Bigger is only 'safer', if you hit something smaller than you. In almost any other circumstance, many characteristics of that big truck actually work AGAINST you, not for you.
What are you gonna do when EVERYONE else starts fighting back with the 'bigger is better' nonsense, and they all go out and buy old F450 pickup trucks, so THEY can have the bigger truck, and inflict more damage on you to make themselves safer? Uh oh, now you're not the biggest out there, so you're not safe anymore. Better go trade your 250 or 350 for a MDT.
Then, everyone else doesnt like not being the biggest, so they go out and 'trump' your MDT, by purchasing a class 8 HDT truck for everyday driving.
Where does that vehicular arms race end, folks? When we're all driving 40,000 lb railroad locomotives converted for street use? Oh, wait, if we all bought those, we'd STILL not be safe by the 'bigger is better' mentality, unless someone finds something even BIGGER than those 40,000 lb locomotives!
Once we take off the 'ME ME ME blinders', and look at things with the 'big picture' in mind of making things most safe for everyone involved (not just you and your selfish, egotistical self)...You will see that a much better approach to safety is if *most* everyone drove vehicles that were fairly close to the same size, with good safety features designed into them (crumple zones, airbags, etc).
Not trying to suggest by any means that such should be forced on people as is done in socialist countries, don't get me wrong. I'm just trying to suggest that there HAS to be a better way to make everyone safe on the road, than declaring a vehicular arms race.
This is why I refuse to buy into this B.S. about pickups or SUV being 'safer'. Its a very narrow minded and selfish 'safety', and in reality is NOT safer, when all factors are considered. If you chose to drive your pickup as an everyday driver even when not towing, thats your business, knock yourself (and your gas expenses) out. Just don't try and hide behind 'safety' as the reason, because it really does not hold water.
Will
Will. . . good points.
If it's 2500 HD truck versus Toyota Corolla, the truck will be better off. If it's 2500 HD truck versus tree or Toyota Corolla versus tree, the Corolla could have the advantage. At any given velocity, the truck weighs enough more to significantly increase the FORCE of the impact.
Regarding your other points, those are moral decisions that each person must make on their own. There are at least two theories that work against utopia ever becoming reality:
1) Monkeysphere Essentially, you are limited by the number of people you can intimately care for, and will probably choose people closer to you over people you don't know. The deaths of those close to you will (obviously) impact you more than the death of an unknown, even if the death of an unknown still gives you pause. The theory (written about humorously in the linked article), tries to explain why you cry when a friend dies but not necessarily when you see the war casualties on television or the opening 15 minutes of the local news.
2) Prisoner's dilemma Essentially, two prisoner arrested as accomplices for the same crime would both be better off if they both kept their mouths shut. However, if only one talks, the silent prisoner is screwed. This inevitably leads to both prisoners talking, and both being worse off in the long run.
Right or wrong, these two theories work against us ever seeing the actualization of your suggestion. From the "prisoner's dilemma", we know we'd all be better off if we drove small or mid-size cars with good safety ratings. But somebody's going to have a full size car. Somebody's going to have an SUV. Somebody's going to have a 2500 HD pickup. So if we're the ones on the road in the small car while somebody else drives the big one, we're personally at a relative disadvantage.
From the "monkeysphere", we know that we look out for "me and mines" before we look out for John Doe. So, knowing that there are 2500 HD pickups on the road, we're inclined to be concerned about our family and friend's relative disadvantage, and we might upgrade out vehicle size. Now everybody is worse off.
In all of the discussions of Suburban vs. Corolla, nobody ever mentioned Corolla vs. Corolla and Suburban vs. Suburban. At any given speed, the additional force involved in the SUV collision will be exponentially greater than the force involved in the collision with the smaller vehicles.
So, unfortunately, we're left with the macabre reality of the Suburban vs. the Corolla, and everybody trying to pick which one they want to be in.
Interesting discussion.
2005 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Crew Cab SB LS 6.0L 4x4 4.10
DW, DD (born in May, 2007), and me
BTW: I don't agree with everything the Monkeysphere article says. In fact, I disagree with a lot of it. The main point is valid and interesting, though, to anybody interested in understanding human behavior.
Bigger is only 'safer', if you hit something smaller than you. In almost any other circumstance, many characteristics of that big truck actually work AGAINST you, not for you.
That is true.
And cars often have more advanced occupant-space protection than trucks/SUVs, which typically rely on their mass more than anything else.
A well-designed car will sacrifice itself to protect the occupants.
We purchased a Toyota Echo that gets 30-35 in the city ans 40-45 on the highway about two years ago. When gas hit about 2.00 a gallon is when we decided. We originally purchased a beater civic for about 1200 dollars and the a/c crapped out and they wanted 6 hundred to fix it. We put 3000 miles on the truck last year. Now it mostly sits in the driveway except for towing the camper.
Dave
2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab SLT Shortbed 4.7L 4x2 3:92 Rear GCWR 12500# Curb weight 5021# Tow rating 7350# 2004 Jayco Jayflight 27BH UVW 5084# GVWR 7500# Tekonsha Voyager Husky by Valley Industries W/D Hitch
Me
My wife
My handsome redheaded 7 year old boy
Yep, my wife and I are carpooling and leaving the F250 diesel sitting in the carport.Driving it once a week.If we change jobs and cannot ride together, gonna have to do some hard thinking about getting rid of the truck.
starjumper wrote: Yep, my wife and I are carpooling and leaving the F250 diesel sitting in the carport.Driving it once a week.If we change jobs and cannot ride together, gonna have to do some hard thinking about getting rid of the truck.
OK, I'm flat-out calling BS here. Head-on with ANYTHING more substantial than a motorcycle at 55 in a Festiva will not result in pain. It will result in a closed casket. The Festiva is a ROLLER SKATE. It is not much larger than a golf cart. I have driven one (today, in fact), and if the car isn't the smallest thing on the road, that's only because the Smart is now sold here.
I drove wreckers for years, and Liz does now...the roller skate cars folded up like cardboard. The occupants of the big cars and the trucks walked away. The company owner drives a Ford Excursion, and his wife has a Dodge Charger Daytona: after 35+ years of seeing wrecks, he will always drive something substantial. He has told me he cringes every time he sees Liz in her Festiva. Bigger is safer. period, end of story.
Well since I'm alive and well your calling BS is also very amusing... I would also say something else but your post proves state of wellness headwise. I've survived actually 3 wrecks in Festiva's all without a bruise soreness but it did total the cars. Bigger is not safer you'll realize that when you get creamed by a 18 wheeler, you'll die no matter if your driving a beloved Excursion or a Festiva. No matter what you drive there will always be something out there bigger that mentalitiy is and still is the dumbest thing I hear on a day to day basis.
My 2002 1500HD has been parked on my driveway for over six months. Once in a while, I start it up, drive it around the block a few times, and then wash it. Then....back on the driveway I goes.
I have a 2001 Ford Focus I use as my work car. It's 32 miles, one-way to work for me.
I have Framers Ins. on my truck. When it's sitting, I just keep comprehensive on it. About $30.00 a year. If I find I need to use it for a few days, I call um and they put the liability back on it.
Offline
