Another strike against SUVs (SUV horrors alert)

Lebanon (Pa) Daily News ^ | May 13, 2003 | Editorial

[Rennes Templar]

We have long resisted the trend among editorial-writers to blame sport-utility vehicle owners for every societal ill that comes down the pike.

Up till now, the complaints against SUVs have struck us mostly as matters of personal freedom: How much you pay to fill your gas tank has no effect on me, so why should I care?

But new federal figures suggest that whether or not SUVs are socially irresponsible, they are lethal -- and not just to the drivers of smaller cars crushed by SUVs, but to their own drivers and passengers as well.

The National Highway Safety Administration reported last month that more than 10,000 people die in auto rollovers each year, more than 30 percent of all U.S. auto fatalities. And most of those rollovers are top-heavy SUVs.

The U.S. auto industry argues that it is only producing what consumers want, and as for the social consequences -- well, that's for the individual to decide. It's all about freedom of choice. Sales figures confirm the popularity of the "light-truck" category that the government has nonsensically stuck SUVs into. In 1980, light trucks accounted for a fifth of U.S. auto sales. Now they are more than half. The industry helped create this demand by marketing highly profitable SUVs as symbols of independence and power.

They are popular -- enough so that drivers are willing to trade high purchase price and abysmal gas mileage for the status, convenience and high perch they provide.

The Environmental Protection Agency reported last week that the average fuel efficiency of U.S. cars is the lowest it has been in 22 years. That's almost entirely the fault of SUV bloat. The EPA said that if U.S. auto weight and performance had remained constant since 1981, fuel economy could have improved 33 percent. Instead, fuel efficiency has eroded steeply, the primary reason for increasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Nearly 60 percent of U.S. petroleum comes from abroad, often from dangerous, unstable regions.

The spike in highway fatalities in 2002 is disheartening, since for several years road deaths had stabilized and in some years gone down. The 42,850 people killed in U.S. highway accidents last year compares to 44,599 in 1990. But last year's figure is up nearly 2 percent over 2001. The SUV craze is partly to blame for the rising carnage. Another factor is the increase in alcohol-related accidents to 42 percent. Seat-belt use, while going up, is still insufficient; of those killed last year, 59 percent were not belted in.

Stricter enforcement of seat-belt and DUI laws should help turn the grim statistics around somewhat. It's a mystery, however, what might persuade Americans to buy and drive safer, less polluting, more efficient vehicles. Congress could help by enacting far more stringent safety and fuel-economy standards, but in the face of heavy auto-industry lobbying it shows no inclination to do so. It may take an international oil crisis to jolt American drivers into responsible behavior.

[Rennes Templar]

SUV's don't kill. Its drivers that don't know how to drive an SUV that kills. I've had one (several types) for 23 yrs now, love 'em. Oil crisis my *ss.

[m1911]

"Up till now, the complaints against SUVs have struck us mostly as matters of personal freedom: How much you pay to fill your gas tank has no effect on me, so why should I care?

But new federal figures suggest that whether or not SUVs are socially irresponsible, they are lethal -- and not just to the drivers of smaller cars crushed by SUVs, but to their own drivers and passengers as well."

Is this what passes for rational thought? We considered it matters of personal freedom, until the rollover numbers made us think that people buying SUVs were taking a larger PERSONAL RISK UPON THEMSELVES. Then our "save everyone from themselves" circuit kicked in.

What morons.

Do I have to mention that in the bit about rollovers, there is no mention of whether the number or percentage of rollovers has increased or decreased?

[Calpernia]

What is the roll over rate for Vans? Wouldn't vans have the same risk? Jeeps?

Why are all SUV owners lumped as a status symbol? Some need SUV type vehicles.

[goldstategop]

LMAO! The article mentions the SUV's alleged safety flaws, but not a word about driver responsibility. I guess the SUV is a demon possessed killing machine without a driver behind the wheel, like Stephen King's mythical Christine. We know its the SUV that's at fault and to liberals that's why its a blight on the American highway.

