It was actually a pleasure to get gas...

[DrakeMaiden]

Rush Dimbulb

ROFL!

Safe driving is more about predicting the behavior of drivers around you than driving a brick. No offense intended, that is just my opinion. If you know you are small and vulnerable you will be more aware and err on the side of caution.

 

[inchworm]

If drivers were so predicatble, there wouldn't be any accidents.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

That's the problem, most people don't drive defensively. When they meet each other on the road way it's anyone's guess.

 

[Homesteadmom]

That's the problem, most people don't drive defensively. When they meet each other on the road way it's anyone's guess.

Sometimes it does not matter if you drive defensively or not. The accident my dh & I were in would have happened no matter what. You see a semi crossed the median & hit us head on. I did try to swerve to avoid the impact but he was going too fast & had lost control after he had a blow out. Every one told us had we not been in a SUV we would have been killed. I had a small Ford Explorer at the time. And there were tire prints on the roof too. So I agree with Inch on this one.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I didn't say ALL accidents can be prevented. There are also instances when brakes fail etc. But I think a majority of accidents are from people not leaving enough following space or not stopping long enough to actually LOOK before pulling into traffic.

Accidents DO happen and vehicles ARE dangerous. Very dangerous. The larger they are, the more dangerous they are. When you have driven for years you forget just how dangerous. I don't drive very frequently, so I am particularly cautious when I do. Every time I get back in the car, it reminds me of how I felt when I first learned to drive . . . it is a huge responsibility!

Now, if less people drove heavy vehicles, do you think the roads would be safer in general? I'm not talking about your personal safety, I'm talking about the safety for everyone on the roadway. Just a thought.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I'm sorry to harp on this, but the argument that SUVs are safer really irks me. I understand why they may be more useful for your terrain, I understand why large families would find them more suitable to their lifestyle. However, it really bothers me when people claim they are "safer".

SUVs were originally designed and built to be work vehicles, and most are still built using a truck chassis and have not been comprehensively re-designed to be safely used as passenger vehicles.

In a crash, the high bumper, stiff frame and steel-panel construction of SUVs can override crash protections of other vehicles, making them dangerous for other motorists in two-vehicle crashes. SUVs are also dangerous for their own occupants. The vehicles' high profile and narrow track width makes them very rollover prone. Because the typical SUV also has a weak roof and poor crash protection, this combination of hazards places SUV occupants at a high risk of death or paralysis. Although rollover crashes are rare as a type of crash, the death toll from these crashes accounts for a third of all highway motor vehicle deaths, and is sixty percent of the deaths in SUVs.

 

[Homesteadmom]

Do I think the roads would be safer if less heavy vehicles were on the road? No I do not. You have idiots driving every size of vehicle they make on the road. But like I said had we not been in a SUV we would not be here now. The semi ran over the roof of my vehicle & it did not crush us! We did not roll over either. And both of those scenarios could have very well taken place, but they did not. I know that small cars get better milage but they are not built as strong & sturdy as the bigger ones. and believe me I feel a whole lot safer in a bigger vehicle than I do in little ones. A lot of vehicles are made of fiberglass bodies that are easily crushed up now & that is not safe at all. I think a drivers education class thru the DMV should be required before getting a license. Yes I agree that driving is a huge responsibility & should not be taken lightly. But a lot of people do not teach their children that.

 

[Cassandra]

I know I'm not the only one here old enough to remember the land yacht.

Back in the early 90's my sister drove a 1970 (ish) Mercury Grand Marquis. That car was 19 feet long (compared to my dad's old panel van at the time which was 16 feet long.) My sister, being in her late teens at the time, had on at least one occassion 13 people riding around in that car with her. LOL IT WAS HUGE

One day my sister is driving along, following a new minivan which is following a car in tow on the back of a wrecker. The wrecker sort of abruptly turned into a service station. When he did, the car became disconnected and rolled out in front of everyone. Obviously, everyone slammed on breaks and just sort of freaks out a little bit (because how often does a car fall off a wrecker on you?)

Little sis slams into the back of the mini van. CRUNCH

"The Tank" (my sister's car) plows into the back of that van crushing in the back of it about 2 feet. Thank goodness no one was hurt. The Tank didn't have a scratch on it. (not a new one, anyway.)

I feel safe in a car like THAT! (Not with my sister driving, though. LOL) I backed into a parked truck one time (totally my fault) and ripped the whole front bumper off my corolla. Didn't smudge the truck at all.

I don't know all the statistics about BEING safe in a vehicle. But I know that I FEEL safer in one of the bigger pick up trucks (like a Silverado or such.) I'm not sure what it is about it. I think having all that extra space around me makes me feel like I have a buffer between me and "them." Funnily enough, when I was driving the Ford Explorer, I didn't feel safer at all.

Back to the price of gas, I filled up my car from empty the other day for $19 and something. At the height of oil prices it cost over $44.

Cassandra

 

[enjoy the ride]

I'm trying really hard not to get into bad habits about drivng a lot even though the prices have dropped- diesel was $2.69 here today. I know it can't hold at that price- too much precedent for higher prices. If the producers know they can get it, it will creep up.
But not driving has had a good effect on my budget in other ways- if I don't just putter around shopping, I waste much less money. And get more done at home.
So I'm still trying to pretend that it's still over $5 per gallon.

Cassandra- my parents had one of those land yachts- my mom actually got it wedged in a parking structure because it was too long to make the turn from one level to another.

 

[punkin]

I'm trying really hard not to get into bad habits about drivng a lot even though the prices have dropped- diesel was $2.69 here today. I know it can't hold at that price- too much precedent for higher prices. If the producers know they can get it, it will creep up.
But not driving has had a good effect on my budget in other ways- if I don't just putter around shopping, I waste much less money. And get more done at home.
So I'm still trying to pretend that it's still over $5 per gallon.

Cassandra- my parents had one of those land yachts- my mom actually got it wedged in a parking structure because it was too long to make the turn from one level to another.

That's what I keep telling myself. I don't want to fall back into unecessary running around, either. Just because the price has, dropped, doesn't mean I still can't be sufficient about it.