I am kinda suprised by this tread. First off at how quick piggs resort to name calling and random irrelevant attacks to take down those who oppose their point of view. Calling someone a earth hater, or tree hugger who is gonna die in some terrible firery death cause they bought a car/SUV isnt really debating. It is trying to cow your opponent. Some of you must be politicans, cause you are great at twisting a good topic into fear mongering and random attacks. “BUT THINK OF THE CHILDREN” I can hear you all screaming, ignoring the others screaming the exact same thing.
I like raptors response. It is like guns. Guns dont kill people until someone misuses it. It can be cause they dont respect the gun, dont know how to use the gun, or want to use it illegally, but a gun is an thing designed to hurl a projectile at high rates of speed at a target (living or not). A car is a object that hurls itself (and living occupants) at high rates of speed to a target (location). What is important is the PERSON using it and how they use it. Alot more people die every year on our roads than they do from our guns, but we seem alot more worried about gun deaths than traffic deaths. Weird considering gun ownership (currently) is a right, and vehicle ownership isnt. (please get that my point is personal responsibility, not gun ownership/use and its inherint dangers)
To add alittle to the facts, but in context of users, who do you think is driving those little cars and pickups? Young people and young men respectivly. The most dangerous drivers on the road. To be shocked that those cars have more deaths when they, percentage wise, have worse drivers is kinda missing the point. I dont care what car you are in, if you put a distracted, inexperienced, or enraged driver of any age in it and set it off at a high rate of speed, it is a death trap no matter what.
To put it another way:
There is a grand old oak tree on a winding country road very close to where my parents live. It is far off to the side of the road, a danger to no one. However it is also a direct line from the tree to a VERY sharp curve in the road. Currently there are two places on that tree that have all the bark scrapped off. Both are where SUV’s(one big, one carlike) carrying a family of 4, ignored the warning signs, took the turn too fast, lost control and slammed into the tree, killing everyone inside.
Sadly, we have not been able to engeneer a car that protects us from any and all human complancy and stupidity. Driving anything is dangerous, and will kill you if used inappropratly. Pay attention!, no matter what you decide to drive.