[rs79bm]

I actually have a Grand Cherokee and love it. You can load just about anything in that puppy and off you go. All this talk about fuel effienciency is garbage. I average about 20 mpg and would venture to say that I am in the top 50% as far as fuel economy. There are loads and loads of other vehicles buzzing around that average 12-17 mpg. If we want to do something about fuel efficiency, let's start with those vehicles.

[darkwing104]

"It's a mystery, however, what might persuade Americans to buy and drive safer, less polluting, more efficient vehicles."

note to idiot editorial liberal,
Sorry, we blew up the Yugo plant when we bombed Serbia. You got to blame Clinton on that one. :-P

[Dan from Michigan]

the status

My Explorer gives me a status? Wow. That's news to me.

[mr.pink]

What is the roll over rate for Vans? Wouldn't vans have the same risk? Jeeps?

Good question.

I'd guess that if vans "roll over" less than SUVs it might be due to center of gravity being lower on the average van than it is on many SUVs. Jeeps, they have a high center of gravity, thus they can be rolled without too much effort. Again, that's just a guess.

[darkwing104]

the status
My Explorer gives me a status? Wow. That's news to me.


Me too.

[mewzilla]

Is every accident the driver's responsibility? No. You're still at higher risk in an SUV. Say there's an obstruction in the road that because of traffic you don't see in time to change lanes. You have to swerve to miss it. If you're driving at a high speed, and depending on how quick you change direction, you're at a higher risk to rollover than you would be in a passenger car. Those are the facts. Even the best drivers can still be at higher risk in these things. Just something to keep in mind when you buy/drive one.

[Cobra64]

Nothing better than a Hummer and a Mini Cooper S next to the 540 Beemer.

[SengirV]

All I know is that I got in a head on collision with my Ford Explorer in 1997(I was traveling 45 and the other guy was going 55). I walked away from my accident, the other guy(who simply turning right into my lane on a 2 lane road) was out of it for quite some time. If I was diriving my previous car, Ford Probe, I would have been in the hospital for an extended period of time or worse.

So they will get my SUV the same time they get my guns - From my cold dead hands(and not from a roll-over).

[goldstategop]

If an SUV is carefully designed and driven responsibly on the road, it should be as safe as any other car.

[HEY4QDEMS]

I recently read a statistic which indicated that Light Trucks and SUVs account for over 25% of the vehicles on the Amirican roads and accounted for only 12% of vehicle fatalities.
In short, they are safer.

As far as rollovers go, this is rarely an issue for full and extended size SUVs, ie (full)Expedition, Tahoe, (extended)Excursion, Suburban, it is generally a midsize or smaller issue. The irony in all this is that the smaller SUVs came about due to pressure from consumer and environmental groups to build smaller more efficient and more affordable SUVs.
If the car companies only built the full size models with the $40,000 plus price tags, the SUV market would shrink to the sales levels of the mid 1980s and the fuel and accident statistics for such vehicles would be negligible.

The whiners caused the problem and now they want blame everyone else but themselves.

[mewzilla]

Look at the auto industry's own figs and research. Insurance Institute's, too, if you get a chance. SUVs aren't as safe.

[joonbug]

Speaking of SUVs, any comments for someone in the market for one? Looking to spend in the $20-30K range, preferably on the lower end of that scale. Living in snow country so need 4WD. Minimal if any off road use. I like the Honda CRV and like the reliability of the Japanese vehicles as well. Would welcome any comments.

[Calpernia]

So, that would include a tracker trailer? A bus?

[mewzilla]

I should add, the newer, redesigned SUVs are getting better. At least the ones with the redesigned frames, brakes and suspensions, and the lower front end. But you still have the higher center of gravity problem, and the weight problem. Plus all the older models that will still be on the road for quite some time.

[stylin19a]

Average 20 mpg for a Grand Cherokee ? how do you do that ?

[mewzilla]

Cars and light trucks. Buses and semis weren't under discussion. Leastways not by me :)