I drive an SUV. I don't like the fact that I drive an SUV, but the truth is, I'm not inclined to downsize if the cost of doing so is a head-on collision with a Ford Excursion. My family and I deserve the same heft in an impact as anyone else. Thus, car choice in America represents a variation on the classic Prisoners' Dilemma. Now, I am not for big government. I think the best way our leaders can spend our money is to solve our various Prisoners' Dilemmas. (I might even argue that such situations are the only justified purpose of government, but this is not a political blog). Specifically, the government has a responsibility to force all of us to reach the best outcome (which we wouldn't otherwise reach).
So, getting back to cars. I'm not inclined to put my family in a Mini Cooper (i.e., cooperate, in the Prisoners' Dilemma setting), when I believe that Joe American isn't willing to do the same and part with his Hummer 2 (it's the mid size one, I think). But if the government could force me and Joe to drive Mini Coopers (and no, I don't hold any BMW stock), then we'd both be better off. And I'm not talking about raising gas taxes; I'm talking about simply making cars above a certain weight illegal. Of course, there will be a time when Joe America or I have to schlep some furniture somewhere. And for those rare occasions, a special government-issued permit (and a rental truck from Ryder) will suffice. This all might be a little unrealistic, unfortunately. If the government can't ban assault weapons, they probably can't ban commuter tanks either. Oh well. I guess we'll all have to learn to live with more traffic, bloodier accidents, increased dependence on foreign oil, worsening air quality, and so on.
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4 comments:
Amen.
your chance of dying is significantly greater in an suv than a regular four door sedan. research it.
That might be true, but there are several factors in the general statistic of one's chance of dying in an SUV as opposed to a regular sedan. There's probably a self-selection effect that shouldn't be discounted: SUV drivers may generally drive faster (increasing their chances of fatal accidents) or they may generally be younger (i.e., less experienced drivers) or they may be more likely to drink and drive. And of course, SUVs are more likely to roll over on their own, without another car's involvement. The statistics are clear that all else being equal, in a head on collision, the small car driver is likely to come out worse off than the SUV driver.
You cannot simply count head on collisions. When insurance investigators account for the likelihood of multi car accidents and the chance of single car accidents the SUV driver is more likely to die or be seriously injured than the driver of a regular sedan. Even so, the numbers for SUV drivers in multi car collisions are worse than sedans in multi car accidents. Direct head on collisions are rare. More common are side impact where SUVs turnover at a substantially higher rate and rear collisions where sometimes a smaller car can be trapped beneath the rear bumper of an SUV raising the rear tires are making it more susceptible to damage. The Institute for Highway Safety has all but concluded that SUVs are less safe than standard cars and the notion that they are safer results from auto industry propoganda and industry funded tests designed to increase the sale of more expensive cars.
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