http://www.ktar.com/index.php?nid=6&sid=25888

Hummer Doesn't Hum its Way Through Wash
by Mike Sauceda
It took an extreme helicopter manuever to rescue seven people who were in a Hummer that tried to cross the flooded Cave Creek Wash last night.

"We landed the helicopter...on top of the roof of the vehicle, and extracted seven people including three children, ages 9 through 15," says Lt. Paul Chagolla of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

He says the driver had apparently been warned by a citizen not to cross the wash, but thought he could because he had a Hummer.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

The man was cited for reckless driving and could have to pay for the costs of the rescue if convicted.


Comments: I heard this on the local radio station. Almost died laughing.

Damn. Was hoping for photos. :)

EDIT: Actually from the thread title I was envisoning a Hummer stuck in a car wash. :)

i saw something like that on good morning america .where in arizona they have a law that if a drive does something stupid like this he could have to pay up to 2k for the rescue.

i saw something like that on good morning america .where in arizona they have a law that if a drive does something stupid like this he could have to pay up to 2k for the rescue.
Not unusual. In Washington skiers and hikers can be charged for rescues under some circumstances.

Yeah, if a hiker gets stuck because he went off trail, or if a hummer goes into a wash and gets stuck, not only are they liable for 2k, they are liable for the whole cost of the rescue. Including fuel for the helicopter [if needed] and payment for the pilot and rescuers.

I thought Hummers could drive partially submerged as long as you had that little periscope for the intake and exhaust.

*Edit* Maybe it was only military Humvees that could... hmm. =T

"Big sport-utility vehicles would be charged an extra $750 at the registration counter, under a new plan proposed by one Maryland Legislator. Delegate Bill Bronrott wants the surcharge applied to drivers who register SUVs weighing more than 6000 pounds, which would include vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator and HUMMER H2. "This bill is ... about the largest, heaviest passenger vehicles that are the least fuel efficient and the most toxic to our air, land, and water," Bronrott told the state House, according to the AP. Predictably, auto dealers are against the move, but Maryland citizens already pay a surcharge on vehicles weighing more than 3700 pounds. "

from www.thecarconnection.com (http://www.thecarconnection.com)

Now if they'd just ticket the damn things when they park in "compact only" spaces.

^^^ Sounds good to me. I wonder if it should be retroactive. :p

Damn. Was hoping for photos. :)

EDIT: Actually from the thread title I was envisoning a Hummer stuck in a car wash. :)

Haha, me too, and when I first glanced at the post, I was thinking, why would they need a helicopter to rescue people from a car wash, and 7 ppl in a car wash??? :confused: :D

Was it an H1 or an H2??? I have respect for the H1... a real mean truck. But the H2, well, I'll never forget the video that I saw of it getting stuck on a 1 foot tree stump. Had to be pulled off by a 20 year old jeep.

It was a h2.

Only time this idiot went off-road, but hell isn't this car supposed to do that? I don't know how big the flood water was but with all those commercials you'd think it could. The H2 isn't amphibious stock either.

i saw something like that on good morning america .where in arizona they have a law that if a drive does something stupid like this he could have to pay up to 2k for the rescue.

I saw the same thing on the Today show this morning before going to work.

Arizona has implemented the "Stupid Motorist" law. :eek:

If a driver ignores road block warning sings of a flooded area and then needs to be rescued, the fine can be up to a max of $2000.00. No mention of any of costs s/he are liable for, just the fine.

I'm assuming that victims of Flash Floods are excluded.

Was it an H1 or an H2??? I have respect for the H1... a real mean truck. But the H2, well, I'll never forget the video that I saw of it getting stuck on a 1 foot tree stump. Had to be pulled off by a 20 year old jeep.

Yeah the H2 looks top heavy... The Original Hummer is a mean machine. Especially with the hard cover on back, and a .50 cal on top. :D

I know an idiot who owns a web company- anyway, he sold a bmw he had for three months to get a new H2 when they came out- he lives in a subdivision with a really huge driveway- all of his snow a couple of winters ago was plowed over into his yard, he took his new hummer that he had for two days and tried running over this huge pile- ANYWAY, he got it stuck in his front yard in a pile of snow and had to call onstar! now repeat with me I.D.I.O.T.!

Since no one was hurt, I was glad to see this idiot got stuck, and it would be even better if he had to flip the bill for the rescue. People who buy these Super Sized SUV’s believe they are invincible, and do some really dumb stuff in them. Most of the time when you read a story like this someone died because of this over confidence. There is nothing worse than getting tailgated by an SUV on a wet/snowy/slippery road because they feel that their vehicle can handle it. Little do they realize that if they make a mistake they are liable to kill you and walk away from the accident.

