The real SUV problems

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

1       The structure of the majority of SUV designs is not deformable in a 
collision. This means that the car is sacrificial in a car/SUV collision. 
The car owner protects the idiot who bought the SUV.

2       The structure of the majority of SUV designs is not deformable in 
a  collision. This means that as more SUV are on the road and the 
probability of SUV /SUV collisions increases, the death rate in these 
collisions will rise rapidly, approaching the death rate for automobiles 
before safety construction was mandated (in Europe safety was developed as 
a sales feature, in the US it had to be legislated). No surprises here as 
the modern SUV is technically about as advanced as a 57 Chevy. Most are 
body on frame and suicide in a collision which does not also involve a 
modern safely built passenger car. Ironically, your NHTSA under Reagan 
actually "proved" that heavy cars are safer by publicising a filmed crash 
"test" crashing a 4,000 lb body on frame antiquated Ford sedan into a 2,000 
lb modern unibody Japanese minicar. The truth is that any body on frame 
vehicle is a danger to a properly designed deformable unibody design and 
weight has very little to do with it. The NHTSA publicity film also used 
the most dangerous collision: the 50 % offset frontal collision, a 
challenge even for two properly designed deformable unibodies.

3       Ironically, the structure of the majority of SUV designs is readily 
deformable when inverted. Almost no SUV have any proper rollover protection 
for occupants. Routinely an inverted SUV will have a collapsed roof. 
Passenger cars are required to provide rollover protection. The bigger 
problem with the SUV in single vehicle rollovers is definitively NOT the 
rollover propensity (tall vehicles with high centers of gravity and 
relatively narrow tracks are always going to be  prone to rollover, but 
these are legitimate design parameters for real off road vehicles) but the 
appalling absence of proper rollover protection for the occupants.

4       The SUV is the result of unregulated US industry. Just as for 
passenger cars before 1968, the much vaunted freedom of the US consumer to 
buy "whatever he or she wants to buy" is used to justify a criminal lack of 
concern for those consumers' safety, and also the safety of more informed 
consumers who drive passenger cars, in pursuit of maximum profits for US 
industry. This is generally not tolerated elsewhere in the civilized world 
outside former iron curtain or other communist countries. A fine irony I think.

5       The SUV is much cheaper to build and sell because it is not readily 
deformable. There is very little cost incurred in designing, testing and 
manufacturing a safe vehicle. The result is an incredible incentive on any 
manufacturer selling into the US market to produce  an SUV for sale. You 
will go broke if you don't. That's why Porsche is doing it. This is the 
same market force producing cupholders even in foreign designed cars now. 
(cupholders..what the heck do they have to do with driving? If you think 
cell phone use is distracting, drinking while actually driving is far worse)

I believe if US consumers were properly informed about the appalling 
dangers of driving SUV as if they were suitable as passenger cars they 
would not buy them. I believe the US consumer is able to make intelligent 
buying choices if the correct information is required to be disclosed to 
them. Unfortunately, many consumers seem to assume that the SUV that looks 
like it is intended for passengers is as safe as that more expensive car 
that is REQUIRED to be safe for passengers. Also, it is obvious to me that 
the average consumer has no idea how collision forces are safely absorbed. 
They assume that the vehicle with less visible damage after collision is 
somehow safer, which is wrong. The safety of the much damaged passenger car 
is counter intuitive.


Typically, the US litigation industry concentrates upon the possibly 
defective tires, the propensity of the SUV to rollover, and the consequent 
injuries but ignores the true problem. So the dead and injured get 
compensated through settlements and it remains extremely profitable to 
market these unregulated death traps.

Alfa content: these vehicles will be fatal to your Alfas. Unfortunately, 
they may also kill you even though you made the correct buying decision. 
The real criminality is the SUV occupants are likely to survive their 
collision with your beloved Alfa while you die precisely because the SUV is 
body on frame and is allowed to destroy the energy absorbing parts of your 
car while bending very little. What we actually need is for passenger car 
occupants to sue the owners of the SUV and the manufacturers of these 
criminally dangerous vehicles for damage to our safer cars. Meanwhile, we 
car drivers are exposed to absolutely insane dangers while driving our cars 
in the current driving environment. The only comfort is that were everyone 
to drive SUVs we would all be in that boat, and subjected to even higher risks.

The ultimate irony? The consumer of SUV is so ill informed he is often 
persuaded to put on what the Aussies call 'roo bars, and what we Canucks 
call brush guards at extra cost! These guarantee that the collision of the 
SUV with anything other than a nice softly deformable car will raise 
occupant deceleration rates to fatal levels! They also will kill car 
occupants more readily. They are perfectly legal to sell for street use.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a very serious problem. You are all in 
danger. This danger is not only a result of US legislation but is actually 
encouraged by that legislation. the SUV has a huge competitive advantage 
over passenger vehicles. Until the US  government forces the auto industry 
to clearly separate vehicles designed to carry passengers from those 
designed for commerce (to be driven appropriately by more highly qualified 
drivers) and require all passenger vehicles to comply with proper safety 
standards you will see carnage upon your highways again. And the passenger 
car occupants will be dying more often than the SUV occupants whenever the 
collision involves one of each type.

And yes, the PBS Frontline show on the SUV was good, but missed most of 
these points unfortunately. A bit disappointing, but still a good start.


Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta,Canada
91 Alfa 164L

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