Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
Part of the problem with SUVs is that you're about 40 times more likely to be killed if you're hit by one of them, than if you're hit by most other vehicle types you're likely to see on the road. They're also top heavy, and crash because of it more often than cars. And they're heavier, in general, taking longer to stop. Et cetera et cetera. To me, it's the first point that's the most egregious: "I don't mind risking your life to make myself feel safer."
Yes, they have definitely been marketed based on flawed and skewed safety perceptions that a lot of people have about how they and their family will always be safer in a bigger vehicle. The statistics prove incontrovertibly that this isn't true in the real world, but it resonates with many people's irrational lizard brain perceptions. They narrowly focus on a statistic (survivability in a crash for the vehicle occupants) that is only marginally better in some SUVs and ignore all of the other factors that contribute to safety, such as maneuverability, driver behavior/caution, center of gravity, visibility, and so on. It's the same reasons that riding a bike isn't massively more dangerous than riding in an SUV or pickup, despite the fact that you're far less physically protected: you're also less likely to get in a wreck, and it's likely to be less violent if you do due to the lower weight and speed (especially if it's a single-rider/vehicle accident). But I agree with you: I don't at all understand why the government regulations of vehicle safety don't seem to do much to consider the drivers of OTHER vehicles. Why on earth would they care only about the safety of the vehicle occupants rather than others?
Of course, we also share the road with 18-wheelers that can and do crush almost any other vehicle on the road if they are involved in a crash with them. But I would say that there is a big difference between commercial vehicles that are generally driven by professional drivers with CDLs and a job to worry about keeping and SUVs that are marketed as family vehicles. Same goes for pickups that are actually used for work or farm purposes vs. just because the driver likes the feeling of driving one. SUVs and pickups are being marketed as "lifestyle choices" rather than for a use for which they are appropriate. And that has led to their over-proliferation in places where we don't need so many amateurs driving big trucks around, such as crowded city streets. There's a difference from a big vehicle that exists for necessity and a big vehicle that is purchased because of irrational "safety" concerns.