Yes, exactly. Good points and I agree with just about everything. After thinking about it for a while, I've come to the realization that my own personal risk level has declined as I've grown older. I just turned 40 and I don't find myself taking some of the risks that I might have when I was in my 20's, for example.
When I was 18 years old, I was all about V8-powered muscle cars. I'd race on the street or at the local track....didn't even think twice about it. A lot of my friends were into crotch rockets, so I became interested too. I learned to ride, but just wasn't interested enough to actually buy one. I was more into fast cars than fast bikes back then. Honestly, there wasn't anything safe about my behavior at the time. I must have been lucky because I've never had an accident (knock on wood) in any of my vehicles over the years. Even so, I guess age had an effect on me because today I would not drive anything like the way I did back then. I dunno...maybe it's because I have more to live for today then I did back then, or at least it seems that way.
Today, I still put myself into situations where I know that I can be injured or possibly killed. So it's safe to say that I also weigh my risk/rewards simply because I'm willing to make that choice. But at the same time, when I think about the things I do to risk my own body/health, most of them are controlled by me, not by others surrounding me. That's why I'm against owning a motorcycle....there are just too many clueless drivers on the road that can take me down, regardless of my awareness or defensive driving skills. I've seen and known too many people who have suffered serious injuries on a motorcycle that were no fault of their own.
I love cycling, but I don't even like riding my mountain bike on the road for the same reasons. That's why I got into mountain biking in the first place---I can ride trails instead of sharing the road with motor vehicles.
My primary vehicle is a Toyota 4Runner. There are millions of them out there on the roads..
"Toyota 4Runner...There are millions of them out there" again FACT BASED debate is good, commentary based on numbers pulled from one's backside is bad.
Actual sales do not support your "millions" and many of those sold are no longer on the road having rolled over and gone to wherever dead SUV's go.
CT, I marvel every day (critical thinking?) that our roads are as accident free as they are considering the number of cars on the road and the various ages and driving capabilities/styles. Add to that cell phones and text messaging how that heck does anyone survive?
IMHO most "accidents" are the result of the nut behind the wheel not the vehicle. Whether it is our Tridion Cell, a MB that rolls the windows up in anticipation of a crash or your Toyota 4Runner with Vehicle Stability Control survival has so many variables that this can and will be debated till long after you and I are gone.
SCOA Forum members, remember this all started with an accident picture that doesn't even involve a smart and although no safetly feature could have saved the driver, he did live! Let's just end with that!
JUST SAY NO to CT the self-appointed "Ralph Nader" of smart.
"Toyota 4Runner...There are millions of them out there" again FACT BASED debate is good, commentary based on numbers pulled from one's backside is bad.
Actual sales do not support your "millions" and many of those sold are no longer on the road having rolled over and gone to wherever dead SUV's go.
!
You're a funny guy for sure, but again, you're wrong. Two points for you to consider:
1 - "millions" wasn't meant to be a literal term. Kind of like when you say, "I've yelled at my dog a million times for barking at kids playing on the street". Get it? Got it? Good.
2 - If you want play that game and challenge me by citing "facts", then again, you lose. I said there are millions of 4Runners out there. You posted sales numbers for 4Runners in the U.S. And I also hope you realize that the year 2000 was not the first year of the 4Runner. So if you're going to do FACT-based research, include all the model years, not just a random year of your choosing.
Surely you realize that the 4Runner is sold an many other countries, right? So yes, there are millions of them out there, exactly like I said.
CT, little that you say can be taken in "literal term."
This forum is named Smart Car of AMERICA and the safety ratings being referred to are U.S. based not the world. Please don't complicate your debate by bringing in the whole world - FOCUS.
CT, little that you say can be taken in "literal term."
This forum is named Smart Car of AMERICA and the safety ratings being referred to are U.S. based not the world. Please don't complicate your debate by bringing in the whole world - FOCUS.
Facts are facts. The fact is that I said there are millions of 4Runners out there. I never said "in the U.S." or "on U.S. roads".
If you want to deal with facts (remember, it was YOU who asked for facts), then deal with facts, please. And the fact of the matter is that you tried to take something I said as literal and disprove it with facts. And you're wrong.
Funny how you had nothing to say about the model years. Why would you choose 2000 as the year to start adding up sales numbers? The first year of the 4Runner (in the U.S. -- happy now?) was 1984. So if you're going to try and prove me wrong by citing sales numbers, at least be honest and get the numbers for the 15 years that you decided to ignore.
JUST SAY NO to CT the self-appointed "Ralph Nader" of smart.
Hey CT, YOU WIN as I do have a life and it really doesn't revolve around bashing a little car and the associated forum where you quite literally have no dog in the fight.
Okay, thanks for playing. You have a nice day too.
Oh, forgot to say--- for someone to be "self-appointed", well, they actually have to self appoint themselves. Since I've never done that and don't plan to do so, I guess I'm not going to be the "self-appointed" anything on this forum.
Jeez....for such a facts-based person, you sure don't play by your own rules! ;)
Last edited by Critical Thinker; 08-22-2009 at 09:45 AM.
I disagree completely. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. If that's all you got out of this discussion, then I guess there's nothing more to say about that...
BTW, I'm not wasting my time at all.
You skip the entirety of my previous post and respond to the last sentence? Tsk, tsk, CT, you disappoint.
You skip the entirety of my previous post and respond to the last sentence? Tsk, tsk, CT, you disappoint.
Actually, I did read every word of your post. But I found no reason to copy/paste your entire post when responding, especially considering that you seem to think that you know me and my intentions for posting here when you obviously don't.
If you're looking to start an argument with me for the sake of arguing, well, sorry...that's not going to happen. If you want to have an intelligent debate or conversation, then feel free to post something that's not telling me who I am or why I'm here. Thanks.
I was reading this entire post with great interest, noticed a scathing post by LeroyWatermelon quoted by another member.
I didn't remember reading it prior to the quote, scrolled by to see if I missed it, and it was no where to be found.
Why is this forum so heavy-handed in deleting posts ?
I belong to several forums on several interests and I have NEVER seen the amount of editing done by moderators as this forum. I assumed the job of moderators was to delete profanity, racial slurs, etc., not randomly delete posts simply because they can or personal dislike of what was said.
I enjoy this site a lot, there is a ton of information shared here, but the level of censorship is tainting my level of trust.
I want to make my own decisions on valid information, not some unknown typist sitting behind the power of his keyboard saying, "You don't need to read this." DELETE.
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