Why do People insist on buying big SUV's or Pickup's and don't have a clue how to drive them?

General Discussion
21

I agree with Mr. Meehan.
In my area, the worst offenders in terms of driving while holding onto a cell phone are women driving HUGE SUVs, and they can usually be counted on to exhibit some really poor driving skills. As Joseph theorizes, they may be trying to protect themselves with as much mass as possible.

It seems that at least once each day, I will see a women driving a Nissan Armada (the vehicle so big that it needs a term previously reserved for a naval fleet in order to describe it), or its Infiniti clone, while holding a phone to her ear and also tailgating another vehicle dangerously close. These vehicles are large when compared to even some SUVs, and are absolutely gargantuan when compared to small sedans and coupes. And yet, the folks who seem to be piloting these monstrosities invariably seem to be small, very distracted women with poor driving skills.

Talk about a really deadly combination of factors!

22

I watched a lady go the road in a Chevy S10 Blazer 4X4. 6-8 inch’s of snow on the ground. The area was flat no ditch, she just slid off the road about 30 ft. I stopped to make sure she was all right. She wanted to call a tow truck. She thought because she was off the road and in snow she would need to pulled out. When I told her to just to drive it out, she looked at me kind of funny. She finely did drive it out,but I really had to talk her into it.

23

People forget it is not how fast you can go, but how well you can steer and stop for conditions. I think part of the problem is you can take off with minimal problem and do not realize that taking off is a minor peril in winter conditions. Because they took off so well, they think road conditions will not change stopping and steering conditions.

24

The latest safey issue in the news is about the NTSB pushing for a new law that bans texting while driving, which I am all for. It’s a shame that such a law has to even be considered, because so many people don’t have enough sense to PULL OVER AND STOP if they want to compose a text message on their phone; these are the people who don’t have sense enough to “pour piss out of a boot with directions on the heel”. But, hey, if it takes a tough new law to get people to stop texting while driving, I’m definitely for it. If a person gets caught doing that, the same penalties should apply as for a DUI charge/conviction: the vehicle gets impounded, the perp goes to jail (and stays there till the court hearing unless bail is posted), driver’s license gets revoked for 30 days, and the guilty person is required to take a Defensive Driving Course before getting back their license. I think that would teach most of these folks who text and drive to think at least twice before ever doing it again. A person driving a truck or a big SUV and texting? Extremely dangerous to other drivers and seriously lacking in judgement.

As far as driving a larger vehicle, I have a full-size Chevy Silverado pickup, with a 4"-5" lift over stock height, PLUS 33" tires on 16"X10" rims (which give it a couple more inches lift); It’s a 2WD with a locker rear axle and PLENTY of ground clearance, and is somewhat more off-road capable than a truck with stock tires and suspension, but it’s still not a 4X4, and I don’t plan to do any rock-crawling with it. Being that I used to drive big semi trucks for years, I’m used to driving in a taller vehicle (and prefer it). With parking spaces and lot aisles shrinking in size, as Rod Knox pointed out, my truck-driver skills certainly come in handy when maneuvering my lifted Silverado in a store parking lot. Anyone who is not used to driving a tall vehicle should avoid tight spots as much possible until they gain some experience, for sure. It is also a VERY GOOD idea to know your vehicle’s capabilities and limitations, and NOT try any fancy maneuvers, at least not until you become VERY FAMILIAR with it.

25

I’m normally against excessive government regulation but the cell phone and texting thing is out of hand and something needs to be done.

Recently, while sitting in left turn lane I notice a lady in a Lexus SUV in the left turn on my right. My attention was drawn to her because she was driving with a dxxxxx white poodle in her lap and the dog was jumping all around. The left turn green came on for her and as she made her left in front of me I noticed she was dialing a cell phone while trying to restrain that stupid dog and handle the steering wheel. She clipped the center median a bit and it didn’t even appear to phase her; she accepted the jolt and was still trying to dial while wrestling that dog.

Just a couple of days ago in OK a young lady was horribly killed in a traffic accident. While the investigation is still ongoing I believe, it was reported that the guy who hit her was using a cell phone, doing 80 MPH, and never even touched the brakes. Her car was absolutely shredded.

