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Sunday, Nov 30, 2003
High-siding is no longer just for motorcycles
SUVs and trucks are frequently filling the role once filled by station wagons and sedans. Besides issues with gas mileage, green house gasses, headlights in my rear view mirror, can't see around them, and driving too god damned slow on Bear Creek Road, the safety issue has always bothered me. I believe they are less safe, and have seen data that backs that up, yet they are marketed as and commonly perceived to be more safe.
Recently the SJ Merc ran a front page article about an SUV rollover. What made this notable is that two popular highschool kids died. One was flung from the vehicle (no seatbelt) and the other was crushed inside the vehicle. The three backseat occupants survived. It all started when the driver swerved to avoid someone making a lane change, and got sideways. The vehicle flipped over, and executed a series of barrel rolls.
The section of highway 280 where this accident happened is about as close to a flawless freeway as one can find on the planet. There is no fucking reason that a modern passenger car should flip while going sideways on smooth pavement. But that's what can happen when off-road suspension styling is used on a road going vehicle. And it's likely that my sedan has seen more miles on gravel roads, and has carried more crap from Home Depot than most of these so-called sports-utility vehicles.
What called this accident to mind was a roll-over that I saw today. On Hwy 17, on another flawless stretch of asphalt, I saw a formerly-shiny 4WD pickup truck on its roof. At least a dozen civilians were standing around, not sure what to do, wishing there was something they could do, but able only to stand in shock and wait for the professionals.
One bystander was on hands and knees underneath the upended bed of the truck, looking into the back window, and perhaps trying to communicate with the occupant(s). The roof was severely crushed, Both A-pillars had collapsed. And the driver's side B-pillar was crushed to less than half its original height. One can only hope that the occupants ducked.