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Growing up in Australia, the "SUV in the city" phenomenon started relatively late- when I got my license in 2000, they were still quite rare in the suburbs and city, although now they're common, possibly still a bit less so than over here.
However, around the time I was getting my license, getting my first car, etc etc, I remember SUVs getting a lot of negative press for supposedly being less safe than traditional cars.
If I recall, the issues that were frequently raised were sight lines (less likely to see a child if they darted in front or were behind the car, etc, because of the height of the vehicle), the fact that SUVs height meant that they were more likely to flip/roll over in an accident, and their size and weight made them deadlier to regular and compact cars in an accident.
I remember at the time thinking I would never get one.
But, 18 years and 3 children later, it is what makes the most sense for us.
While I still think all of Australia's initial negative press over them holds a bit of weight and still makes sense to an extent, almost 2 decades later, it does seem like vehicles are becoming safer with backup camera technology, emergency braking, etc.
With all of that said though, all of the safety features in the world won't fix bad drivers- something I feel we have too many of in St. Louis.
I wouldn't be opposed to making the process of getting a driver license for the first time more rigourous for a start.
At university - I think in a psychology class - (long before SUVs) we were told that when you get into a car your body image takes on the car. It makes you feel you have more personal space and you can subconsciously try to take that space. I am sure this is part of what we are seeing. Just yesterday, a friend commented that this is what happened to her when she first started driving (a small car). Then, when she got an SUV, she noticed the same thing. She said it scared her to realize what was happening.
Interesting idea? The cameras with "tv screens" that let you see who/what is behind you are good if/when used. But automakers are now using those screens for other things. Little icons all over them. Is this defeating their original purpose?
I smiled at a friend who bought a brand new, spiffy SUV. She said she and her husband had to go back to the dealer a few days later for some computer lessons. :-)
All these improvements - are they making it harder to avoid accidents for one reason or another? And you are absolutely right about making getting a license harder to get. A few years ago, after meeting with drivers who could not even read the traffic signs, they started investigating as to how someone who cannot read English can pass his exam. OK. When you go for the exam, you can ask for an interpreter. They found that these interpreters were telling the people being tested the answers. And I believe that because we once had a mail carrier asking everyone to read envelopes to her. She didnt last long but there we are.
I'll watch for drivers if they'll watch for me. I can't move at 90 mph. And I can't jump curbs. :-)
I drive what is probably the biggest SUV around (escalade esv) and I honestly hate the size, but it is what is is for our current needs as a family of 5 that needs to squeeze in large amounts of sports equipment or 2 crates to keep the dogs safe. I SO look forward to downsizing.
I do have the emergency braking and a 360 camera that makes me feel safer, and while I have an issue with leadfoot on the interstates...I am overall a pretty cautious driver. The emergency braking will sometimes brake for shadows, so it's sort of a pain in the butt too.
But yeah...the aggressive front end can not be good in a pedestrian vs. SUV accident. It can't be great vs a smaller car either. I find that people in smaller cars are also not particularly aware of being in the blindspot of such large cars either...so thank god for blind spot detection too.
The pedestrian issue does seem to be in large part due to unsafe pedestrian practices as the article states...crossing where you shouldn't cross, walking on a phone, walking under the influence of something. How many accidents have you seen of people trying to cross an interstate???? Who does that???? But no doubt the large SUV will be more likely to kill or cause more significant injury no matter who is at fault. And even if not my fault, I don't know if I could live with myself if I hit a person with my car. I would love to push for more dedicated bike and pedestrian lanes too...to be more like European cities.
I think I did see that the redesign of my current car has a less aggressive front end. I'm planning to trade for that as soon as it comes out. And then for a sedan (or at least a midsized SUV) as soon as my oldest is reliably driving himself (he's only 13, so I have a while...I don't trust new teenage drivers, so he's going to have to prove himself). And then we have to figure out what kind of car he should drive to keep him safe but also others around him...and still fit his large sports gear.
Crossing a highway afoot is nuts! Those cars come faster than you think. But, you know, I have witnessed places where there is no other way to get to where you need to get. The solutions aren't easy. Underground passes turned out to be unsafe. Overhead passes too expensive. Personally, I take a cab. But small towns don't have cabs.
Bicycle lanes. One morning a bicycle rider was in his own bike lane when a car swerved over toward him and knocked him to the sidewalk. It was deliberate. The driver swerved at him and back into her own lane.. Kept going, too. I wouldn't ride a bike on a busy road. Takes more courage than I have. However, I saw a picture from one of the Scandinavian countries where the bike lane was fenced off from the traffic lanes. That helps.
The article also mentioned safety islands. I once lived in a town that had a lot of those but they were being removed at the request of store owners who wanted people to be able to turn left to their stores.
If the article gets some attention and even a corrective reactions, it is well worth publicizing. Everyone keep safe. You know what the coming Wednesday is.
