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WRONG! SUVs are way more dangerous than cars, but this is a large family, so I am not sure what they could get in place and still all be okay? Not sure if a BMW 5 wagon would fit them. If they could fit, they would all be fine. SUVs are super dangerous if they get out of control at all. It is just simple physics and cannot be argued against. Think of it this way. The bottom of your tire is the point of contact. The farther you go from that point the more force that will be given. Just a simple lever can tell the story and you don't need more than that. SUVs are really horrible at making things much worse once you are trying to maneuver. Sadly, in the case of a family this large, they might have to go with a minivan. I don't know if there is one that handles better or is safer. Once you get into larger vehicles like this, you better drive very carefully at all times.
It is very sad and that poor kid of just 16. What will happen to him the rest of his life? How does one cope with such a thing? Hope he has some really good relatives that will try and help him. All it takes is one mistake. What possessed these people to not have seat belts on is amazing. I think there would have been some lives saved if they all had seat belts on, but that is hindsight now.
There are so many deaths on the roadways, yet people seem to be okay with it. People speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. Just pure selfishness. If you are driving, slow down and if you have to drive some big SUV or pickup, you better stay in the right lane and be very careful. Those things are deathtraps to say the least. As someone that had to drive a lot I sure saw a lot of SUVs in ditches.
I have been to enough accident scenes to know that cars do in fact flip over even at low speeds. As other posters have stated, I doubt any car past a high performance Ferrari or something similar would have not flipped going that speed. I myself have been in a rollover before, it was a Nissan (240 I think) and I was a passenger, the thing flipped while taking a very sharp curve, we were going about 35mph when the back tires skidded then caught and we flipped on the roof.
If you look at the picture of the Tahoe in this story, it is not that badly damaged at all, if those people would have worn seatbelts, I doubt they would have been killed, the passenger area is not that much damaged at all.
I think people are crazy if they think a mini van would have not flipped going this fast and the driver taking the same actions. I think the anti-suv bias is over ridding rational thought in this thread with many posters.
I don't agree about the laws portion, but I otherwise agree completely. It's so silly how many people buy SUVs simply because "I wouldn't be caught dead in a minivan" (poor choice of words in this case).
How ironic, then, that this happened this way. I've said it before--people act like SUVs are THE vehicle to buy in part because of crash protection, forgetting about the rollover and cornering factors. In this case it had deadly consequences.
I think it was a contributing factor, too. SUVs are much more rollover prone their cars or even minivans, although minivans would hardly be at the head of the stability class either I'd imagine, but the higher center of gravity of an SUV would make them especially rollover prone vs practically anything else. Yet, people flock to SUVs over minivans simply because of image. It's silly. It is their choice, but it's silly. If you are going to pack 8 people in a vehicle, yes, a minivan (or a full-sized van, if you can still find them) is much more suitable. So it's ugly--WHO CARES?? Why does looks matter on a vehicle so much to people? It's not a woman in a bikini. What does it matter, especially when you're now dead?
And yes, I'm not so sure I'm trusting a 16 year old in this situation. Maybe I would be, but I'm not sure. What sort of driving had he done before? Had he done enough to where this sort of thing wouldn't be much of a "promotion" for him, or had he only done simpler driving in less challenging conditions and asking this of him was premature? It sucks for him to have to live with this the rest of his life. What an awful burden that must be to carry.
Most people car, Henry Ford thought no one cared until his competitors started making cars that targeted the interests of buyers, so Ford had to change and start incorporating looks into his products. Most people care about how a car looks, how anyone could think otherwise is pure foolishness.
Any car would have flipped in this situation, some of you people on here seem to think no other car ever flips over, please go search on youtube and see the number of non-suv cars that are involved in roll over accidents. I mentioned in my other post, I was in a roll over, I was doing 35mph or so and it was in a Nissan car.