26

With improvements in electronics and their availability, I see more problems. Soon the navigation screens on cars are going to be connected to satellite TV, just because they can. There are other add on stuff too. I think the government is always going to be behind in passing these laws. Also despite all the cell phone ban, the laws, the tickets and the publicity, every day here in South CA I see 5-10 drivers on their cell, sometimes while eating or sipping coffee too.
You can not eliminate stupidity with legislation. We all will pay dearly as a society for the mistakes of others.

27

You mean like,
A 63-year-old woman from Oklahoma who was visiting San Diego thankfully (and luckily) escaped injury when a GPS ostensibly led her onto train tracks, police said on Thursday, February 17, 2011.
http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2011/02/27/police-say-gps-tracking-device-caused-near-fatal-collision/

I mean what part of looking out the wind shield did she miss?

28

Fun fact.
There’s a jeep that out handles and outbrakes most compact cars. Behold,
http://media.caranddriver.com/files/2012-jeep-grand-cherokee-srt8-road-test-car-and-driver2012-jeep-grand-cherokee-srt8-1.pdf

vs.

I’ve driven some pretty sketchy handling small cars in my day ( Dodge Caliber, Pre-ESC Toyota Yaris, and the Early Nissan Versa). Frankly my old Full sized Bronco was more confidence inspiring than some of the afore mentioned penalty…er…econoboxes.

29

Seriously? most compact cars in the world is a Smart Fortwo? Certain Jeep that ran circles around and out braked a certain (specifically the Smart) compact car, big effing deal. Have you driven a compact car that some would consider to be a sports car, such as Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Kia Forte, Mazda 2/3/Speed3, Mini Cooper, Subaru WRX, VW GTI?

And what does OUTHANDLE mean? Does the wheel tells you how much grip you’re using and how much there is left? Does the steering weight goes up with cornering load or does it feel like torqing a lugnut? When it looses grip, does it start slipping gradually or does it snap into terminal oversteer?

It is ok to prefer a big truck. While I’m license to drive a big bus, I prefer small and nimble cars when I’m off the clock. Everyone has different preference and everyone has the right to buy whatever they want. However, not everyone on the road had EARNED THE PRIVILEGE to drive a big truck or SUV. It isn’t shown in their lane positioning skills, parking skills, and speed judgements.

This is what this thread is about. People who don’t have the proper skills and/or attitude to operate such huge machine are privileged to do so and everyone else on the road suffers for it.

30

We had a neighbor about 20 years ago who drove a 4 door long bed pickup that we all called “Starship Enterprise”. It was a 4WD with an 8" lift. She stood all of 5 feet tall with shoes on. She had a great deal of difficulty just backing out of her driveway and parking in any parking lot. She must of had some great insurance because the front and back bumpers as well as the fenders were always banged up. We all breathed a sigh of relief when she took the truck down and traded it for a car. She come down the street later driving a large Buick. She looked as if she was hanging off the steering wheel. We moved shortly after the trade but we heard stories about her for a few years from friends of ours. Her driving skills, apparently, never improved even with a “smaller” vehicle.

31

That’s a pretty weird story about the lady who turned onto the train tracks although given the conditions and lack of knowledge about the area I could see it happening pretty easily if some confusion set in.

About half a dozen years ago there was a student at the University of Oklahoma (he was from SC I think) who was jogging one afternoon not too far from the campus and was listening to a Sony Walkman or something.
Apparently he was so engrossed in listening to the tunes that he jogged right past a line of cars held up at a railroad crosssing, jogged AROUND the crossing gate, and was promptly run over and killed by a freight train.

One would think that, sounds excluded, that cars lined up, flashing RR crossing lights, the red/white striped gate down, and so on in broad daylight would have caused him to stop and think for a second.
That’s probably about as good an example of electronic fixation as one could find.

32

@chunkyazian
"Have you driven a compact car that some would consider to be a sports car, such as Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Kia Forte, Mazda 2/3/Speed3, Mini Cooper, Subaru WRX, VW GTI? "

Yes, but none of those are sports cars has they have back seats and most are front wheel drive. There’s no such thing as a front wheel drive sports car. But yeah, seeing how I made my living for a few years either fixing or selling cars. I’ve driven many different cars in my day. I almost bought a WRX before deciding on the Mustang. I didn’t like turbo lag of the earlier models, and I felt the lower upkeep costs of the Mustang made it the better choice for me.

