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Re: Screw Saab drivers and their tiny cars Posted by JimD [Email]  (#3047) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from JimD) on Thu, 16 Oct 2003 08:23:01
In Reply to: Screw Saab drivers and their tiny cars, Land of the free, Wed, 15 Oct 2003 16:47:45 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Force is a result of mass and velocity. Can't change the laws of physics. Bigger means more trouble for smaller and always will.
And I agree with Land's point, even though I would not have expressed it the same way...you should be able to drive anything you want.
Jenkster wants everyone to take responsibility for their actions. I agree that this is the ultimate solution, but such a noble idea with no chance to really happen. The average driver we all see on the road is getting worse and worse each year. So I have to make choices to protect myself and family the best that I can. If that means putting us in the biggest, heaviest piece of steel I can find, then so be it. And don't you dare try to lecture me or raise my rates on my SUV until I cause an accident (which I never have in over 25 years of driving). If someone gets the worse end of the deal because they screwed up and hit me (which has happened twice)then such is life.
I have three cars: '91 Honda Accord, '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a '01 9-5 wagon.
The Accord is used by my wife around town for errands, grocery shopping, etc. Relegated to around town because we were hit by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign. Hit the right rear passenger door, a split second earlier would have nailed my wife's door. Drunk was driving a Chevy Blazer (one of the older big ones). Do I blame the truck? No, it was the idiot drunk. Not the fault of the truck or the bar that served him or the manufacturer of the booze. But I learned a valuable lesson firsthand...bigger makes out better more often than smaller.
Jeep is my everyday car and I have it because I pull a boat and do real off-roading several times a year. When my daughter was born, I switched to the Accord and my wife took the Jeep because she was taking the baby to and from daycare. Over a few years she was rear-ended twice. Read that again...SHE WAS HIT BY SOMEONE ELSE. Once by a panel van, other time by a Ford Contour. Van hit wasn't that hard and not much damage to either other than bumpers. Contour was much worse, almost totalled, just a new bumper and tailgate paint for me. In both cases neither my wife nor baby sustained any injuries. Was the van at fault? No, it was a driver talking oh his cell phone. And the Contour? A college girl going too fast for the rainy conditions and couldn't stop in time. Feel sorry for them? Not a chance, my family was safe both times.
I am the first to acknowledge that the Jeep doesn't handle like a car. And I don't drive it like one. Some think the mass is safer on the highway but you give up a lot of agility. No matter how careful you are, there is always some idiot that will do something stupid and you have to make an emergency maneuver. Hence the reason for the 9-5. Used for weekend trips where high speeds are the norm and handlng and maneuverability and long-distance comfort are needed.
So I have made vehicle choices not only in accordance with my needs, but also because of the real world out there.
posted by 65.160....
, Thu, 16 Oct 2003 08:23:01 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:38:54, Thu, 16 Oct 2003 11:17:52, Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:57:44, Wed, 15 Oct 2003 16:10:48
, Wed, 15 Oct 2003 12:26:29
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