Young People driving Huge Cars (Austin, Mercedes: fit in, subdivision, shop)

[G Grasshopper]

So here's my story: We moved to the Austin area, and the first day we are here, a 17 year old rear ends my car as we are sitting at a stop light. She had her brakes on, but didn't realize how long the braking time was for the behemoth SUV she was driving. Too much mass to stop that quickly at the speed she was going. So I got that fixed; the car has been out of the shop 2 weeks. Yesterday, I pull into a space at a paring lot, and am just sitting in the car for a minute. Another young driver tries to pull into the space beside mine, as she does so, she hits the car on the other side of the space. She then backs up and tries again, this time scraping the paint off my newly painted bumper. She is driving an explorer and tells me she doesn't understand how she hit 2 cars in the process of trying to get into a space that obviously was too small for her vehicle.

So this has me thinking: are people putting their new, inexperienced drivers in gigantic cars because they think they are safer that way? And isn't the reality that they are actually less safe because they don't know how to handle such a large-mass vehicles? It is so much easier to handle a smaller car that actually fits on the road and into parking spaces, is easy to stop and maneuver. Why not let young drivers gather that experience before moving on to the big stuff? Or maybe people only have big stuff in their garages. At any rate, between these incedents and the time last week when I almost got hit by someone running a red light, I am getting leary of driving any where in Texas.

[tstone]

An Explorer's footprint about the same size as an Accord's.

I think you're just having bad luck.

[Trainwreck20]

Young drivers = accidents, regardless of car size. Also, I think statistically, the entire body of driving public is at greater risk due to larger vehicles, never mind who is driving the vehicle.

Anyway, if a kid is going to get in an accident (and most will of some sort), they (maybe not everyone else) is safer. And the kids don't know how to handle ANY vehicle, so I don't think the size really comes into play.

[10scoachrick]

I fondly remember the early '90s when there were some very nice mid-sized cars that were snooty enough for the 'high-end' folks to drive and show off. I'm talking Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Mercedes, Acura...nice cars that people enjoyed driving and showing off. Made for a manageable parking lot at the tennis center. Then, the SUV became the weapon of choice and you know the rest of the story. Can't drive 'em, can't park 'em, can't see around or over 'em...and it just snowballed from there. Oh, well. Such is life.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by tstone

An Explorer's footprint about the same size as an Accord's.

I think you're just having bad luck.

The Accord has turned into something of a boat. Gotta say I like the looks of that CrossTour, however.

There are Explorers and there are Explorers...some are closer to the size of the Exhibition...oops...I mean Expedition. They're nearly the size of the Chevy Subdivision...oops...I mean Suburban.

[hilsmom]

This is a hot button for me - I depise SUVs. Somewhere around the mid-90s, much of the public was brainwashed into believing that they NEEDED the darn things, ESPECIALLY if you're going to have one tiny little baby.

Screw that - I drive my kiddo around in my cute little blue Beetle.

Anyway, yes, they are generally making our roads more unsafe for a multitude of reasons. And yes, teen drivers are less safe than others, so why give them a large vehicle that is even harder to control?

But, I also think you're just having a run of bad luck, despite my general dislike of SUVs.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

The Accord has turned into something of a boat. Gotta say I like the looks of that CrossTour, however.

There are Explorers and there are Explorers...some are closer to the size of the Exhibition...oops...I mean Expedition. They're nearly the size of the Chevy Subdivision...oops...I mean Suburban.

Hate to bring some facts to this, but I can't help it.

There are no Explorers, of any year, similar in size to an Expedition. Accords have grown in size over the years, just like virtually everything, but I don't think there is any way to describe even the current Accord as a boat.

Length/width/weight

2009 Explorer: 193/73.7/4700 lbs
2009 Expedition: 206/78.7/5801 lbs
2009 Accord: 194/72.7/3362 lbs

The Accord indeed has about the same footprint as an Explorer. It is actually one inch longer but an inch narrower. The Expedition (standard length) is over a foot longer, five inches wider, and more than a thousand pounds heavier.

One of my teenagers drives a 2006 Honda Pilot. It is five inches shorter than an Explorer, but four inches wider. She drives it because it is the car she drove most often to learn with and it has outstanding safety ratings. The vehicle also has a bit of height so it is visible to others.

So far, she is driving very well.

I think the OP is suffering from some bad luck and encounters with drivers that really aren't ready yet.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by hilsmom

This is a hot button for me - I depise SUVs. Somewhere around the mid-90s, much of the public was brainwashed into believing that they NEEDED the darn things, ESPECIALLY if you're going to have one tiny little baby.

Screw that - I drive my kiddo around in my cute little blue Beetle.

Anyway, yes, they are generally making our roads more unsafe for a multitude of reasons. And yes, teen drivers are less safe than others, so why give them a large vehicle that is even harder to control?

But, I also think you're just having a run of bad luck, despite my general dislike of SUVs.

Do you despise ALL SUVs? Do you dislike Honda CRVs and Subaru Foresters too?

Although I am not a fan of full size SUVs, today's mid-size SUVS are no larger than the station wagons our parents drove in their heyday. A modern crossover stops faster, accelerates quicker, has far better safety capability, and even gets better fuel economy than the minivan of the 90s.

No one was brainwashed. Somehow, people decided they liked a sportier look than they could find in other vehicles that carried kids well.

I see this as no different than other trends of the day - such as women wearing clothes that show their bra straps. Why is that so common now?

[G Grasshopper]

One "funny" thing about this incedent is that it took place in the parking lot of the DPS on Research Drive. I was there to get my Texas driver's license. The minute I got out of my car to talk to the girl who had just hit it, there was someone from DPS there with an accident report form to fill out. It seems there are so many "scrapes" in that lot, they have someone stationed out there with reporting forms! If I have to go there again, I will try to remember to park on the street and walk a bit!

And by the way, for those who says that the size of the car doesn't matter, I would think that when trying to fit into a parking space, it absolutely does matter.

[hoffdano]

Vehicle size of course matters. Not just the width, but the turning circle. New drivers also tend to not know where the corners of their vehicle are.