Hazel- I will look for the original artist rendering when I get a chance, but in the late 40s/ early 50s when the interstates in St. Louis were still in the development stages, the original proposal was that there be 2-3 lanes per side of personal vehicular traffic, then a dedicated lane separated by a barricade for street cars, followed by a dedicated pedestrian path.
Obviously, by the time the interstates actually came to fruition, the plans were greatly simplified to only take into account vehicular traffic.
Hazel- I will look for the original artist rendering when I get a chance, but in the late 40s/ early 50s when the interstates in St. Louis were still in the development stages, the original proposal was that there be 2-3 lanes per side of personal vehicular traffic, then a dedicated lane separated by a barricade for street cars, followed by a dedicated pedestrian path.
Obviously, by the time the interstates actually came to fruition, the plans were greatly simplified to only take into account vehicular traffic.
That would have been nice. Instead we have six lanes of 90% trucks with 10% small cars shuffled in here and there. (Forgive the slight exaggeration but it really is mostly trucks, isn't it?)
I just got home from grocery store where I witnessed another hazard that was not mentioned and which scares me when I'm crossing. You know about the stop signs outside grocery stores, I am sure. A truck had stopped at one as a woman walked across. She still had not cleared the lane before that truck started moving. She made it fine but what if his brakes had failed? Or what if she had panicked? If I am going to walk in front of a truck (which I am not), I want him to sit still until I am out of the way. Is that fair?
As someone who moved here recently and has lived in major metro areas in both Europe and the US, I have to say that I have never seen such terrible driving behavior as I see in the St Louis area. No one uses turn signals, no one respects red lights and stop signs. I take it as granted that it is just a matter of time until someone rams my car after running a red light (almost happened last week on Olive and Broadway).
As someone who moved here recently and has lived in major metro areas in both Europe and the US, I have to say that I have never seen such terrible driving behavior as I see in the St Louis area. No one uses turn signals, no one respects red lights and stop signs. I take it as granted that it is just a matter of time until someone rams my car after running a red light (almost happened last week on Olive and Broadway).
I've lived here my entire life and travel on business to other cities, sometimes by plane, often by car, either way I typically drive. This is a lie. If you drive in the city - there is a strong tendency to avoid/ignore traffic laws including lights.
As someone who moved here recently and has lived in major metro areas in both Europe and the US, I have to say that I have never seen such terrible driving behavior as I see in the St Louis area. No one uses turn signals, no one respects red lights and stop signs. I take it as granted that it is just a matter of time until someone rams my car after running a red light (almost happened last week on Olive and Broadway).
Interesting. Have you lived in the Kansas City area? The first thing I noticed when I came to Saint Louis was that drivers here seemed more polite about stopping and giving a person a chance to get across. But I'm looking at it from a different viewpoint. The only thing I noticed is speeding. Everyone is speeding. If you ask them why they'll say you have to speed or you'll get run down by the other speeders.
Metro-wide? I don't know as I've only lived in one area. But it is the same situation in South County. It can be positively wild. And people who don't like it are taking to back roads to escape. That is increasing traffic and traffic jams in quieter neighborhoods. So we widen some more roads.
The only thing that slows anybody down is rush hour traffic. Then it's so bumper-to-bumper that no one can speed. What happens then? The powers-that-be build more lanes so we can speed again. Those last lanes that they added to 270 only made matters worse. There is a highway in North County that makes a wide and (to me) terrifying curve while climbing up and over the river to St Charles County. Has anyone ever flown off that? Yes, we build for speed.
Having lived around the country, I rather think it's nation-wide. And it may be world-wide. I had a friend who was stationed in Germany. He said it's as bad in Europe as it is here. Maybe it is psychological - the sudden feel of power when we get behind the wheel. The need to show off and be noticed.
All that said, you can also get a ticket for driving too slowly. In fact, you are probably more apt to get a ticket for driving too slowly. You are one little person hindering the smooth flow of thousands of cars trying to get somewhere.
As someone who moved here recently and has lived in major metro areas in both Europe and the US, I have to say that I have never seen such terrible driving behavior as I see in the St Louis area. No one uses turn signals, no one respects red lights and stop signs. I take it as granted that it is just a matter of time until someone rams my car after running a red light (almost happened last week on Olive and Broadway).
I've lived (grew up) overseas, elsewhere in the U.S, and have traveled extensively- including a lot of driving abroad.
I'm not claiming St. Louis drivers are the best by any means, but they're in no way the worst, either.
Thank you, Billikin. I met a neighbor going out this morning and asked her about the story. What she has sounded pretty much like what you have. I was concerned that that AEB, making a sudden stop (less than two blinks), would throw the head back and injure the neck. But, she said no; it is a smooth stop.
I have AEB on my sedan and I would describe it as a lurching stop, but not an injurious one.
The other thing I would point out is that it will generally not prevent you from hitting anything; AEB will just make you hit it 20mph slower than you would have otherwise (which is significant). Of course, that's just my car's performance, others may vary.
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