Why do so many SUV drivers have bad driving manners?

[primavera]

Now, before SUV-driving DUers flame me, I don't mean to suggest that all SUV drivers have bad road manners, but I'm thinking this morning, in the wake of multiple near death driving experiences this weekend at the hands of reckless SUV drivers, that there has to be something here. One of the patterns I keep seeing here in the DC area is SUV drivers not wanting to wait in a line of cars for a light to change, so they use the empty right turn only lane to cut to the front of the line, then, when the light changes, swerve in front of the cars at the front of the line trying to make their way through the intersection. Once this weekend, a SUV driver pulling this trick didn't actually procede into the intersection fast enough to cut in front of me, so contented herself with simply forcing me out of my lane into the next lane over, nearly causing me to crash into the car that happened to be in that lane in order to escape being hit by the SUV. Courteously, the SUV driver flipped me the bird for having been in her way.

I'm also recalling an instance not long ago in which a SUV driver on the beltway missed his exit but, not to be deterred, simply jumped the ramp, drove up the grassy hillside, and swerved into a stream of exiting vehicles, resulting in a multiple car pile-up. The SUV driver was thoughtful enough to pause for a second to survey the massive destruction he'd caused before speeding off without leaving his name and insurance information.

I presently have a large dent in my front fender from where a SUV backing out of a parking space without looking slammed into my fender and then drove off, naturally without stopping to leave any name or insurance information.

I can't help but notice that, time and again, whenever these sorts of reckless driving incidents occur, it invariably seems to be someone driving an SUV who's responsible, yet who never fails to run off without accepting any responsibility. Am I just imagining things or have other DUers noticed that SUV drivers on average tend to be more prone to bad road manners than other categories of drivers? If so, what's the deal with these people? Is it that, ensconced in their Bradley family fighting vehicles, they're simply oblivious to the destruction they leave in their wake? Are their tiny penises so swelled by all of the power of that gargantuan, gas-guzzling, emission-belching V-12 they've got under the hood that all of the blood has flowed away from their brains? Or are they simply sociopathic and don't give a shit what damage they inflict on those fool-hearty enough to think that they too have a right to drive on the public roads which SUV drivers regard as their private property?

[mrboba1]

1. These people have always been AWD (assholes while driving,)

its just now that they bought SUVs...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. All of the above.

And note how many of those monster SUVs have Bush/Cheney stickers on them. I think there is a correlation.

[flvegan]

6. "Stupid is as stupid does", my mama used to say.

[soothsayer]

3. It's in their owner's manuals n/t

[GOPisEvil]

4. A lot of them think they are invincible.

They think because they are driving a BIGASS SUV that they are protected if they have a "vehicular mishap".

[flvegan]

5. Selfishness

Buying one of those behemoths is a selfish act, especially when one knows about the safety/emissions/gas guzzling issues. So, natch, when one is that selfish, one will also act selfishly when driving, etc.

Plus, I think that when one is feeling all-powerful, way up there, cell phone glued to one ear, one starts to buy into BEING all-powerful. Here, we have a big problem with red-light running in those things.

I too, don't disagree with ALL suvs out there...just the giants like the H2, Excursion, Escalade, Navigator, etc.

[sbj405]

7. My experience last night on the beltway

All lanes stopped. In my rear view mirror, I see a black Hummer a few cars back. I immediately think, I bet he's gonna do something stupid. Sure enough he pulls onto the shoulder and flies by everyone (at least 50mph). Rude (as if we all weren't waiting) and not to mention he cut off the only available route for emergency vehicles.

[primavera]

8. Precisely!

This is just so typical. Yet, would these same people approach a supermarket check-out line and simply push their way to the front, explaining "Out of my way, I'm a SUV driver!"? As pedestrians, do they not stop for "Don't Walk" lights and simply stride out into traffic, asserting their superiority as SUV drivers? If they don't behave that way in other contexts, why do they suddenly feel that the normal rules are suspended as soon as they're behind the wheel of their tank?

[the Kelly Gang]

9. because the idiots never drive the things were they are meant to

so they have to prove how tough they are on suburban streets.

They are total idiots and the last thing I want to be in in an accident is one of these death traps.