“And what does OUTHANDLE mean?”

Generally speaking it means the vehicle can go around corners in a controlled manner more quickly than the vehicle you are comparing it to.

“It is ok to prefer a big truck. While I’m license to drive a big bus, I prefer small and nimble cars when I’m off the clock.”

I agree, my daily driver is a Mustang GT, I also have a 1974 Triumph TR6, as well as an F-150 4WD to drive when it snows and to handle PWC towing duties and other more menial tasks.

“However, not everyone on the road had EARNED THE PRIVILEGE to drive a big truck or SUV.”

The act of driving is a privilege, what you choose to drive is a right.

"This is what this thread is about. People who don’t have the proper skills and/or attitude to operate such huge machine are privileged to do so and everyone else on the road suffers for it. "

I could say the same thing about people who drive M3’s S4’s or Evos. I would go as far as to say the most people who own such cars don’t have the ability to drive them properly. Have you seen how many Enzos the world has lost at the hands of unqualfied drivers? Something like 10% of the production run have been lost so far.

33

There’s plenty of people in small cars that can’t drive them, either

34

There’s people who can’t even drive a la-z-boy:

35

Nothing is foolproof because fools are so ingenious. I thought it was a Mark Twain quote, but interweb has many opinions includling MLK.

36

Nevada passed a law banning texing and talking on cellphones while driving and ban started on New Years Day…and the cops around here have been all over that!

37

To VDCdriver…
My mom has a 2011 Nissan Armada and you’re right, that thing needs to be in a class of its own lol! It’s fun to drive though. Gas Mileage sucks! Of course this is coming from someone who owns a little 4 cylinder Nissan Versa. The one thing that throws me off when mom lets me drive the Armada are the cameras built inside the rear bumper. As you probably know, you put the thing in reverse, the cameras come on and you can see directly behind you on the monitor on the dashboard as you’re backing out, oh yeah and it has a sensor on it that if you get too close to another object such as another car, telephone pole etc…it beeps at you, but the cameras throw me off because I’m so used to relying on mirrors and craning my neck to back out an SUV or Truck to avoid hitting objects. My mom will ask me “Why are looking at the mirrors? There are cameras!” and I’m always like “Mom, I can’t get used to these darn cameras!” Modern technology has its perks, but for those of us who were taught how to drive or own vehicles without all the gadgets it can be quite an adjustment!

38

I love the camera on my CX-7. I can usually judge where I’m at if I pull into a parking spot, but the camera allows me to fine tune it. For a row of spots at work, there’s a guard rail that sits kinda low so you can’t see it out of your mirrors and the camera allows me to back up without having to open the door to look behind me to judge how far away I am

39

About a dozen years ago, there was quite a stir about the Ford E-350 Econoline 15 passenger vans (and probably the equivalent Chevrolet and Dodge vans as well) used by colleges, universities and churches flipping over. At the university where I was employed, a college student driver flipped one of these vans on the interstate with 15 passengers on board. One student was killed and a couple others severely injured. My institution immediately took all these vans out of service. Insurance companies also canceled coverage on these vans. At the time, my son was a student at a different college from where I taught. He was on an Appalachian Studies program and part of his assignment was driving elementary students over treacherous mountain roads in a 15 passenger van. My son claimed that these 15 passenger vans were perfectly safe as long as the driver used common sense. I visited him and rode with him over these roads when he had a dozen kids along. He wouldn’t start the engine until every child had his/her seat belt on. He slowed down before entering curves. Large vehicles do drive differently than regular passenger cars. Unfortunately, some people who occasionally drive these vehicles aren’t aware of this.

40

Anytime you drive a vehicle, be it a van, suv, car, or truck it’s always good to let up on the gas as you’re going around a curve. I slow down as I go around a curve in case something were to jump out in front of me like a deer…or maybe someone had a flat tire and stopped on a curve and just got done changing the tire and was getting ready to pull out. You never know? So its always good to be cautious.