Why do people drive SUVs?

[primavera]

119. Hear, hear!

I would love to live in a place like Amsterdam where you can just pick up a bike anywhere and ride it as long as you want. I lived in Prague for a couple of years and was amazed by how well the subways worked. They ran around the clock, took you pretty much anywhere you needed to go, ran frequently so you never had to wait more than a few minutes, and you could buy a monthly pass that entitled you to unlimited usage of the subway, the trolleys, the buses, everything. It worked so well and was so cheap compared to driving, almost nobody drove. Traffic was unheard of, it was great. But you're right, we don't have that kind of infrastructure here.

Oh, and I too have commuted by bicycle, so know first hand the kind of thing you're talking about. In one neighborhood I lived in many years ago, I had to ride along the edge of a multilane suburban highway and guys in SUVs used to throw beer cans at me as they hurtled past. Okay, so maybe I'm not totally unbiased when it comes to SUV drivers as a result...