> No, I think the solution is to try to get people to think about the real > cost of SUV's and big vehicles and make an enlightened selfish decision > about what they want to drive. Personally my big vehicles get used. As to people that don't "need" their big vehicles; I can understand what people think of those folks that drive an Excursion with a single occupant but I believe they have the right to drive whatever they want. If they are willing to pay for the truck/fuel/insurance/maintanance that come along with owning that huge thing and then never truly make use of its capabilities that's their decision and theirs alone. I suppose one could argue that they are "wasting" resources for the rest of us but I don't believe the earth is fragile or that we are in danger of running out of petroleum. > Based on what I see when I drive, I would say the SUV trend has peaked, > and people are already deciding to go to smaller vehicles. Not just smaller vehicles outside of the SUV market, the SUVs themselves are getting smaller. Take the RAV-4, Element, Escape, etc... They're downsizing. People who like the all weather capabilities, improved visibility, and added hauling and towing capabilities over a car that these SUVs provide can go for a compact SUV when they don't need the full utility of a larger truck. > If I were to advocate anything more than thinking, I would probably address > Matthews point in another e-mail about training, and possibly push for > a different sort of license test for large vehicles (something like a > Class B license). The requirements for driving a large vehicle are > different > enough that I think a different class of license may be warranted. I'm very rarely a fan of additional regulation. My vehicles already require me to have a different (more highly taxed) license (Class D is only good up to 26,000 pounds GCWR) but my fiancé, who drives a VW Jetta on a daily basis - definitely not a large vehicle, can jump into my trucks and drive them in a perfectly safe manor. There will always be idiots our there who are unable to handle whatever vehicle they have (even something as harmless as the segway(sp?) has already caused accidents and injuries) but loading regulations on the masses to stop the occasional idiot isn't in our best interest (IMHO). Have a good one! Ben. _______________________________________________ TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list