SUV Drivers

Do SUVs and pickups lack a turn signal??

Most drivers don't bother to use their turn signal most of the time, but in my limited, unscientific survey, drivers of SUVs and pickups never do.  Apparently their elevated position above the road and relative to other drivers, as they pilot their 8,000 pound hunk of steel to Costco, makes them feel "above" the need to bother informing other drivers, cyclists or pedestrians of their intentions.  

Come to think of it, the lack of signaling is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my rant about SUV drivers:  how about the sheer stupidity, arrogance and waste embodied by a single person driving a 2 1/2 ton vehicle, all by themselves, to the store to bring back two bags of groceries?

In India, my wife and I rented seats in what in America would be called a "mid-size SUV."  There were 12 people aboard, and they charged us for 3 seats because our backpacks took so much space that there was no room for an additional passenger.

In America, however, not only do we not penalize people for taking up too much space, using too much gas, wasting too much energy, or driving without thinking about other people at all: we reward it.  During the Bush administration the maximum tax write-off for SUVs was $100,000.

Here's an idea: why don't we eliminate writeoffs for SUV owners, and instead tax vehicle manufacturers $1,000 per mile under 45 mpg, per vehicle, per year?  A Hummer that got 12 miles per gallon would yield a tax revenue of $33,000 per year.  Doesn't that make more sense than paying people to pollute?