Dustin_B Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 When was the last time you heard of a big rig driver getting killed in a crash? Exactly, bigger IS better and safer. My next car is going to be a big rig. I'll never die in that thing. Thats about as safe as you can get. Quote
scrambled_legs Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 It's really all about what is hitting what here. Did anyone see that clip in Vancouver area about a week ago. Some dude ran into a k-car with a stolen dodge 4*4?? The car was wrecked and everyone just about killed but the punk got out of the scratched truck and ran like hell. Just think about it... have you ever seen a semi get totalled by a Austin Mini and have the driver get out of the Austin Mini and run away. SUV's increase the safety factor big time, it just sucks for those still driving cars. It's like a tank vs. a chariott. How can you argue about this??? Quote
arlen Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 When my ride was a big-wheeled 4WD, I drove more aggro than in my wife's import car, because I felt safer. So no argument, but I generally prefer considerate drivers to the law of the wild. Quote
Bronco Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 I drive a pickup too. Who doesn't like being able to see over the car in front? The frame design carries loads better and makes repair less expensive, but the fact remains it isn't as safe. A 5 mph rear end collision to my Chevy could cause thousands of dollars worth of damage. I was rear-ended by a kid driving a chevy s-10 blazer at about 45 mph while I was at a stop light. I suffered some whiplash, my daughter, who was 17 months old at the time, was uninjured. The reason? We were sitting in a big old Ford F-250 with a solid frame. The kid in the blazer was taken away on a stretcher. Had I been driving a Geo Metro or something "environmentally approved" or with "crumple zones" we would have been propelled into cross traffic (also traveling 45 mph) and at a minimum, seriously injured. I don't know what kind of "truck" you have that wouldn't come out of a 5 mph "collision" unscathed, but, I suggest you invest a little money in a real bumper. I back into stumps and hybrid cars all the time and there's no problems. Quote
arlen Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 I back into stumps and hybrid cars all the time and there's no problems. Back up on this Quote
glacier Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 Just think about it... have you ever seen a semi get totalled by a Austin Mini and have the driver get out of the Austin Mini and run away. SUV's increase the safety factor big time, it just sucks for those still driving cars. It's like a tank vs. a chariott. How can you argue about this??? This from my previously-linked rant Fess up; you're scared spitless driving these days. There are so many big, dumb, lumbering, rumbling dinosaurs infesting the streets that driving anything smaller feels like paddling a Cuban rubber raft through a US Navy supercarrier battle group. What we see here is the classic egg-rolling paradigm of road safety. It's the intuitive, though pretty thoroughly debunked, argument that, if a chicken's egg will break a robin's egg, then one had better show up with something an ostrich laid. If every city street looks like Road Warriors, then no one dare venture forth in less than 8000 pounds of cold, hard armor. So what we have become is a country of essentially incompetent, paranoid drivers who believe that the 8,000 pounds of rolling, top-heavy steel is somehow safer than a more nimble car because, after all, we thing in terms of when we get into an accident, instead of making the effort to be a conscious, defensive driver who takes an active role in their safety as they drive... Quote
slothrop Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 When was the last time you heard of a big rig driver getting killed in a crash? Exactly, bigger IS better and safer. My next car is going to be a big rig. I'll never die in that thing. Thats about as safe as you can get. Yeah, even SUVs aren't safe from semis: http://www.dowagiacnews.com/articles/2004/01/23/news/dnnews4.txt Better trade up to a Mack, all you Expedition drivers. But then again... http://www.komotv.com/news/mnewsaction.asp?ID=29560 Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 27, 2004 Posted February 27, 2004 We've got ourselves an arms race. A cold war of transportation. It's a never ending battle of excess. Devil take the hind most. Quote
Dave_Schuldt Posted February 27, 2004 Posted February 27, 2004 Nothing but the cold hard facts. I watched this show, it was awsome. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rollover/ Quote
iain Posted February 27, 2004 Posted February 27, 2004 The funniest part of that show is the rollover accident that happens behind them as they interview that guy. I guess it's not so funny. Quote
scratchandsniff Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 Pickup and big SUV commuters are the folks who want both to have cheap gas, use it up quickly, then decry the free market economy and ask for government intervention when they have to pay for it. With gas soon to be close $3.00 a gallon, within months in fact I assure you-I can only say you folks are about to get what you deserve, and you will take down lots of innocents who drive 30mpg cars but have no money. Asswipes. Side note: I have bet the farm, thats right, the farm, that gas will be rising bigtime within months. I'm coming back to laugh in your pickup truck SUV driving gas-sucking face and wave my money under your nose by the end of summer. Plan on $2:50 plus a gallon gas real, real soon. Quote
