Consumers Pay And Get To Choose Bigger Is Better In A Wreck, Drivers Of Big Rigs Walk Away More Often.

The big rigs are back. Isn’t it grand?

People in New York City probably don’t understand or approve.

Out here in God’s Country, where the roads are straight and the winters long, the arrival of a new class of bigger sport utility vehicles represents the best of free enterprise and free choice.

This isn’t an endorsement for everyone running out and buying a Suburban, Expedition or other sport utility vehicle. Vehicle choice is a very personal decision. You look at your bank account, you look in the mirror, you look at your family and friends and what they like to do, then you go shopping for wheels.

For many people, a big rig rings all the bells.

Sure, not everyone who drives a Suburban or Expedition actually needs the four-wheel drive. But we could all live without power windows, air conditioning and automatic transmission, too. But we don’t. Instead, we find a car that fits our lives and our imaginations.

There is no shortage of small cars. People who want to squeeze into a small car, or who feel compelled to do so for better mileage, financial reasons or because they like the vehicles, have ample choices.

What the consumer market is telling auto manufacturers today, however, is that for every person who chooses a nice, economical four-door sedan, three or four others choose a sport utility vehicle. That trend is likely to continue as long as a gallon of gasoline sells for less than a gallon of bottled water.

Large vehicles are safer than small cars. In a wreck, drivers of big rigs walk away more often. Big SUVs also haul more: a whole soccer team. All the stuff needed for the lake. And, if commuters ever got into the habit of car-pooling to work, they would find sport utilities ideal.

Each of us gets to decide what kind of vehicle we want to drive.

Large or small, we can all still do our part to cut down on unnecessary trips, offer friends rides to work, not drive drunk or when tired. These things will make the roads safer and society better.

What we don’t need is people bashing those who buy big cars or those who manufacture them.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: Will haul everything but a realistic owner

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, EDITORIAL - From both sides CREDIT = Chris Peck For the editorial board