Myths of the SUV.
In a book review for the New Republic, Gregg Easterbrook writes bitterly about that class of automobiles known by the industrial acronym SUV, the Sport Utility Vehicle. (*) Easterbrook relates some of the myth-shattering points raised in Keith Bradsher’s book, High and Mighty: SUVs crash more than sedans; SUV passengers are more likely to die than sedan passengers; many SUVs are incapable of carrying or pulling more weight than sedans; SUVs are less maneuverable; SUVs have a higher center of gravity, leading to an increased chance of rolling over; SUVs are heavier and have inferior brakes compared to sedans, leading to longer stopping distances; and due to their larger size they worsen traffic jams. Of course, SUVs have poorer fuel efficiency, and pollute the air more than do other cars, as can be seen at the EPA’s online Green Vehicle Guide. (†)
Perhaps things are changing, however. Easterbrook notes that two years ago a US tariff was removed that had limited the extent of foreign competition in the SUV market. More competition and greater consumer demand for SUVs that are safer and cleaner should lead to an improved product. It would also be helpful if auto insurance companies were allowed to raise premiums for less safe classes of vehicles, which would include SUVs. The public policy ramifications of these vehicles will in any case be with us for years to come, from polluted skies to highway deaths to dependence on foreign oil.
The only thing that can reduce the marketshare of SUVs would be another oil shortage, such as that caused by OPEC in 1973. Today that seems highly unlikely. Of course, an oil shortage must have seemed just as unlikely in the 1950s and 1960s, when steel behemouths last ruled the road. The best outcome would be a significant improvement in the SUV product. An oil shortage would have the effect of a giant tax on consumers, and would thus be undesirable.
Update: NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge has recently reaffirmed the agency’s committment to improving SUV safety. (‡) (§) Peter Valdes-Dapena looks into why SUVs are so unsafe for their passengers. (**) He finds that the SUV’s high ground clearance combines with its poor manueverability to make rollover crashes more likely. Such crashes are deadly. Single-vehicle rollovers accounted for over half of all SUV passenger deaths in 2000. Inexperienced drivers are likely to drive an SUV just as they would a car, but an SUV is not nearly so forgiving as a car when the driver makes sudden, sharp turns, as young, inexperienced drivers are wont to. In my opinion, a driver’s first car should not be a car of this type.