Should I Drive an SUV?
If you’ve paid attention to the kinds of cars people use in recent times, you’ve probably noticed the trend of “soccer moms”, who drive SUVs through the suburbs of America, transporting their children with these large vehicles. Since they’re only driving through suburban areas, there’s usually no use for them to purchase lift kits or king shocks, since they won’t actually be using these vehicles for the kind of off-road activities they’re designed for. The soccer mom phenomenon brings up some interesting questions, is it right for these vehicles to be utilized in this way? Does it pose a danger to other people on the road? And how about the environmental damage?
The most often provided reason soccer-moms would give for using these large vehicles simply for transportation is that they provide the greatest amount of safety to their family. This is surely a great notion, but the problem is the actual safety benefits of SUV’s are quite small when they’re in a suburban environment. The problem with being so far up from the ground, although it makes you seem safer, is that you are unaware of what’s going on close to your vehicle. Is something tiny is very close by, like a child going to pick up a ball underneath the car, you won’t be able to notice it. There have been many deaths occurring in this way. The problem with SUV’s is that they give the illusion of safety on its own, and while there are some benefits that make it a safer option to drive one of these cars, these benefits only apply to those within the vehicle, so while it may be safer for those inside, other drivers and pedestrians will be at risk when there are SUV’s driving around.
Also a problem with these cars is their gas mileage and the damage this does to the environment. Since the vehicle has to haul a greater amount of mass around, and thus a greater amount of energy needs to be used, the amount of fuel required becomes much more. If a smaller family car was purchased, the effect to the environment would be greatly reduced.
There is an American situation to believe that things are our right, that they belong to us. When a soccer mom is confronted with the dangers of SUVs, they’ll often get indignant and think they are being personally attacked, since the right to keep their family safe has been called into question. This is an attitude that is, of course, promoted by advertisers and car manufacturers. There is a misguided impression that the only choice for those who really care about their families is to buy a large vehicle. This is not the truth, however, and is only a lie created in order to help line the pockets of the car makers.
To start making improvements to the health of ones family, common sense needs to be undertaken at the level of each individual. Purchasing a large car might seem like a good idea at the time, but if logic and reason are utilized, it can be seen that the long term effects of these cars are ultimately damaging.
