Yes, there can be some tragedy of the commons issues, but a lot of the time, that's really an issue of a stable versus unstable equilibrium. You would be surpri

Yes, there can be some tragedy of the commons issues, but a lot of the time, that's really an issue of a stable versus unstable equilibrium. You would be surprised by how many people insist on an unstable equilibrium and ask government to try to stabilize it, which often ends up being quite expensive. But it does happen. However most tragedy of the commons issues are not new and there are already established ways of dealing with them. In the specific case of SUVs, almost all SUVs sold are actually lifted sedans. They don't have much worse mileage or weigh more than the corresponding sedans. Nor are they better in crashes. It's more of a culture war item where some people really hate those who drive the SUVs -- soccer moms, etc. Here the issue is that a lower center of gravity (and a stiffer ride) creates better handling, but an SUV is more comfortable and is easier to get in and out of. And it usually features a soft suspension. So there are a lot of car enthusiasts that hate SUVs because it's a rejection of their values, and a lot of Europeans that prefer wagons to SUVs are offended by someone wanting to sit higher up. Now yes, there is a situation in which higher cars make it more valuable to sit higher up, but that difference of being 1 foot higher doesn't really destroy visibility, it's psychological. The most popular SUV -- RAV4 has a height of 5.6 feet -- whereas the most popular sedan of 2020 (Camry) has a height of 4.77 feet. That 1 foot difference is not going to destroy visibility and does not represent some out of control thing. The difference in weight is about 100 pounds (3500 for Rav4 and 3400 for Camry). RAV4 gets 30mpg combined -- same as the Camry. These are not huge differences to justify the rage many have at SUVs. Just give the SUV in front of you a bit more room and your visibility will be fine, nor does the RAV4 force other people to get a RAV4 due to collisions.