Single-Occupant SUV's
For some reason, on my way to work today, I noticed a lot of single-occupant SUV's. So, for the rest of my commute, I decided to stop thinking about how frustrating it is when Jewel has buy-one-get-one-free sales only to have one item left in stock when I get to the store and, instead, pass the time by counting how many single-occupant SUV's (I also included vans and pick-ups but it's much more fun to pick on SUV's) that I encountered. I assure you my count is accurate even though, for the first time since March, my glasses fogged-up on my ride. Sheeh! Nice weather, aye? Since when did I wake up in a Costa Rican rain forest? Anyway, I digress.
One after another, I saw these smog pukers pass me by or cross in front of me. My mind went back to the chart somebody posted on here not too long ago which showed SUV's having the worst passenger mile-per-gallon of any other mode of transportation, including 747's. Pretty depressing. So what was the final tally you ask? Check this out...I saw 78 of these vehicle types on my commute this morning and 77 of them were single occupant. How miserable. Also alarming is the sheer number I saw given that I only commute 5.5 miles. Extra credit for anybody who calculates the average SUV count per mile and single occupancy percent. Then I hear on the radio today that this April-June was the hottest in recorded history. Frustrating. Sure, maybe a few of said vehicles were actually on their way to pick-up passengers, but c'mon!
I mean, I guess that's really it. Wonder what I'll think about tomorrow moning? Perhaps why the word "abbreviated" is such a gosh darn long word...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Vilda on
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I Love you BK! ;-) Don't count commercial vehicles cause that's me! On the upside the truck get's an oil change every 5k so it's as clean as it's gonna be.
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Permalink Reply by Joel on
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The average vehicle occupancy is something like 1.1 persons per car during rush hour, and only slightly higher during the rest of the day. If you pick ten cars, chances are that only one of them will have two people in it. It isn't just the SUVs that are empty. If people were to car-pool with one other person, it would take nearly half the cars off the road during rush hour.
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Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on
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The pickups and vans are conceivably being used for some kind of work or purpose but yeah I'd say the most notable thing here is that of all the SUVs you saw, only *one* had more than one person in it. Even if some were on their way to or from picking up or dropping off other passengers, you'd expect to see more with the passenger in them.
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and I don't know how apropos it is but all of this passengers-per-vehicle talk makes me note that I just picked up a tandem.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on
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Ah, yes. China. That shining beacon of environmental stewardship.
Clark said:What is your commute route? Where were these 77 Single-occupant SUV's? And how many of the drivers were driving one-handed, with cell-phones pressed to their ear? I'm betting on my neighborhood: Lincoln Park, and that at least 50% were driving illegally by talking on their phone.
China's car ownership may be mushrooming, but they have some of the strictest CAFE standards in the world. Makes the US look stupid and selfish. From the NYTimes:
...The average fuel economy of family vehicles in China is already higher than in the United States, mainly because cars in China tend to be considerably smaller than those in the United States — and are getting even smaller because of recent tax changes. Cars with small fuel-sipping engines are now subject to a 1 percent sales tax, while sports cars and sport utility vehicles with the largest engines are subject to a 40 percent sales tax.
I don't know why we don't take an idea from these crafty Chinese...no one likes SUVs except their selfish owners.
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For some reason I'm inclined to believe that you also have something of a soft spot for their one child policy too.
Clark said:Well yes Michael...they ARE legislating much more environmentally than we are. With FOUR TIMES as many people as we have, they deserve to do a little catching up...don't you agree? And to make things fair, shouldn't we Americans agree to SCALE BACK our privileged lifestyle a little...as many Chainlinkers are doing already?
For instance in Copenhagen, President Obama agreed to a net carbon intensity reduction for the US around 17% by the year 2020. Compare that to the Chinese commitment for a 40-45% reduction! Which country is providing a shining guiding beacon for the rest of the world would you say?
Beside the fuel economy standards for cars I mentioned above, one of the other ways the Chinese are cutting carbon is by making each of the power plants they're building much more efficient and low-emission than the average US power plant. Without plans or standards with teeth, we keep building cheap, polluting plants in many parts of the US. I guess this is one example where a benevolent dictatorship beats a democracy...a democracy that only votes for its own immediate satisfaction and comfort.
Michael Perz said:Ah, yes. China. That shining beacon of environmental stewardship.
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Seriously though, Clark. You may want to give some consideration to the Chinese government's lack of transparency in public policy and human rights before swallowing any adulating commentary about them hook, line and sinker.
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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on
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Yes, yes it was, until YOU dragged China into it.
Clark said:But I thought this thread was about unnecessarily huge cars...not wringing our hands about how someone has to do with less.
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Permalink Reply by mike w. on
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BENEVOLENT DICTATORSHIP??!! R U serious??
i agree with Churchill who once said something along the lines of : Democracy is a terrible system -the worst system there is, except for all the others.
Clark said:.... I guess this is one example where a benevolent dictatorship beats a democracy...a democracy that only votes for its own immediate satisfaction and comfort.
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"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." (from a House of Commons speech on Nov. 11, 1947)
mike w. said:BENEVOLENT DICTATORSHIP??!! R U serious??
i agree with Churchill who once said something along the lines of : Democracy is a terrible system -the worst system there is, except for all the others.
Clark said:.... I guess this is one example where a benevolent dictatorship beats a democracy...a democracy that only votes for its own immediate satisfaction and comfort.
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