This whole scenario is becoming increasingly problematic because SUV’s are becoming wildly popular with young kids. The issue has gotten so hot that they are now running commercials warning of SUV safety. You know the ones where the SUV is an animal. In any case I’m glad to see this drive got what was coming to him.

Has anyone else noticed the correlation between bigger trucks housing crappier drivers? I suppose as the size of the truck increases, so does your eligibility for a Darwin award. Despite living in a college town, I never seem to get cut off or otherwise screwed with on the road by anything but SUVs, and it seems to only be the really monstrous ones that cause me any problems. Time to scale it back, folks. Kids aren't quite that big...neither is their soccer equipment.

An entertaining read for SUV haters. I want to read this book.
http://4wheeldrive.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=4wheeldrive&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonmonthly.com%2Ffeatur es%2F2001%2F0212.mencimer.html
Some fun,
http://www.hillan.org/ejh/blog/images/porsche.jpg

This stat is from the article posted by BlueEyes.

"Chevy Tahoe kills 122 people for every 1 million models on the road."

You should have to get a special license to drive one of these things. This darn thing is a weapon.

for comparison, the Honda Accord only kills 21

Aside from honest to God construction work, is there any actual NEED for someone to own an SUV? Any truck for that matter? I've never really understood why nobody drives wagons. They take care of the inexplicable obsession with hauling bulk lumber , they're often faster than SUVs and they handle better. The benefits to getting an SUV are...uh...they're bigger....and...theeeey roll over sometimes? :confused:

I love wagons, and no, there is absolutely no need other than towing and off roading that people need suv's
http://gallery.s-cars.org/albums/RS4/JonNewall_RS4.sized.jpg

I love wagons, and no, there is absolutely no need other than towing and off roading that people need suv's
http://gallery.s-cars.org/albums/RS4/JonNewall_RS4.sized.jpg
That is an awesome wagon, love the RS series. Anyway, I drive an SUV, only because I have nothing else to drive. I don't own a car yet, so I have to drive my parents cars when I go somewhere(I know, I know, I could just not drive). I don't mind driving my moms grand cherokee, it's not so bad and I don't consider myself a bad driver. I think the SUV stereotype is over the top. Sure there are a lot of stupid people driving them but not every single driver of one is dumb. Now the bigger ones, like my dads stupid escalade is just an annoyance to drive. For the most part, people I know with SUV's buy them so they're able to drive to work in the winter. Enough of my rant. I need to study teh calculus :(

I'm not saying that EVERYONE that drives an SUV is an idiot, I'm saying that I've noticed that often the bigger the SUV, the bigger the idiot behind the wheel. I also just don't understand why people won't even consider wagons when they often have very similar amounts of "hauling" space coupled with better performance and safety. I've driven SUVs before and I just don't see any appeal to them. They're clunky, slow, awkward, and heavy - not something I want to be driving (and surely not something I want a bad driver to be piloting). I would see no problem with the government requiring a special license and/or training in order to drive an SUV. They've done it for motorcycles and those are only really dangerous to the rider.

Sport wagons are awesome. SUVs can go to hell. And the H2 isn't a Hummer, it's a glorified minivan.

They're clunky, slow, awkward, and heavy - not something I want to be driving (and surely not something I want a bad driver to be piloting).

A friend of mine recently purchased a used Pacifica. We went on a road trip and her husband drove. I thought he was a bad driver because of the really jerky ride and I almost tossed my cookies a few times before we got to our destination. Funny thing is that I've been in his Dakota 4x4 and never noticed his bad driving before. Well it turns out that it wasn't him... it was the Pacifica. I got to drive the 90+ miles home since I'm the designated driver 99% of the time. The brakes just really suck. The vehicle had plenty of "get-up and go", but when it came time to brake, the car just reacted very slowly to the brake pedal. Maybe it was just this particular vehicle's brake system that was off, but after driving that Pacifica for an hour, I wanted to get back into my 8 where the brakes WORK.

