Ticketing SUVs is fun

This comment reminds me of some of my own expierences. Until recently I was the owner of a 88 Trooper, a 4wd vehicle. It was purchased for three reasons: One, doing biological field research a 4wd is pretty much a must. Two, due to back problems I can only drive vehicles that sit upright. And three, I needed a vehicle that cost less then three grand (cash on hand). So after some sesearch, I found the car that best suited my needs, and got the best gas milage was a 4cyl trooper. The car quickly looked like a a field vehicle (mud on car, dented fenders), that and someone broke a window to steal my backpack, which not having the time to get it fixed I stuck some cardboard in. So much to my surprise I found the earth on empty ticket which read in part "would you really take your shiny 40,000 dollar SUV off road".

So wrote earth on empty, stated that my SUV was a work vehicle, that in no way would I ever spend 40K on a car.

So please, if you want to ticket SUV's go ahead. Its way better then the two other field workers who had SUVs, one of whom got a brick through his window (SUV SUX written on it) and the other who had his car keyed. Better the ticket then the defacement. In all three cases a cursory inspection of the vehicles would have shown that they were not "shiny $40,000 suv". Secondly dont think that you know someone because they drive a kind of car. Thank you.

Oh, the trooper? Lost a head on collision with a a jacked up GMC pick up truck. The truck was probably twice the size and weight of my SUV. Died valently defending me and my co worker. In a smaller car, my kid would have been collecting my social security benefits.

For a variation, there's that stunner art piece playing on SUV-owners' guilt posted yesterday with the grim US soldier saying: "The More Gas Your SUV Uses the More Foreigners i have to KILL! NOW Do you GET IT?"

stunner  http://portland.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=62316&group=webcast

Just wanted to say thanks for telling your story in such a gentle, nonconfrontational way. I really appreciated it.

I wanted to make one comment, though. Your story illustrates why it is so important for us to discourage the use of SUVs by people who don't really need an off-road vehicle.

You could have been killed because you were struck by a car that was larger and heavier than yours, and you were in an SUV. There are a lot of people who can't/won't buy SUVs who are at similar risk. People in SUVs are endangering the rest of us, and most of them, unlike you, have no real need for a car that large. They're just buying into the hype of a trend. In my opinion, that makes such SUV drivers selfish, thoughtless SOBs who are a danger to themselves and others.

 http://www.changingtheclimate.com/index.html

Our Mission:

This campaign is designed to tell the world what we think of those mindless suburban drones who insist on getting 12 mpg while driving their kids to soccer practice. Join us as we direct our social activist energies toward the exciting new sport of Big Game SUV Hunting.

Feel the adrenaline rush of stalking the really big game - like the Denali™, Yukon™, or Tahoe™. Get the thrill of witnessing the tagging of an Excursion™, Expedition™, or Escalade™ with a not-so-subtle message that will leave them scratching their heads.

We are using ridicule and social embarrassment to change the habits of the American consumer. Increasing publicity will turn the SUV from a status trinket to the badge of shame that it is! In the old days, society had a pillory to shame people out of anti-social behavior. Today we have the mighty Bumper Sticker  http://www.changingtheclimate.com/bumpersticker.html This brings us to the next issue, publicity.

The idea of this Web site is to stigmatize the insanity of mindless American consumerism and vapid status acquisition. The all too common image of the single commuter, mom on an errand to the local shopping center, or parent taking their kid to softball practice in a bloated gas guzzling behemoth, is enraging those citizens who have a sliver of conscience regarding their lifestyle and the environment.

Now we recognize that some people have a legitimate need for these gas hogs. However, most people don't need the automotive version of the Exxon Valdez to run their daily errands. That leaves 95% of the SUV's on the road which never get dirty or use their 4 wheel drive as fair game.

...If:

- s/he could reach the pedals

- s/he was old enough to have a license

- s/he wasn't too afraid to leave his/her house

- s/he spent as much time looking for work, as s/he does domonstrating his/her stupidity on Indy

I am the owner of an SUV and I am ashamed of it. I purchased the car before moving to Portland because my trip was going to be all the way from the east coast. I have two large dogs and they needed room. I also needed a vehicle capable of towing a small trailer. I intended to sell the vehicle after I got to Portland but so far I have not had any luck. Everytime I drive that thing around I lower my head in shame. I think of all the dead Iraqis that are stuffed in my gas tank and hang my head even lower. However I have seen a whole lot of people in Portland ( scenester types) driving around in these huge old town cars. You know the kind. The ones you might see in a snoop dog video. I am quit sure these things don't get good gas mileage. Probably worse mileage than my SUV. Someone should discourage them as well. By the way, I drive an Explorer. It is not quit as far out and macho as these new ones like Navigator, Tahoe, etc....
Well, I just wanted to apologize to all of you for driving this thing around.
I mean it. Also, wouldn't selling it be just as bad as keeping it? I mean the next owner will do just as much damage to the environment as I will. Perhaps they will have money to put gas in it so they can do more damage.

Sorry,
Also, keep hassling SUV drivers. It works!

