Dear Editor, We all know this is the era of the “big car.” There are more SUVs than small or mid-sized cars on the road by a long shot. Admittedly, some of them even get decent gas mileage. The issue for me isn’t how “green” they are; rather, it’s that they are visual hazards. I drive an old Volvo, a car of medium height, and whenever I have the misfortune to be behind a “big car” in city traffic, I can’t see a thing. This makes me less able to react quickly if a traffic situation arises that requires my response. (I’ve joked that I should invent a periscope that allows people in short cars to see up and over tall ones!) It’s an even bigger problem when the large car, let’s say an SUV, is parked on the street. I can’t count the number of times I’ve stopped at an intersection to make a right turn, only to have my view completely blocked by an SUV that’s parked at the corner. Sometimes, there’ll be one on either side, so I can’t see traffic in either direction! That means I have to pull out into the street completely blind. Now, I know that big cars will likely never be outlawed, but I do think some kind of ordinance needs to be passed. One idea would be to make it illegal for cars over a certain height to park at corner spots. I guess it would be too much to ask that drivers of big cars simply be aware that they pose visual hazards and just not park where they block the line of sight. It might take a law to get people to change their ways. That will only happen if a lot more people make their voices heard.

Sincerely,

Arnold Luchtman

What kind of support does the author use to support the claim that big cars present a visual hazard to drivers?

expert testimony that corroborates the author's opinions about large cars

stories about friends who have had trouble seeing around large cars

statistics on accidents caused by not being able to see around big cars

personal experience of not being able to see around big cars