There are so many factor involved when it comes to roll over accidents. Years ago I rolled Ford Ranger going 80mph. I feel asleep driving and woke up and was about to kit another car and I slammed on my breaks and the truck fishtailed and rolled several times. Not a scratch on me which supprised the officers. I learned my lesson about driving while tired.
I currently own a 2014 Passat. I has going 70 on free way and a racoon ran out in front of me and I yanked hard on the steereing wheel started to lose control but regained control again. The car stayed firmly to the road.
Too late now, but I suspect that it was also illegal for that kid to be driving with child passengers, even with his parent in the car. In many states, there are restrictions on young drivers. No night driving, no passengers other than a parent. Of course, it was also very, very poor judgement on the part of the parents. And of course, it was illegal for any of them to not have been belted in.
I have been to enough accident scenes to know that cars do in fact flip over even at low speeds. As other posters have stated, I doubt any car past a high performance Ferrari or something similar would have not flipped going that speed. I myself have been in a rollover before, it was a Nissan (240 I think) and I was a passenger, the thing flipped while taking a very sharp curve, we were going about 35mph when the back tires skidded then caught and we flipped on the roof.
If you look at the picture of the Tahoe in this story, it is not that badly damaged at all, if those people would have worn seatbelts, I doubt they would have been killed, the passenger area is not that much damaged at all.
I think people are crazy if they think a mini van would have not flipped going this fast and the driver taking the same actions. I think the anti-suv bias is over ridding rational thought in this thread with many posters.
You clearly don't understand the simple laws of physics. As I stated, simplify it and just think of a lever. The longer the lever the more power. Your wheels are the contact and anything above it acts as a lever. The higher people are sitting the more dangerous. It really is SUPER simple, but people don't want to understand it. The weight of all those people sitting that high in an SUV is one heck of a lot of power on the lever. If you lower it to a station wagon it wouldn't flip unless it hits something to grab the wheels, but EVEN if it does flip the roll has much less impact because the lever is much shorter. SUVs are tall, so when they roll the force is much greater. Just simple physics that anyone that went to school should understand. I tried to explain it to those that didn't further their education. Hope this helps those that have to drive big SUVs and pickups. Drive slow in those. They are dangerous.
very sad but a timely reminder for all of us before the holiday travelling to BUCKLE UP and not push ourselves too hard to drive when we're tired.
If only ... unfortunately there will be other parents who don't buckle up, parents who don't have their kids buckle up or have their young kids in the proper car seats. There will be drunk drivers, drugged drivers, and sleepy drivers. And round and round and round it goes.
The best we responsible drivers can do is to be extra alert and aware of the idiots that we have to share the road with. Defensive Driving!
Last edited by rainydayparis; 11-22-2014 at 10:36 PM..
You clearly don't understand the simple laws of physics. As I stated, simplify it and just think of a lever. The longer the lever the more power. Your wheels are the contact and anything above it acts as a lever. The higher people are sitting the more dangerous. It really is SUPER simple, but people don't want to understand it. The weight of all those people sitting that high in an SUV is one heck of a lot of power on the lever. If you lower it to a station wagon it wouldn't flip unless it hits something to grab the wheels, but EVEN if it does flip the roll has much less impact because the lever is much shorter. SUVs are tall, so when they roll the force is much greater. Just simple physics that anyone that went to school should understand. I tried to explain it to those that didn't further their education. Hope this helps those that have to drive big SUVs and pickups. Drive slow in those. They are dangerous.
Actually, most rollovers are not due solely to a high center of gravity. Speed and environment come into play.
Why does this topic headline seem very misleading to me? Sad situation, but definitely not the fault of Disney or their "dream trip". :/
Yeah, that is bait and switch. I thought it was another issue of an accident with an attraction or Disney transportation. It's not that I don't feel bad about the lives lost but the thread itself is fail.
Yeah, that is bait and switch. I thought it was another issue of an accident with an attraction or Disney transportation. It's not that I don't feel bad about the lives lost but the thread itself is fail.
Like was already stated, it's clickbait.
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