Wednesday, August 11, 2004

SUV to you too

I have a complaint and a suggestion. SUVs and pickups are just too darn big. They block us drivers of smaller cars from getting a clear shot at the highways. When I pull up in a right turn lane at an intersection, preparing to make a free right turn, invariably an SUV or a pickup pulls up in the lane to my left. That would be bad enough, but these drivers, who have a much clearer line of sight than we in smaller cars, always pull far enough into the intersection that I cannot see if anybody's coming in the lane into which I want to turn without pulling far enough out into the intersection that I'm likely to get hit. So I wait an eternity for the green light while other cars stack up behind me, also wanting to make a right turn because of one monster in the left lane that wants to go straight or turn left and has to wait for the green before it can do anything. In addition, when I am in a parking lot, such as Target or Costco, and park my car where there are similar-sized cars beside me, invariably when I come out my car is sandwiched between two monsters. So I back out without being able to see what traffic is coming down the aisle.

I don't think there is anything we can do about monsters at intersections except ask for a little more consideration. Please don't pull way out into the intersection when you can't make a turn. And my suggestion is that stores that have parking lots set aside space in them for parking SUVs and pickups and other space for parking cars.

5 Comments:

Blogger Randy said...

Separate parking for compacts and SUV's?

That would imply the SUV drivers MIGHT have to walk more than 100 feet to get into the store and you know THAT's never going to happen.

9:44 PM  
Blogger Chuck Rightmire said...

They'd really howl if a gym did it.

12:07 AM  
Blogger KarbonKountyMoos said...

Boy - the hoops I had to jump through to post a reply here!
Yesterday, I took the pickup with stock trailer - couldn't pack my bovine companions in the Taurus... I was mostly on the highway - only had to pass a couple of slowpokes.

I almost always take the car to Billings, for the reasons that you've mentioned. Courtesy is lacking - and I'm afraid that there isn't much we can do about it, other than attempt to be courteous ourselves. Usually, my sense of humor deteriorates the longer I drive. There always seems to be the hugest vehicles parked on the corners blocking the view, so you crawl out or shoot out, mentally crossing your fingers... Red Lodge is as bad as Billings for this. During peak tourist season it seems to take forever to find a break in traffic. Another thing that irks me is the percentage of people who use their turn signals.

I have noticed in Billings parking lots that some folks will park however they feel like it - with the yellow line in the middle of the car, or across a few spots. I try to pull through or back into a spot. Just so I can pull out because those monsters that sandwich you always seem to do the same to me.

Imagine if they had to use the lost art of parallel parking...

9:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've noticed the vehicles are getting bigger too, for several years now.

And the price of gas hasn't changed anything either.

Something else I've noticed, is that gas mileage in pickups hasn't really improved over the last decade. My 1990 1/2 ton gets almost identical mileage as the 2003 I drive at work. How come?

11:51 AM  
Blogger Chuck Rightmire said...

Karen: Tell me about the hoops... And I agree with your idea of parallel parking and they'll never learn downtown now because of all the angle parking. If a truck backs out into the traffic lane downtown, who wins?

Eric, it always amazes me that the same people who can afford to buy and put gas into those big things can't afford to pay school or city taxes.

10:55 AM  

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