Anyone have any time behind the wheel of a Pacifica? Is this a common thing for these vehicles or should I STRONGLY suggest my friend take her vehicle back for a thorough brake inspection? TIA

Aside from honest to God construction work, is there any actual NEED for someone to own an SUV? Any truck for that matter? I've never really understood why nobody drives wagons. They take care of the inexplicable obsession with hauling bulk lumber , they're often faster than SUVs and they handle better. The benefits to getting an SUV are...uh...they're bigger....and...theeeey roll over sometimes? :confused:


I pull 6000 lbs of boat with my Expedition. Even when I'm not hauling a boat, there have been plenty of time when I was happy to have all the tall cargo space. I couldn't be happier with my choice (flips bird). BTW, haven't rolled over my SUV once yet! :p

Aside from honest to God construction work, is there any actual NEED for someone to own an SUV? Any truck for that matter? I've never really understood why nobody drives wagons. They take care of the inexplicable obsession with hauling bulk lumber , they're often faster than SUVs and they handle better. The benefits to getting an SUV are...uh...they're bigger....and...theeeey roll over sometimes?
Don't forget some believe that they can grow one's sexual organ....

Also even a construction worker would be better off with some Iveco Daily than with some Ford Superduty (more space, more cargoload and more economical.)
http://www.prowebghana.com/clients/tanink/images/assets/iveco/iveco%20daily%20pick3.jpg

My mom used to have an Expedition. Just picture the stereotype reversed as some little asian woman driving this massive beast 10mph below the limit. Finally she wised up and traded that thing in for a Benz. The suv was just too big for her and she didn't like to drive it. When it was traded in, it only had about 8000 miles on it and she had it for about a year and a half.

lol that little blurb about the cayenne is so true

Well, it's not always the fault of the SUV driver, it's sometimes just the car but a lot of times, they go hand in hand.

But after driving a lot of SUV and even regular cars, all I can say is, I love my car, it goes when you want it to, and it actually stops when you need it to which is more than I can say for a lot of death traps on the road. Hell, some of the more expensive POS on the road can't stop half as well as the 8, but unfortunately, people don't understand where the real safety lies. :(

I must admit that I really enjoy listening to stories of stupid H2 owners doing stupid things that they think that their glorified minivan can do... and failing.

Has anyone been to www.FUH2.com ?

1605 pictures of people saying FU! to an H2

I believe the H2 is actually nothing more than a glorified Yukon. Based on the same platform with larger exterior dimensions but oddly less interior room. That in itself is a feat of engineering.

I wish more companies made wagons. Our Highlander is basically a wagon. Our Sequoia is used for large things such as taking the garbage to the dump, holding everything for week long road trips, and we have to carry some pretty large equipment. I do not like the Sequoia at all and avoid driving it whenever possible though.

"This bill is ... about the largest, heaviest passenger vehicles that are the least fuel efficient and the most toxic to our air, land, and water," spaces.

Hmm Last time I drove a Chevrolet Tahoe I was averaging 20 - 22 MPG, hmm and there there was the time the SuburbanI was riding in was averaging 20MPG, kinda amazing going 636 miles before fulling up, and doing so just to be safe because it was blizarding out, could have easily finished the trip home, which was another 50 - 60 miles. Hmm, It seems like most RX-8 drivers can't even get that? Maybe the rx-8 should get a tax like that.....haha. I know I just upset alot of people, but I though I would throw out some personal experience. How does it pollute water?? Just curiuse.

I have been driving around in my girlfriends X5 and it really handles well, Im very impressed. Never driven an H2 but seen plenty of stupid people, mostly women, driving them her in Miami.

I have been driving around in my girlfriends X5 and it really handles well, Im very impressed. Never driven an H2 but seen plenty of stupid people, mostly women, driving them her in Miami.

I think if I absolutely HAD to purchase an SUV, the X5 is about the only one I'd ever even look at. Handles almost as well as a car (even sliding around on a skidpad it only appears slightly less stable) and seems to be about the most capable overall SUV on the market (in reference to hauling your garbage around and onroad/offroad competency).

I have been driving around in my girlfriends X5 and it really handles well, Im very impressed.
Handles well compared to what? I have driven the X5 4.8is. It's quick, handles well compared to other trucks, but compared to a 545i which costs 20K canadian less, handles like shit. I guess I don't understand people who buy these trucks, designed for towing and off road adventures, but never use them for that. If you don't use a truck for that, you just bought yourself inferior ride and handling qualities.

I was talking to another member about this the other day and he said "it would be like if I had bought my jag for the purpose of towing a 5000 lb boat to the lake" The jag wasn't designed to tow, it was designed to commute, and is damn good at it. Similarily, and SUV wasn't designed to offer sedan quality ride, it has to sacrifice that in order to offer towing.

... I guess I don't understand people who buy these trucks, designed for towing and off road adventures, but never use them for that. ...
Well, you're a Canadian. :)