last second to change lanes. Tough-guy eh?

 

[dB]

quote:
" All vehicles stop the same on snow and ice covered roads."

Not true if you have dedicated snow tires. AWD cars and trucks can do great at getting going, but with summer or all-season tires, it's true they can't stop any better than anyother car. It's amazing what kind of traction snow tires give you, though. I'd take a set of snow tires over AWD any day of the week, buy my Audi has both.

 

[labman]

Until the snow gets up to the floor pan, I'll take FWD and all season tires. Been doing that the last 25 winters and can't recall any trouble as long as the weight of the car was on the tires and not the floor pan. Bad thing is it is just too easy to get going faster than you can stop even with ABS. I think AWD is more likely to swap ends on ice than FWD.

Love the story my son found on a Miata board. Blond in an SUV is blocking the Miata's path. Miata driver points to the transfer case lever and tells the lady to pull it into 4 wheel drive. She says ''I don't know what that does and was told to leave it alone.'' So how many of the SUV's in the ditch were still in RWD only?

 

[farrarfan1]

"What burns me most is the way some drivers pass others! They fly up behind you, but they wait until the very last second to change lanes. Tough-guy eh?"

Around here that is known as "spirited driving."

 

[peterr]

On the worst driving day I have ever seen in Toronto Canada, it took me almost 3 hours to make an 8 mile trip.

In a Porsche.

While the roads were glare ice, I had Pirelli Winter Tires and was fine. Most of the delay for me was the carnage caused by SUVs spinning offroad on all seasons.

 

[JavaMan]

There are a lot of SUV's drivers on the road. I guess they'll also have their share of incidents. I was driving S of San Antonio several years ago at night in the heaviest rainfall I have ever experienced (at least while driving). I could barely make out the center line and was desperate to find an exit. Truck drivers (18 wheelers) were passing me like it was a clear and sunny day. When they passed, in addition to the rainfall, it was like someone turned a fire hose on my windshield. I have been driving a lot of years and have crossed paths with a lot of SUV's, but, none have topped that experience.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

I think it depends on the driver/owner, I have an SUV and I can tell you that I drive slower then most cars do when the weather's bad.

It's not all SUV owners, but I will say that most are a problem, however, drivers of regular trucks are just as much of an issue as SUV owners are.

Specially Ford truck owners, sorry to say, but they are the worst at believing they own the road.

 

[zombie_tech]

Ultimately it has to do with the mentality of the driver behind the wheel. Most people don't realize how quick you can lose control of a vehicle and aren't prepared for it. Most people also probably don't pay attention to how their vehicle "feels" on the road at a given time because if you are paying attention a lot of times you can feel when you are starting to hydroplane, slide, etc.

 

[Dark Jedi]

sorry to say but not all SUV are 4wd or AWD. seems like people assume beings is a SUV its 4wd. so how many SUV you think in the ditch was infact just a 2wd model. I agree people think beings they have a 4wd car or truck or suv theythink they can go any speed and be safe. I have a 4wd Dakota and I can say even in snow I will go under the posted speed limit because I know it can spin out easy at higher speeds.

but at the same time people with FWD think they can go fast in the snow and ice also. so its not jsut the 4wd owners. seen lots of fwd vehicles spin out and meet that ditch just as quick.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Never owned an SUV, but...

Is it safe to assume, that most SUVs come with all-season tires and the owners don't even consider getting dedicated winter tires, because "hey, it's an SUV after all, I can get by!"?

In my experiece, all-season tires are pretty bad in the white stuff. Add to that the false sense of security, the high center of gravity, and you've got accidents waiting to happen.

 

[Bror Jace]

The only problem I have with SUV drivers in bad weather ... is that they drive so slow and I have to pull out into the uncleared lanes to pass them with my Sentra ... which has 4 studded Nokyan Hakkapelitta tires on it.

(Check out my posts in the snow tires thread in the tires subsection

)

Seriously, I agree with most of the anti-SUV sentiments expressed above.

Many people who buy them are people with less-than-stellar driving ability. They buy the SUV out of fear of driving in bad weather. And when they get behind the wheel of one of these behemoths, it gives them a false sense of confidence. That (all too often) leads to disaster.

If you can't drive a car safely through the snow, you sure-as-stink ain't gonna maneuverable a vehicle weighing twice as much safely either. In fact, that weight works against you when you go to turn or stop.

Which brings me to ...

"All vehicles stop the same on snow and ice covered roads."

That's absolutely incorrect. A heavier vehicle is harder to steer and stop due to increased momentum.

And SUVs have the added penalty of having their weight up high so when they hit anything ... like a hump of frozen snow/ice ... they flip over.

For driving in snow and ice, I'd rather have my FWD economy car with 4 dedicated snow tires on it rather than a 4WD/AWD vehicle wearing typical "no-season" tires.

The only thing 4 wheels driving gives you is the ability to accelerate and climb hills in slippery conditions.

--- Bror Jace

 

[ekpolk]

Hmmmmmm -- SUVs don't kill people, stupid drivers kill people. . .

 

[zombie_tech]

quote:

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That's absolutely incorrect. A heavier vehicle is harder to steer and stop due to increased momentum.

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Very true, which is why SUV's need to be driven slower in bad weather then the average car.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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They fly up behind you, but they wait until the very last second to change lanes. Tough-guy eh?

---

I always thought that was the result of poor depth perception.

It's funny to watch people like this on 3 (or more) lane highways try to weave through traffic. Especially when they get boxed in behind a slower vehicle.