The Sport Utility Vehicle: Automobile Incarnation of Irresponsibility
Drive down any city street in Portland, Oregon, and you will instantly be surrounded by massive, gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles (SUVs). They will block your view of traffic, claim more than their share of street parking space, and intimidate you with their monstrous size. And ironically, though their tires have been manufactured to crash over only the roughest of terrains, these SUVs will almost exclusively remain on paved city streets, serving as passenger vehicles for posh urbanites who enjoy the rugged ambiance their monstrous automobiles emanate.
True, sport utility vehicles succeed in enveloping their owners in an aura of ruggedness.
…show more content…
Car passengers account for 80 percent of the deaths that result from the collisions of cars and light trucks. Incredibly enough, in the name of "safety," Ford Excursions have been installed with "Blockerbeams," bars beneath their front bumpers that prevent them from riding over smaller cars in head-on collisions (Welch, sc. 1). The mere fact that such an apparatus is necessary suggests that SUVs pose unnecessary safety threats to other drivers. Furthermore, because they threaten other vehicles, they raise a question of corporate responsibility. Is it ethical to drive a vehicle that so blatantly endangers others?
SUVs may easily survive front-side collisions, but they are not free of safety risks. Though they contain safety systems such as antilock brakes, independent suspensions, and computerized monitoring systems (Gibney, sc. 1), they also have narrow tracks, soft suspension, and a high centers of gravity. Such qualities make them unstable enough that they require a "High Rollover Risk" warning brand from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to NHTSA statistics based on a "proportional comparison between a vehicle's center of gravity and the width between its tires," the Ford Explorer, for example, registers a 30-40% risk of rolling (Gibney, sc. 1). Together, SUVs roll as often as 240,000 times per year, causing 25,000 injuries and 10,000 deaths annually (Muller and Welch 51). NHTSA further estimates that as
In Big and Bad by Malcolm Gladwell, he states that S.U.V.s are not safe, although they may seem like they are. Specifically, he states that S.U.V.s are the opposite of safe. In the text, Gladwell discusses how people generally think, “If I am bigger and taller, I’m safer.” In other words, many people feel that if they are driving a bigger, heavier vehicle, they will be protected from harm. The article argues that the massive weight of the S.U.V. negatively influences the handling of the vehicle, leading to how fast you can navigate and control the S.U.V. The article counters the false sense of security by claiming that there is a higher chance of your S.U.V. rolling because of how big and cumbersome it is.
Many drivers participate in reckless behavior behind the wheel. These behaviors can be demonstrated in even the shortest time frame of going around the block. These behaviors are not only harmful to the drivers and passengers, but to the public as well. Most people are in a car with a reckless driver at least once in their lifetime. Dangerous drivers destroy property and kill people at least once a day. Not only does this affect passengers in the car and the driver and people in surrounding cars, but also Insurance companies are also extremely affected by reckless drivers.
The document “The Social Influence of the Automobile” was written in June of 1922 by Allen D. Albert. In this article Albert is saying that since the creation of automobiles the life has shifted for the better. “…almost without a pause in our thinking have we adjusted our lives to these factors new since yesterday”1 while automobiles brought a drastic change in life as it was, people adjusted to it quickly. In 1920’s cars were available to the general public at an affordable price, therefor offering the public a better, faster way of getting from place to place. Most importantly according to the document cars brought a change in the social aspects of life. With the help of a car travel times were decreased. Cities were now in reaching distance.
Eighteen wheelers are a vital part of interstate commerce in our country. The big rigs carry products across state lines, and keep our stores’ shelves stocked with the things we need on a daily basis. But, when a trucker is involved in an accident, the injuries are usually catastrophic. The sheer weight of a truck is such that when it collides with a car, the results are severe. Drivers and passengers in cars can suffer broken bones, internal organ damage, spinal and brain cord injuries, or even death. Staying safe around big rigs requires drivers to pay extra special attention when near a truck, and to keep a safe distance. But, drivers can only do so much; it also takes diligence on the part of the trucker in order to safely share the road.
