57 ms·

People buy SUV's because they want to avoid being injured in crashes (at the detriment of the other driver)

Freedom2 8mo ago
Yet per capita, US vehicle occupants are more likely to be injured in general while on the road than Europeans. Perhaps the driving standards are just far too different.
- kgwgk 8mo ago
  They also travel twice as much.
- atleastoptimal 8mo ago
  Because US roads traffic control systems suck ALSO licenses are much easier to get, there is more of a tacit tolerance of drunk driving, and the lower rate of public transport makes more people forced to drive despite preferring not to, leading to less of a selective effect of drivers. We've consequentially paved over the issues (no pun intended) via creating a socioeconomic hierarchy of insulation from traffic injuries. Giant SUV's have become the mainstay of the upwardly mobile 30s suburbanite, who is immunized from the road hazards, collisions and dangers that would cripple sedans.
- NetMageSCW 8mo ago
  Per capita isn’t meaningful, try per mile.
  - watwut 8mo ago
    In a discussion about city design, per capita matters. That being said, EU is generally safer per km too.
- IncreasePosts 8mo ago
  Is that just because Americans spend a lot more time in their cars than Europeans do?
  - watwut 8mo ago
    No, per km Europeans are safer. Road design is safer, cars are safer.
    - IncreasePosts 8mo ago
      I'm not sure it is so simple. Some states have death rates in line with western/northern Europe (eg massachusetts has 4 deaths per billion km, similar to Germany), but road design and cars driven in massachusetts are highly similar to states with a larger death rate(south carolina, looking at you).
- roger110 8mo ago
  Two people crashing in big SUVs/trucks aren't really safer than two people crashing in smaller cars. As for the difference, my guess is the driving standards.
dmix 8mo ago
In Canada people also buy SUVs and trucks because they handle the bad winter weathers better.
vrosas 8mo ago
This is definitely true. I do not currently know a single woman who DOESN'T drive an SUV and the answer I've heard more than once is just that they feel safer. The problem is, they're not wrong. But it's a spiraling problem - more big cars make the roads less safe which prompts more people to buy big cars...

Yet per capita, US vehicle occupants are more likely to be injured in general while on the road than Europeans. Perhaps the driving standards are just far too different.

kgwgk 8mo ago
They also travel twice as much.
atleastoptimal 8mo ago
Because US roads traffic control systems suck ALSO licenses are much easier to get, there is more of a tacit tolerance of drunk driving, and the lower rate of public transport makes more people forced to drive despite preferring not to, leading to less of a selective effect of drivers. We've consequentially paved over the issues (no pun intended) via creating a socioeconomic hierarchy of insulation from traffic injuries. Giant SUV's have become the mainstay of the upwardly mobile 30s suburbanite, who is immunized from the road hazards, collisions and dangers that would cripple sedans.
NetMageSCW 8mo ago
Per capita isn’t meaningful, try per mile.
- watwut 8mo ago
  In a discussion about city design, per capita matters. That being said, EU is generally safer per km too.
IncreasePosts 8mo ago
Is that just because Americans spend a lot more time in their cars than Europeans do?
- watwut 8mo ago
  No, per km Europeans are safer. Road design is safer, cars are safer.
  - IncreasePosts 8mo ago
    I'm not sure it is so simple. Some states have death rates in line with western/northern Europe (eg massachusetts has 4 deaths per billion km, similar to Germany), but road design and cars driven in massachusetts are highly similar to states with a larger death rate(south carolina, looking at you).
roger110 8mo ago
Two people crashing in big SUVs/trucks aren't really safer than two people crashing in smaller cars. As for the difference, my guess is the driving standards.

dmix 8mo ago

In Canada people also buy SUVs and trucks because they handle the bad winter weathers better.

vrosas 8mo ago

This is definitely true. I do not currently know a single woman who DOESN'T drive an SUV and the answer I've heard more than once is just that they feel safer. The problem is, they're not wrong. But it's a spiraling problem - more big cars make the roads less safe which prompts more people to buy big cars...