Originally Posted by
mnemia
...but the ridiculous lack of visibility they give to the sides and back. I think this contributes to a lot of right-hook accidents in SUVs and pickups, for example. So there may be a combination of intentional road rage and unintentional lack of visibility.
Statistically, pickup trucks are involved in more fatalities than any other vehicle type, just in absolute numbers (sports cars often have a higher fatality rate, but not nearly as many people drive them). ... People who drive pickups tend to drive more aggressively and drive drunk a lot more often (presumably in large part because the distribution of people who drive them skews towards young males).
No argument that visibility in many modern vehicles is a problem, though not unique by any means to SUVs (feel free to take my conventional station wagon for a spin if you want to experience REALLY poor visibility!) But you are absolutely correct regarding the height problem of SUVs contributing to them not seeing smaller vehicles (including bikes... and small cars).
I'm more than willing to believe the stats on pickup truck fatalities, though I wonder -- does this include single vehicle accidents (which, if memory serves, are disproportionaly represented in motor vehicle fatalities, esp. among those same young males)? Are they disproportionately represented in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities? perhaps they are... though I bet there's very limited reliable statistical evidence.
Regardless: pickups start with a major disadvantage in any statistical battle regarding fatalities. First off, they are extremely plentiful (two of the top 5 best selling vehicles in the US remain full size pickups... despite a sharp decline, they remain on top. The #1 ford outsold the best selling conventional passenger car by over 100,000 units, which is a decline from when they outsold the best selling car by better than two to one.) So sheer numbers would seem to make the over-involvement of pickup trucks, as a segment, a foregone conclusion -- sure, there are lots more cars, overall, but not cars falling into any one segment.
They are less safe by design (and as a result of less safety regulation in the US), often modified by folks who don't really consider the consequences of those large tires, 4 inch lifts, extraneous accessories, etc..., and as you mention driven by the worst demographic. They are also massive, and the laws of physics will not be denied. This would be pretty significant in terms of the likelihood of a fatality in a multi-vehicle crash, as well as contributing to the frequency of single vehicle crashes.
I just get annoyed when people make generalized comments about drivers based solely on their choice of vehicle. While many use these as status items, or for ridiculous reasons (4 my dog license plates make me crazy), many are driven with reasonable forethought and due cause.