TO GASPIG.COM

THE WARNING LABEL YOU KEEP REFERRING TO IS STANDARD ON ALL SUVS. BY LAW, ALL SUVS HAVE TO HAVE THEM EVEN IF THEY AREN'T PRONE TO ROLLING OVER.

I DRIVE AN EXPLORER AND I AM NO MORE AT RISK OF A ROLLOVER THAN IF I DROVE A CAR. FIRST OF ALL, CARS HAVE WARNING LABELS TOO AND IF YOU DON'T PAY ATTENTION THEY CAN ALSO BE DANGEROUS. A GOOD DRIVER BEHIND THE WHEEL OF AN SUV IS SAFER THAN A BAD DRIVER IN A CAR AND BECAUSE YOU ARE HIGHER AND YOUR VEHICLE IS HEAVIER, YOU WILL BE SAFER IF A CAR CRASHES INTO YOU. ALSO, IF THE DRIVER KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE AN SUV AND REACTS CORRECTLY IN A SITUATION WITH QUICK TURNS, HE CAN MANEUVER WITH AS MUCH CONTROL AS A CAR. THE STORY YOU WROTE ABOUT THE LADY CRASHING HER NAVIGATOR ISN'T REALISTIC BECAUSE IT COULD JUST AS EASILY HAPPEN IN A CAR.

DRIVING IS A RISK, WHETHER IN CARS OR SUVS. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, TAKE UP WALKING!

BLAKE

hi Blake

the warning label is standard on all SUVs because all SUVs are top heavy and more likely than cars to rollover or crash. sure, there are warning labels on cars but i've never seen one that says "this car handles differently than a normal car" or anything like that. The rollover warning label clearly states that by design, SUVs don't handle as well as cars. a good SUV driver with quick reactions would still be in trouble if the situation required quick turns. he or she may react quickly to avoid an accident, but an SUV wouldn't respond as well as a car - especially if it's full of gas and passengers! check your manual. it's spooky stuff.

i still drive a car - but i took up walking and biking to work!

thanks for the letter!
the Pig
www.gaspig.com

here is part of the letter Blake is referring to:
"Dear FRONTLINE,

In your program what haunted me most was the images of large vehicles crushing smaller ones. Like, that's a selling point for big cars?

Wednesday 4:35pm, Nancy looks down to change a CD track. She looks up and Whoa! Stupid skateboarder rolls into the street. Her reaction is quick and she misses the kid, but her Navigator leans and loses stability as she struggles with the wheel and BAM! Accidents happen, could be anyone’s fault, but because people died in the Civic she hit, the moment just before impact will be thoroughly dissected. Was she speeding or breaking any laws at 4:35? How many glasses of wine did she really drink at that lunch meeting?

Let’s say she was a perfect citizen at 4:35pm. She no longer has to deal with passing the victim’s family members at the courthouse and she finally gets to go home and quietly live with herself. Although she rarely leaves home anymore, Nancy becomes a statistic favoring big cars."