Although the embellishments Bradsher uses are quotes from Rapaille, they are used in a way that help cement Bradsher’s view of SUVs being unnecessarily menacing. Bradsher quotes Rapaille as saying “SUVs are exactly that, they are armored cars for the battlefield,” this quote is not meant to be taken literally; while the road can be dangerous, it is certainly not a battlefield and SUVs are not as powerful as armored cars (474). Bradsher also quotes Rapaille when he says the idea of being civil on the road is over, “…for some people…it’s a jungle out there and you’re not going to kill me, if you attack me I will fight” (474). This is a powerful quote. Again, while the reader knows this is not what drivers are really thinking, it capitalizes on irrational
Right now self-driving cars and trucks are hitting the road and will soon be available to the general market . Major companies like Google, Tesla, Uber and Delphi are leading in autonomous cars industry. In the past few years, these companies have made great strides improving this technology. Addressing the concerns for this technology must be concluded before it reaches the general public. Given the current state of automobiles that don’t need drivers the American consumer needs to be mindful that moral decisions this technology is handling puts them at risk due to the fact that this is emerging technology, laws are being made that will shape this technology, and who is choosing who lives and who dies.
In a report done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it was found that there was a 5.6% increase in the number of lives lost, on the roads, last year (Spector, U.S Traffic Fatalities Rose 5.6% in 2016, Wall Street Journal). This brings up a recurring theme of reckless driving in the US. As described in the 1920s based book The Great Gatsby, and in the news recently, we’ve used cars recklessly. In both the news currently, and in The Great Gatsby, there have been examples of Americans being reckless drivers.
3. Utilitarians would say that jeopardizing motorists does not by itself make Ford’s action morally objectionable. The only morally relevant matter is whether Ford gave equal consideration to the interests of each affected party. Do you think Ford did this?
Very few people wake up in the morning hoping they will crash into a tractor-trailer during their morning commute. It is unimaginable and scary to consider a collision with a tractor-trailer or an 18-wheeler truck. Collisions happen often. Even though statistics show that 3% of road collisions involve large trucks, that’s still over 450,000 accidents every single year. This can happen to you whether you’re a teacher in the Erlanger-Elsmere school district, an apartment manager at Saratoga Place, or a member of the 7 Hills Church.
vehicles parked in the streets and in driveways. Sidewalks line the streets with people walking to
Ask any driver who spends hours on the road each day driving a big rig, how safe the roads are and you are likely to get an ear full of the close calls they have had while driving. Driving a large eighteen-wheeler with a load on the back can be dangerous on its own. Add in some crazy drivers, obstacles in the road, and sketchy streets and you have a much more dangerous situation. With advancement in technology within the trucking industry, truckers can now feel safer than ever. It also doesn’t hurt that these improvements can help keep trucking insurance lower. Here are 4
Autonomous vehicles are going to transform the way we move. In the next 20 years, we will see many autonomous vehicles in operation across the country. The work that is done now has the opportunity to drive a transformation in the relationship between humans and machines. It is important that we consider the ethical implications of having vehicles operate without the control of humans. While some of the benefits are obvious, there may be some drawbacks to self-driving cars, and we must evaluate the consequences having completely autonomous cars. This paper analyzes the consequences, both good and bad, from a utilitarian standpoint to determine if it is morally ethical for cars to be autonomous. Engineers, car manufacturers, and even lawmakers need to consider all of these things now to design the autonomous vehicle of the future.
The invention of the automobile in the early 20th century has had an adverse affect on our environment. Our society has used technology in order to advance the automobile to make it better and more efficient. The automobile industry knows what sells and they take advantage of that. With this growing technology to advance automobiles also comes flaws. The biggest and most obvious flaw is pollution. Because of pollution, we find ourselves asking the question of whether this technology has helped our society more than it has hurt it.
Sports utility vehicles take up more room compared to the car. There have been several infamous people with sports utility vehicles who park in the compact parking spaces specifically designed for compact cars. Other notorious sport utility drivers have been spotted taking up two parking spaces. These enormous machines make it difficult for other conventional people to get in and out of their automobiles. Conversely, cars take up less space to park. This allows more people to park in the area.
The automobile has had a tremendous impact on society and the environment since its development in the beginning of the 20th century. Today, there are over 500 million motor vehicles on the earth. The automobile's efficiency, style, and performance have changed over the years, but there is one thing that has not - the pollution the automobile generates. Because of the pollution, people find themselves asking whether this technology has helped our society or hurt it. Should the consequences of the automobile be cause to eliminate it? Or should science develop technology to eliminate the pollution caused by the car?