By John Pierre

The Beacon

I have a bone to pick with drivers of SUVs andpickups. No, I'm not talking about gas consumption or the effects on our atmosphere. That's another subject for another day.

My problem with these larger-than-life vehicles has to do with safety. True, the occupants of such monsters are probably safer than the poor varmint operating one of those battery-operated jobs with its tinfoil body. But others, particularly on the freeway, are at risk. The "others" I'm referring to are following drivers.

I don't know about the rest of you but I like to drive according to what's happening two or three or more cars ahead of me while tooling down the freeway at 60 mph or higher on some stretches. Getting stuck behind one of these too-tallpiles of ironmake it impossible to do so. The following driver has to be content with reacting to the brake lights on the tall vehicle being followed.

The ludicrous part of this is that, almost without exception, the larger vehicle is not even remotely necessary orusefulto the operator of same. The SUV usually has but one occupant while seating is available for a high school football team.

Pick up trucks? They arelaughable. One look at the highly polished unit with fancy chrome wheels leaves you with the impression the most cumbersome loadit has ever carried in the bed is three bags of groceries from a nearby market.

I'd much rather follow an "18 wheeler" than an SUV or pickup. You can normally count on the truck driver, because of his professionalism and high-perch view of traffic ahead, to give indications of slowing in plenty of time for you to react.

The SUV driver many times finds it necessary to "slam on the binders" because he has been following too closely, leaving you, the following driver, in a panic stop situation.

If I ever find myself in a position to be able to afford one of these gas guzzlers, I'll probably do so and leave the grumbling about them to some other poor slob.