Ah, Bob, my words were chosen verrrrrry carefully. In fact, we agree... I said that micro-cars wouldn't pass our "crash requirements", I didn't say that they were any more or less safe than larger, heavier vehicles. I tend to think that "active safety" (ei, the ability to avoid a crash due to a more aware driver and more manoeverable vehicle) is far more important than whether a vehicle can withstand an arbitrarily designed crash test. A good driver in a Yugo (okay Glen? <g>) is ~far~ safer than an idiot on a cellphone (there's another issue <g>) in a Volvo, anyday!!
And, I agree wholeheartedly that SUV's are the loophole that allows the automakers to avoid CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) and crashworthiness requirements. They make one ~feel~ safer, because one is in a large, heavy vehicle, and sitting higher up, with a commanding view of the road. But, that very height makes for a higher centre of gravity and resulting instability. And while weight may not be a bad thing (big wins over small if an SUV crushes a Civic), without proper crush zones (I know that many SUV's now have them), they may not be as safe as they feel. Plus, there's the havoc that such huge vehicles wreak on smaller ones, along with pedestrians and cyclists that they hit. Live I said, it's not that I dislike SUV's, they just aren't the ideal urban vehicle. If one lives in a rural setting, or an area where there is much snow, fine. Commuting to work in a large city? Sorry, but they're wasteful and dangerous. But then, I'm a bicycle guy. ZERO pollution, and you eventually end up with a pretty nice butt, too! <vbg> cheers, frank Bob Walkden wrote: > Hi, > > I don't know whether the situations are the same with regard to safety > in N. America as they are in Europe, but it's a misconception over > here that SUVs and so on are safer than conventional cars, and it's > very naughty of the motor industry to imply (I don't think they openly > claim) that they are. Because the SUV types of car are classified with > industrial and farm vehicles they are held to a lower safety standard > than conventional cars. So these people driving gaggles of kids to > school every morning under the impression that they are safer in a SUV > than they would be in a Civic are quite wrong. And the danger may even > be increased by the driver's mistaken sense of invulnerability. > > --- > > Bob > -- "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
