dammIT

A rantbox

What's up with SUVs?


Just a random blurp: I kinda like those SUVs; they are spacy, powerful and sort of cool. However, there's no real use of them, safe for some people who like/have to be driving off-road and want a roomy car at that. However, here in The Netherlands, only a certain kind of people tend to drive in them.

Aside from the insane amounts of fuel these vehicles consume, I have some gripes with their drivers: First, I rarely see more than one person in the whole thing, so why having a large car? Secondly, two out of three times [at least in southern Amsterdam or Amstelveen, where I see those things the most], they are driven by women. Generally, they are used when doing shopping or bringing the kids to school. Those tank-like cars are riding in lines, being quite dangerous for those very same children as the drivers are just overlooking them from their high seets. And they are quite a hassle when I want to cross a street and they think they can just drive on, because they are so safe in their huge cars.

This brings me to my third point: I get the feeling people only buy those things to boost their confidence in their driving skills. Regarding the robustness and vastness of their cars, my confidence in their skills sinks immediately, which is underscored when they try to park. And parking space here is already so limited...

There may be a use for SUVs, apart from showing you've got the money to buy one, but they are cluttering our streets and parking lots and being generally dangerous as they enable people with a low confidence in their driving skills to get on the streets in tanks instead of vulnerable small cars.

Just my €0.02