Video: When an SUV rams a smaller car

[Snax]

Originally Posted by Maillemann

Two words: Accident Avoidance

Agreed. I believe it was WRC rally champ Collin McRae who said 'complacence kills'. And that is what it boils down to no matter what you drive. Even lacking the maneuverability of a small car, just assuming that other drivers will screw up can mitigate a fatality or accident altogether.

Just two days ago, I was driving 20 mph through a school zone after hours where people normally do 30 or more when a 8-9 year old boy ran out in front of me. Even at my slow speed, had I not been assuming the worst, this kid, who was completely obstructed from my view by a much larger child until he bolted, would have been F150 meat. Anybody else who had actually waited to ride the brake pedal until the kid started running would have flattened him.

I'm not arguing that I am the safest driver in the world as a justification to drive my gas guzzling kiddie muncher, but people should at least aspire to be because THAT is what makes the biggest difference of all.

. . . And what was the key element of safety when you were a child? It was that your mother fed you, and there was warm liquid. That's why cupholders are absolutely crucial for safety. If there is a car that has no cupholder, it is not safe. . .

I love it. Remarkably, it's probably true that cupholders reduce accidents. I can't count the number of 32 oz. sodas that spilled in my old work truck for lack of a cup holder. Fortunately I always had the presence of mind to just let it go, but there's allot of dried up soda saturating that truck.

"Ironically, SUVs are particularly dangerous for children, whose safety is often the rationale for buying them in the first place. Because these beasts are so big and hard to see around (and often equipped with dark-tinted glass that's illegal in cars), SUV drivers have a troubling tendency to run over their own kids. Just recently, in October, a wealthy Long Island doctor made headlines after he ran over and killed his two-year-old in the driveway with his BMW X5. He told police he thought he'd hit the curb."

Again, an issue of complacence. I ask myself what the worst that could happen is every time I back up and this keeps me exceptionally paranoid. If my two year old is anywhere outside, I won't even move our truck unless I can see him. I'd be suicidal if anything happened. It's simply not a result that I could live with.