Last nights TV3 doco

[Guest Spargo]

If the comment about cutting corners was a joke then fine but comment "then sue me" suggests otherwise.

I am "chilled out" I expressed an un-ambiguous take on the topic and yes missed your joke.

I have to be super chilled out when a guy says to me " It was her fault- I always pass here and I have never had an accident before" - he had a head on with 4 girls in a car they all ended up with serious cuts and one with a broken arm.

He was completely on the wrong side of the road doing about 90kmh around a right hand corner with 20 metres visibility hit the car on the left front!

Assume your SCU of some kind?

[Jazzbass 1]

SUV's in city = cheapest way to get bullet-proof brat transporter for mum. Also a status symbol.

I actually think the opposite. When I see an SUV, a status symbol is around the last thing I would think of. I tend to think more along the lines of 'arrogant a**hole'. I tend to think along the lines of 'f**king wanker - get the f**k out of city traffic'. Piss poor driver etc. But status symbol? Never!

I watched the whole doco, but to me it said nothing. Yes, SUV's can be a problem in traffic. Yes, they fall over easier due to higher centre of gravity. Yes, they actually have less room than many cars. Yes, bad drivers feel more protected in one - etc. However it also said to me that SUVs were safe for the occupants most of the time, providing you drive them according to their characteristics. It said to me that most times, the occupants were safer in an SUV than those in any car they hit and that the drivers of the SUVs don't have a problem with that.

In other words, I found it concluded nothing at all. There were pluses and minuses, just as with any other vehicle. All in all, I didn't feel more informed at the end of the doco and that, to me, is a poor doco.

[m325i 711]

If you cut corners, i hate you

If you drive an SUV*, I hate you

If you have the attitude of a lot of people in this post, you probably cut corners or aspire to being an SUV owner.

*save for off road and towing use

[StylesM5 0]

In respect of Jocks comments this thread started out about the safety of SUV type vehicles. Some safety aspects are attributable to the style of vehicle and their area of use and some to the driving attitudes of those supposedly in control. A large percentage expressed opinions like Jocks, however other sectors of the driving community also share similar attitudes as Jock attests.

Jocks comments are just self justifying crap like the other examples I gave.

We see up to 2 crashes a day on a 15 k stretch of road and most of these are vehicles taking evasive action, usually to avoid an oncoming car on their side of their road cutting a corner, ocassionally it goes horribly wrong and we get turned out.

Jock enjoy your "drive to die" attitude while it lasts but please ensure when the sh*t does hit the fan that you are the only casualty of your stupidity.

3pedals. I appreciate your comments and have only just got around to revisiting this thread.

Firstly, I agree with Cain in that there is very rarely an accident on the road, just an avoidable collision. It comes down to people not driving to the current conditions of the road and/or their vehicle. The only real other factor is mechanical failure. If you cannot stop in half the visible distance ahead, you are driving too fast. Generally it comes down to a failure of the squidgy organic nut behind the wheel in the words of Jeremy Clarkson.

My comments about cutting corners were based on the premise that at all times I have complete vision through the corner and beyond. There are plenty of roads in New Zealnd that exhibit the quality that allows you to safely pass on to the other side of the road without endangering any one else. 3pedal's later comment on the guy that head on'd 4 girls came down to a failure on that drivers part to complete the pass without 100m full visibility through out the entire manouvre.

3pedals, I know 2 firemen, depending on who you are, you may be one of them. I don't envy you job, but I do salute you for what you do for the community. My good mate Noddy certainly doesn't like cutting kids out of cars either and for that reason, I feel that I'm a fairly safe driver especially with the wife and 3 kids in the car.

Notwithstanding, I've been meaning to enrol in an Advanced Skills Driving Course for a while now. I hear Mike Eady's BMW one is excellent.

Cheers, Jock

*Edit for typos

Edited February 13, 2007 by StylesM5

[StylesM5 0]

If you cut corners, i hate you

If you drive an SUV*, I hate you

If you have the attitude of a lot of people in this post, you probably cut corners or aspire to being an SUV owner.

*save for off road and towing use

I like your generalised hatedness.

FYI, I drive an SUV (Territory) that goes off road about twice a month on to work sites, tows Andrew's car every now and then and transports the wife and kids and their mates (that's seven in the car) around all at the same time. Please find me a replacement that is not an SUV and does all that. I also drive a 325i that has basically been M'd. Oh, a lot like yours!

I cut corners when the conditions allow and have NEVER put anyone's life in danger. (unless you count the time I tried to do a donut last month in a totally isolated subdivision in Taupo with 7 of us in the Territory and only succeeded in getting a stone stuck in the wheel. Ask the Cookie Monster or Thor, they both know.)

I also have a number of friends. If you took the time to have a beer with me, I might let you be my friend too!

Here endeth arogant, self assured rant.

Edited February 13, 2007 by StylesM5

[my_e36 43]

Stupidity? Arrogance? You'd be the judge.

This is exactly why SUV kills.

Photo's taken at a 80km/h zone.

Edited February 13, 2007 by my_e36

[Gaz 1062]

Stupidity? Arrogance? You'd be the judge.

This is exactly why SUV kills.

Photo's taken at a 80km/h zone.

But isnt that how the majority of NZ drivers drive? If i had 10c everytime someone was following me so close that i couldnt see their headlights, and i dont hang around! I think its just a driver isssue in so far that most people think they are bullet proof on the road and drive according.

[Carl 3]

I drove on an LA freeway and was surrounded by big SUV's, like the one in that pic above, and felt completely unsafe and overwhelmed just by their sheer size. It seems that the USA is sooo obsessed with bigger being better in almost every aspect of their lives. NZ should NOT aspire to that mentality, i'd prefer we had a more continental train of though.

[Andrew 30]

Stupidity? Arrogance? You'd be the judge.

This is exactly why SUV kills.

Photo's taken at a 80km/h zone.

When people drive that close - just drive defensively - change the 2 second rule to the 10 second rule and that way if you have to hit the picks at least you can slow down at a slower rate. There is never an excuse to let a car behind you hit you (unless they blatently don't brake of course).

[StylesM5 0]

Jock, thanks for coming back to the post and adding comments they are constructive.

The only real point of difference we have is that I take the approach that I always want the best possible view and the greatest possible opportunity to identify hazards and have the greatest possible opportunity to deal with them. This precludes cutting corners because it reduces your view, I also find it more entertaining to drive within the lane.

Cheers mate, no worries. I think fundamentally we agree on most things. I probably just came across a bit brash initially. Like to think I'm younger than I am. Caught myself listening to Eddie Rabbit on Viva this moning ! *Shudder*

[StylesM5 0]

I like your generalised hatedness.

FYI, I drive an SUV (Territory) that goes off road about twice a month on to work sites.

Just to prove it, taken this morning. I then drove it straight up the hill in the background. Cheers

Edited February 18, 2007 by StylesM5