The Worst of the SUV Drivers (taxes, living in, cost)

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

It's very easy to generalize, and I find it interesting that one can know everything about a person by the vehicle they drive, whether they are an entitled SAHM in a luxury SUV or an incosiderate driver in another type of SUV, since we all know that the only inconsiderate drivers are in SUVs, correct? The vehicle is of little consequence, since if one were actively looking for a stereotype, one could find it with just about any type of vehicle in a large metropolitan area. It's possible to find minivan drivers or German car drivers or British car drivers who are rude and may make a mistake, not to mention small sports cars that are apparently on a race track when the rest of us think it's the Beltway in McLean.

I know poeple who must drive SUVs or Minivans because of family size, yet when they happen to be out with one child or by themselves in the same vehicle, people are very quick to generalize that they do not need the vehicle and are somehow indicative of a greater problem in society. That, or that the woman driving it is some sort of entitled SAHM, who disdains everyone around her, when in reality such women might work from home or a non-traditional schedule.

Are some SUV drivers inconsiderate or bad drivers? Yes, but certainly not all of them, just as all drivers of <insert random car stereotype here> are not indicative of the general sentiment. Much of the restment against SUVs that I have noticed tends to come at the higher price point, i.e., the luxury end of the SUV market for whatever reason. Again, it's easy to generalize, but just because someone drives a Cayenne does not mean that they are an egotistical snob who wants to drive everyone else off the road at the earliest chance, sending lesser (in their supposedly skewed view) vehicles into flaming wrecks along major roads in Northern Virginia. More than likely, they bougt a vehicle whose design they liked, met their needs (or those of their family), and that they could afford to purchase and maintain; so, it's their business as to what they choose to do with their own money as the vehicles are street legal in the USA.

Bad drivers are bad drivers, no matter the vehicle that they drive, but it's just easier to point fingers and say that because someone bought an SUV that they are members of an entitled class who are out to get everyone else.

I think what you've said makes perfect sense and, of course, is true overall. However...

I think when you spend a lot of time on road like I do you start to notice patterns. For me, it has nothing to do with the price of vehicle or that I'm biased against anyone who is driving one. For the record, I would not own an American-made SUV. I don't like them, and I don't like their design and interior layout. I don't care if they are $60,000--the do NOT impress me. What I do notice, as I stated in an earlier post, is that many of the people who choose to drive Ford Expeditions cannot drive them well at all. I don't know if it is poor handling due to the design of the car or is it that the people that drive them cannot handle them. *Most* of the people I see driving Expeditions are women. Whether they work or not, I don't know. So after posting this today, I was on my way out of the Washington Navy Yard and, you guessed it, my friend and I were behind a Ford Expedition being driven by a woman. She could hardly turn the car out of the garage, around the curve that goes up to the gate, and should could not maintain her lane throughout. Granted, the lanes are narrow but, if you try, you can manage it. She performed as I have seen others perform in this vehicle. On the other hand, I have a coworker that drives one like a madman and he handles it just fine. He is in the minority.

The other "problematic" vehicle I see is the motorcycle. There are actually very good motorcycle drivers on my way to work. Invariably, the are older men on Harleys. Because they are not enclosed, I can see them pretty well. But at least half of the motorcycle drivers appear to be young, are driving those loud, more compact bikes in the express lanes and driving like nuts. On most days I just cringe when they go by because I'm terrified I'm going to witness a motorcycle crash because of their reckless driving. There's definitely a pattern there too.

Interestingly enough, my coworker just bought a SmartCar. He previously drove a Jeep Wrangler, a Mini Cooper, and a Buick. He says he gets much more "attitude" towards him in the Smart Car. He perceives that the SUV drivers hate him. He said they tailgate him relentlessly which he never had happen to him in the MiniCooper. I've driven with him and he actually keeps his speed up just fine. It's almost like they are threatened by the car.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

It's almost like they are threatened by the car.

I've noticed the aggression of large SUV drivers towards small cars here as well while we were joyriding in my friend's VW Beetle convertible in DC last week. I don't understand why so many large SUV drivers think that their sheer size gives them the "authority" to bully others smaller than they are out of their way. Is it just stupidity?

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Margery

Since we are griping about SUV's here's mine. It seems no matter how far I park from the entrance to a store when I come out there's an SUV on either side of me and I have to inch my way backing out because I can't see if there is oncoming traffic. I do not have a compact car, just a normal sized Infiniti G35. Another problem when I have pulled up to a stop sign, stopped and waited for traffic to clear so I can make a right turn, an SUV pulls up farther into the intersection to make a left turn and I can no longer see oncoming traffic. Thanks for letting me complain-I guess my life is not so bad if these are my only complaints.

