SUV Drivers Hate Personal Responsibility
I'm not a fan of typical American sprawlburbia and its associated lifestyle. I've addressed many topics during the short existence of this blog to support my personal opinion on the subject. Large front yards, three-car garages, and drive-thru lines don't appeal to me. I recently came across a tragic story that has turned my attention to a related pox on the American landscape: the SUV.Last week, CBS News aired a story about the dangers of the blind spot in front of your car. Huh? I've never had a problem seeing in front of my car, at least not while sober. Then it hit me. No, not the front of someone's car, but the point of the story. They weren't talking to people like me who drive small cars. Rather, they were talking to Mr & Mrs Smith, proud SUV-owners from Anytown, USA. Still, I decided to continue paying attention because Susan Koeppen, a former Rochesterian, was telling the story. And what a story it was.
Ms. Koeppen told viewers the tale of Mr & Mrs Quick from an anonymous town somewhere in this vast nation (the writers probably couldn't tell where they were since where they were looked just like where they were the day before and where they were probably going to the following day). Mrs Quick asked her husband to please move his SUV into the garage presumably so that she could put her own SUV in the driveway. Mr Quick, ever the loving husband, politely obliged his lovely wife and went outside, put the key in the ignition, and hit the gas. SMACK! "Stupid toys" he thought to himself as he drove over them with his HEMI-powered behemoth. Mr Quick (no pun intended) checked his rear-view to see what toys he had destroyed and found that he had not driven over toys, but rather, he had just driven over his one-year old daughter.
The situation is absolutely horrific and I don't mean to trivialize it by making light of it. However, rather than take responsibility for his actions, Mr Quick wants the automakers to make these assault vehicles moron-proof. Apparently, it's not HIS fault that he drove over HIS daughter. Nope, the automobile manufacturers should share the blame. They should put warning devices on SUVs to let their idiot drivers know that they're about to hit something. The article states, "The Quicks are calling for automakers to install sensors in all cars so that other families don't experience a tragedy like theirs." I've got a better idea for families with young children, let alone any other living human being, do not purchase an SUV. Novel concept - you won't kill your child and you'll save some money at the pump too.
posted by Man About Town @ 4:49 PM
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