Why I Drive An SUV

Yeah, it's been a long time. First there was the H1N1. Then there were the holidays. Then I moved back to good ol' Virginia.

On the way, I had an object lesson/reminder of why I drive an SUV instead of some little fuel-efficient zippy car.

The scene: at about 6pm (after dark) on a little, windy, one-lane road through the woods (aka the major state highway route 33), surrounded by two-foot snowbanks.

The participants: my father; one GMC Yukon, going about 50 mph (aka below the speed limit) and towing a trailer; also one deer.

The incident: head on collision, followed by jack-knifing the trailer and losing it off into a snowbank before the hydraulic brakes kicked in and leveled everything out.

The carnage: transmission fluid everywhere (see picture - it shot all the way up over the car and coated the trailer too - had to use the windshield wipers to see enough to limp into the 7-11 parking lot), plus a little bit of damage to the car grill and one headlight. Oh, and a dead deer that everyone and their brother fought over who got to take home. Injuries to the people in the car - none.

And that, folks, is what my dad calls "The Law of Gross Mass Tonnage" which, roughly translated, means the honkin' big SUV wins.