I drive a Mazda3, and this is likewise one of my biggest pet peeves about large SUVs. I love it when I'm trying to turn left out of Discovery Drive onto Greensboro Drive in Tyson's Corner everyday after work and have some jerk on his cell phone in his Navigator pull up right beside me to turn right so I can no longer see the traffic coming from the right. Unless otherwise denoted by separate lanes painted on the road (as they've just done at the intersection of Temporary & North Shore in Reston), isn't there only ONE lane each way on side streets? I almost hit a mother pushing a stroller a few weeks ago at Target because I was trying to back out of a space as I was wedged between a Dodge Grand Caravan and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, both of which had tinted windows and had parked next to me AFTER I pulled in! I just don't understand what those of us with non-monstrous vehicles are supposed to do?

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I've noticed the aggression of large SUV drivers towards small cars here as well while we were joyriding in my friend's VW Beetle convertible in DC last week. I don't understand why so many large SUV drivers think that their sheer size gives them the "authority" to bully others smaller than they are out of their way. Is it just stupidity?

I have no clue because I just cannot get into the mindset of using your car to express your personality. I realize that aggressive drivers come in all shapes and sizes and we had a very aggressive, tailgating Saturn Ion this afternoon that wasn't happy with our 70 mph speed in the HOV lanes (we were in a Camry). But I my coworker with the Smart Car is pretty cool and non-paranoid about this stuff and if he says he's being bullied by SUV drivers, then he is. I don't know if they see a very small car and they are just assuming/perceiving that it has no speed or putters along so they tailgate? Hard to figure out.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I almost hit a mother pushing a stroller a few weeks ago at Target because I was trying to back out of a space as I was wedged between a Dodge Grand Caravan and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, both of which had tinted windows and had parked next to me AFTER I pulled in! I just don't understand what those of us with non-monstrous vehicles are supposed to do?

You know, I actually no longer blame the SUVs on either side of me in the parking lots (hey, I'm in a Highlander most days and I *still* can't see past the BIG ONES!). My gripe in this instance is the maniacs driving in the parking lots. I actually ease out very slowly. My lights are on, my reverse lights are on and they SEE me coming out but then they decide that they need to race down the aisle or beat me out. When you are approaching a car that is backing out and you are more than a few feet away, I think you should stop. There will always be instances where you are too close but these people have no regard at all if you are backing out. And in parking lots, pedestrians need to mindful of who is getting in their cars and getting ready to move as THEY walk down the aisle. People backing out generally cannot see much.

[rrrafael]

People are on their mobiles, and driving too fast in parking lots to react to the person backing out "blindly." They might have a hard time collecting on private property.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

You know, I actually no longer blame the SUVs on either side of me in the parking lots (hey, I'm in a Highlander most days and I *still* can't see past the BIG ONES!). My gripe in this instance is the maniacs driving in the parking lots. I actually ease out very slowly. My lights are on, my reverse lights are on and they SEE me coming out but then they decide that they need to race down the aisle or beat me out. When you are approaching a car that is backing out and you are more than a few feet away, I think you should stop. There will always be instances where you are too close but these people have no regard at all if you are backing out. And in parking lots, pedestrians need to mindful of who is getting in their cars and getting ready to move as THEY walk down the aisle. People backing out generally cannot see much.

I agree with you. I drove a Corolla for 10 years and I mistakenly thought that pulling out would be easier when I got my Hyundai Tucson (even though it is tiny for an SUV). My solution now is to park away from other cars if possible (I have one-year-old twins, so I have to open the rear doors on both sides of the car, and there always seem to be impatient people waiting to grab the neighboring spots) and just pull out VERY slowly.

I also agree with you about the Expeditions. Some SUVs and trucks are so big that I feel like there should be some sort of special drivers license endorsement to be able to drive them. I personally would not want to drive a car that gave me such difficulty if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

[AnalyzeThis]

Baby SUVs? lol

[AnalyzeThis]

Well I am a SUV driver (Lexus RX330), and I'd like to complain about the smaller cars that park right up on my SUV so that I can't get in/out. On more than one occasion I have been parked right in the middle of a parking spot and yet some yahoo in a Ford Escape or something like it will park RIGHT on the line so their passenger door can't even open which means I can't open my driver side door. I've had to climb in through the passenger side of my car more than once. So inconsideration goes both ways and occurs amongst drivers of all age groups and those driving all vehicle types.

[athousandlogins]

Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis

Well I am a SUV driver (Lexus RX330), and I'd like to complain about the smaller cars that park right up on my SUV so that I can't get in/out. On more than one occasion I have been parked right in the middle of a parking spot and yet some yahoo in a Ford Escape or something like it will park RIGHT on the line so their passenger door can't even open which means I can't open my driver side door. I've had to climb in through the passenger side of my car more than once. So inconsideration goes both ways and occurs amongst drivers of all age groups and those driving all vehicle types.

A Ford Escape is an SUV.