Drivers, Not SUVs, Are Accident Threats

If Donald Nauss was attempting to make an intelligent foray into highway safety and pollution, his points were badly misdirected [“Detroit Circles the Trucks,” April 5].

It is hard to believe The Times would devote that much space to the obvious: that in a collision between a large, heavy vehicle and a small, light vehicle, the occupants of the smaller vehicle will fare worse.

It is the driver that causes accidents in a large majority of multiple-vehicle accidents, not the vehicle.

On L.A. highways, responsibility for a large majority of accidents goes to the drivers that dart in and out of heavy traffic, that drive too fast, that attempt to force their way into another lane that is bumper to bumper, that focus on things other than driving when conditions demand their full attention, and also the law enforcement that pays little attention to these drivers until too late.

I commute daily from south Orange County to downtown L.A. in a Corsica. I am not threatened by SUVs and vans. If threatened, it is by the above types of drivers.

D.V. SHUTER

Mission Viejo