SUVs are not invincible

Dear Tom and Ray: I recently drove from Mississippi to Oklahoma. I made my trip one day after a winter storm moved through the area. I saw several vehicles off in the ditch, which I presumed were accidents that happened the day before, when driving conditions would have been much more hazardous. After seeing a few of these unfortunates, I noticed something strange. Many, or perhaps even most, of these vehicles were sport utility vehicles. You would think these vehicles would be the least likely to lose control on slippery roads. Were the drivers of these vehicles overconfident? Are the marketing departments of the car manufacturers overselling the "go anywhere, do anything" aspect of these vehicles?

John

Ray: You nailed it right on the head, John. The manufacturers sell these SUVs as invulnerable, unstoppable behemoths, not subject to the laws of nature or physics.

Tom: So when your neighbor Fred plunks down 35 big ones for his 4,000-pound Chevy Compensator, what do you think he's dying to do? Try it out! As soon as there's a snowstorm, he thinks it's a great time to race out and stock up on light bulbs.

Ray: Not only that, but he fundamentally misunderstands the capabilities of his vehicle. Four-wheel drive will help you GO in the snow. It won't help you STOP.

Tom: And it's limited in what it can do to help you TURN. SUVs, despite what you see in the ads, cannot repeal the laws of physics.

Ray: Think about what happens when you walk in the snow. If you have dress shoes on, you have to be pretty darn careful and walk slowly. If you have on some big, waffle-stomper boots, you can walk with a little more confidence. But if you try to run, even with the boots, you could easily slip. And if you run and then need to turn or stop suddenly, get ready for a face plant!

Tom: Similarly, when there's snow on the highway and everyone else is driving carefully at 35 mph, and Fred goes barreling down the passing lane at 70 mph, when the highway turns left he keeps going straight. And into the ditch.

Ray: If this was simply a case of Darwinism, where people who act like morons get eliminated from the gene pool, we'd be fine with that. But sadly, these overconfident knuckleheads often take the lives of innocent people with them when they spin off the road in their 4,000-pound trucks.

Tom: So, here's our humble suggestion: The next time some innocent driver gets injured or killed by an SUV going too fast in bad weather, the family needs to sue the manufacturer of the SUV.