I hear a lot about SUV's being horrible. I think it might be time to realize that pickup trucks are worse. Sure some people actually use pickup trucks to do work, but some people also use suv's to do work. I also know that quite a few pickup truck owners never use them to haul anything but country western cd's and expensive designer cowboy hats. I own an SUV myself and I use it to haul my music equipment around every week (it's much more fuel efficient and less polluting than a van). Perhaps the message should be changed. the title SUV is a bit limiting, target pickup trucks and vans (I know several people who give me a hard time for owning an SUV when they drive around gas guzzling vans). open the deffinition and start targeting all of the bigger personal vehicles that cause the most pollution and dependence on oil.

Selling your SUV is good because the more you drive it around the more you pollute and influence others. If enough people sell their SUVs the price for used ones will drop making it more likely someone will buy a used one than a NEW one which triggers Detroit to make another one.
Pickups are also poseur vehicles mostly but many more of them are used for work than SUVs which are not practical for work vehicles. Also mini-vans like the Caravan HAS MORE CARGO SPACE THAN A HUGE SUBURBAN AND GETS TWICE THE GAS MILEAGE ALMOST!

Most trolls are wasting air (by breathing)

archive request: poster="Mike (King of all Trolls)"; reason=death threats; action=archive all posts; action=auto-capture and auto-archive all future posts; action=set ip trace

archive=complete auto-capture=set auto-archive=set ip_trace=set

I agree that people should match their car to their needs. Just dont assume that you know a persons needs by looking at their vehicles (at least get under the SUV and look at the skid plate.). I would encourage people to actually engage people, not just their cars. And conect the externalized expenses (ie what it costs them). Id be perfectly happy if you had to get a permit to use an SUV or full sized truck based on your business, or had to pay an extra road-use fee for overweight vehicles. (hell I think that you should have to have a medical condition to waste 3mpg on an automatic transmission). Maybe tab fee should be based on curb weight/gas milage. I wouldn't mind paying the extra (because I could write it off as a business expense).

(BTW put a pre 90s trooper next to a ford expidition and you will notice a pretty signifigant weight difference. I believe that a expidition weighs twice what my trooper did. Im really bummed ubout the sofatazation of SUVs as its getting harder and harder to find a good used work vehicle. I drove about fifteen SUVs and not one of them would I use as an dirt road vehicle.)

The best arguement I have heard agains SUVs was on ...DR. PHIL! (trapped on a boat with nothing to do) He was talking to a couple who were considering bankruptcy despite making in excess os 100K/ year! When he broke down the monthly costs of their (one SUV, one large truck) in terms of gas milage, insurance premiums and car payments, they accounted for almost as much as their house (mortgage and utilities). Somethings to keep in mind when driving any large vehicle:

Insurance premiums are partially based on weight.

If you owe money on a vehicle, the insurance is twice to three times as much.

At twelve miles per gallon you are spending $0.15/ per mile in gas. This does not include wear and tear/depreciation etc.

Given that every state (Oregon in particular) are facing both budget shortfalls and infrastructure decay, this is an idea that could get some traction. This would: encourage people to buy the best car for their needs, help repair the bridge damage and keep the govt from shifting general revenue money to subsidize the trucking industry and large vehicle drivers.

gas isnt the only problem with SUV's. Ive seen a couple studies where the blind spot is like 15 feet. I dont own a car and as of yet have never even bothered to get a license so i am not sure how many feet by law are allowed but im pretty sure that it's alot less then 15 feet. many accidents have happened because of the extensive blind spot. These are dangerous cars(yes there are others) and for anyone who claims to be "family oriented' they would or should never consider getting such a death trap.

I drive a suv. I am a softball driving mom. a basketball mom. I have 5 children this suburban that I drive is one of the safest I could drive my family in I get terrible Gas milage. But my family fits. I have 4 children in car seats. We also haul the family dog around . Strollers and all the things that go with children. So there are alot of people that need a large vehicle or suv.

I drive a Honda Element, it gets standard about 20, and around 24 on the hgwy. I am in a band and wanted cargo capacity, also, I have one of those strange shaped New England lots, so my driveway winds down between two other driveways leaving me no place for snow. I added up all my requirements and it kept coming up to MiniVan. But I am single. So I can't drive a mini van. The Element was a good compromise of snowworthiness, cargo, and gas milage.

To the woman who insists she is a soccer mom and needs her SUV. No you don't. It was a selfish thing to do. MiniVans get better gas milage. YOu are just rationalizing your wastefullness. Every gallon of gas you waste contains a drop of our soldiers blood. Glug Glug Glug, ooops there went Sgt. Smith, Glug Glug Glug there went Cpl Jones, Glug Glug Glugh, ooops, there went your own kids in some future oil war.

Question, Why is George Bush rich? Oil, Why is Bin Laden rich? Oil.

Collectively the west spends roughly 1 billion US dollars a day on oil. Most of that money flows ino the pockets of Despots and Murderous regimes that not only kill thier own, but actively plot our distruction.

HEY KID, Your Mommy's SUV sends money to Bin Laden.