26th Mar 2007, 10:47
To comment 05:12. What a ridiculous comparison!! Formula I cars travelling 200mph are hardly a fair comparison to a 2- 1/2 ton SUV going 45mph to the grocery store!! At 200+mph the amount of downward force exerted by the tires is measured in FRACTIONS of POUNDS!!
27th Mar 2007, 10:38
It seems futile to try and educate scientifically illiterate American drivers about the laws of physics and how vehicles handle. To say any vehicle handles "unpredictably" is to admit that the driver obviously has no knowledge of the way in which masses in motion behave. This is more evidence of our decline in science literacy. No SUV rollover is EVER "unpredictable". It is ALWAYS the fault of an incompetent driver. ALWAYS.
5th Apr 2007, 17:58
Roll overs happen in all cars and trucks. Now SUV's roll over more easily than cars and the driver SHOULD DRIVE ACCORDINGLY! You drive fast around a paved corner and make it no problem that same speed, car, angle of corner, but gravel, not paved you will have trouble. The main thing here on the SUV hitting a car and saying that you are safer in the car is such nonsence. I drive tractor trailer. A 5 axle unit in the U.S. has a max gross weight of 80,000lbs. Have you ever heard of a car OR pickup/SUV to tangle with a tractor that the truck driver was seriously hurt or killed and the car, pickup/SUV driver suffered minor injuries or was not hurt at all. NO. It is always the other way around. Why? The tractor is MUCH heaver and better built. But hey tractors are much easer to roll over than a car OR SUV. But would I rather be in my Western Star when a Civic or Corolla comes at me. YOU bet!! Let alone my tractor, I would rather be in my F-150 when a Civic hits me than me in an aveo for example. My pickup weighs in at 5100lbs empty. The Civic weighs in at 2700lbs (according to curb weight on Honda's web site). What do you think needs more energy to stop moving? The truck. So I will Drive over that little tin can.
For the one that keeps saying that small cars are safer, next time your at a light and have a pickup next to you look at that grille. Your eye to eye. Think about that grille coming to your door at 50mph.
I would rather see your roof coming at my door and your hood run under my feet when you hit.
6th Apr 2007, 11:22
Nobody has mentioned a tractor before in this debate. The argument is between normal cars & SUVs. So your comments about the tractor are irrelevant. Size doesn't matter until you start taking it to extremes, yes the tractor driver would be safer, but so would the driver of a Challenger tank!
6th Apr 2007, 15:42
Wow, what a point. And so wrong.
Suggest you look up death and injury statistics on SUVs vs. cars. Also explain to us all why these statistics went UP once SUVs became popular after decades of decline with the continued innovation in safety features.
Also, as a truck driver you should allegedly know the basics of physics and 100% understand that you CANNOT control an SUV that is unstable due to a high center of gravity, just like you can stop an 18 wheeler in 100 feet from 60 mph.
7th Apr 2007, 11:09
Wow. OK. "Size doesn't matter until" Either size matters or it doesn't. The point is that the heavier car/truck wins. Physics don't change just cuz the numbers go from 80,000lbs down to comparing a hit between a 6,000lbs vehicle and a 2,700lbs vehicle.
Yes the amount of energy is lower than the rig, but It still takes more to stop the 6,000lbs than the 2,700lbs.
Look, forget the trucks. Just take a Yaris and try to pull a "Pit maneuver" on a limo. No not a Hummer limo. A normal Cadillac or Lincoln. They are cars, have the low center of gravity, have all the safety features that come in todays cars, but you're not going to move it and if the limo runs a red light and plows into a civic. Well I hope nobody I know is in that civic. And why, because the limo is heavier and yes better built to take the heavier weight of the vehicle.
So in a hit between a SUV and an econo-box the SUV fair better just by the weight of the vehicle. You get hurt by the sudden stop. Right? If SUV and Civic hit head on at 50 mph because the Civic requires less energy to stop (less weight) the Civic would stop moving first, and the truck would start pushing the Civic until the truck stops.
7th Apr 2007, 11:21
And why can't you stop an 18 wheeler from 60 in 100 feet.
Heck it has 10 brakes on it, but it still can't stop fast.
Because of the trucks weight.
7th Apr 2007, 20:13
I can understand if you are talking about a 1984 or 1992 Civic because for sure you would be without arms or legs or your life! If you got hit in one of those, however the New Civic is not that small anymore like you might think it is and it is actually more safe than a Ford Fusion (NHTSA--I'm not kidding). If a friend or a loved one was t-boned or in a head on collision in the new Civic at least they would not be dead or seriously injured... hitting a tractor trailer would be different, but my sister was hit by one in her VW Cabrio and lets just say it was just a stiff neck and a few bruises.
22nd Mar 2007, 17:29
As for comment 08:17, my wife happens to be a former stunt driver and has the skill and competence to operate anything from a motorcycle to an 18-wheeler. Her choice of an SUV is based TOTALLY on safety.
There is no such thing as an "unpredictable" vehicle, and we both laugh ourselves silly over the people who seem to have gotten the ridiculous idea that an SUV just suddenly says to itself "Gee, I think I'll roll over now" with no reason whatsoever. ALL vehicle behaviour is TOTALLY PREDICTABLE. Any vehicle is only as safe as the driver. NO SUV with a competent driver has EVER rolled over, or EVER WILL.
It is also insane to argue that small, light vehicles with no frames come out better in collisions with SUV's than the heavier, better built SUV.
And PLEASE... stop quoting totally IRRELEVANT crash data that show that drunks who don't wear their seatbelts get killed in SUV's. Stick to the real world, where cars hit CARS, not steel reinforced barricades, and where seat belts are used and the drivers are sober.
In crashes, BIG cars win, SMALL cars lose. If that fact bothers you, stay off the road.