JayB Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 Yeah - if there's actually money to be made in that kind of arbitrage none of the hedge funds will have taken positions and moved the futures markets by now. The parable of Joe Kennedy and the shoeshine boy comes to mind... Quote
klenke Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 If the Porsche SUV can't be safe, no SUV can! Quote
Lars Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 With gas soon to be close $3.00 a gallon, within months in fact I assure you some people were saying the same thing just before the first gulf war Quote
Dave_Schuldt Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 http://www.changingtheclimate.com/ Quote
foraker Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 Questions: 1) Why is it I only see Hummers in the city? I've never seen any of these things outside of the city limits, let alone on the interstate, to say nothing of off-road. 2) What's with the pick-up truck drivers in BC? My wife and I went up to Kelowna to go skiing a couple of weeks back and we were *constantly* having our doors blown off by enormous pickup trucks (you know, the ones with the jet intakes up front) going 20-30 mph past the speed limit. It almost got to be a joke. Quote
glacier Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 We've got ourselves an arms race. A cold war of transportation. It's a never ending battle of excess. Devil take the hind most. Which is exactly the problem. Remember how the the Soviet Union ended up due to an arms race. Anyway, back to previous points - the falacy of 'safety' - everyone has spoken of how their vehicle, be it an F250 or a Yugo, is 'safe,' but noone has acknowledged whether or not they are a safe driver. Just like the hackneyed insurance co. ad says, it's not about the car. Which is the problem of the lazy american driver - we're passive and are relying on the crumple zones or 8,000 pounds of rolling mass to protect us. That's bullshit. OK, I ride a motorcycle - no crumple zones there, so the only real safety equipment is what's bound up in my helmet. Not that i'm going to claim that I'm the safest heathen on the road, but being wrapped around a bike, rather than ensconced within the steel of my truck (pokey little Mazda 2wd, thankyouverymuch) forces me to be much more aware and take a very active role in my safety. And I like to think that exposure makes me a better cage driver. Hell, everyone should get out on two wheels on a street and highway for a while - it would do us all some good, and thin out the rest. and regarding the Hummers - join the movement: http://www.fuh2.com/ Quote
Greg_W Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 I'm coming back to laugh in your pickup truck SUV driving gas-sucking face and wave my money under your nose I choose to drive a pickup and accept the requisite costs associated. You get in my face, expect to wake up flat on you back with a sore jaw. Quote
scratchandsniff Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Whatja smokin Greg? You gonna punch me dood? Don't think so. BTW, you checking out the price of gas! Keep burning it all up dood, YA GONNA MAKE ME RICH! Your kids don't need gas anyway. They can walk dood. Heads I win, tails you lose. Quote
Greg_W Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Suit yourself, bro. REally, I think people should just mind their own fucking business. It's my business what I drive; I don't care what you drive, and I expect the same lack of interest on your part. Quote
minx Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Suit yourself, bro. REally, I think people should just mind their own fucking business. It's my business what I drive; I don't care what you drive, and I expect the same lack of interest on your part. hey greg, the environment (and your destruction of it) is everyone's business Quote
Greg_W Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Suit yourself, bro. REally, I think people should just mind their own fucking business. It's my business what I drive; I don't care what you drive, and I expect the same lack of interest on your part. hey greg, the environment (and your destruction of it) is everyone's business My truck meets or exceeds all environmental standards, and is probably better for the environment that those VW's you see all those dirty treehugging hippies driving (not to mention that POS you drive ). Your assertion is a wide-cast net that is total bullshit when you break it down. Quote
Rainierwon Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 What kind of mileage you getting with your truck ? Think about who you may be benefiting with the cartels squeezing the supplies and may take prices to over $3 a gallon by this summer, it's not just emissions. Quote
Greg_W Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 What kind of mileage you getting with your truck ? 16-17 in town. 18-19 freeway. Quote
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