A letter calling for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) to be banned from the Island sparked debate on the safety of larger vehicles on Bermuda's roads.The letter to the editor of The Royal Gazette argued that the vehicles are too large for the Island's roads.Others responded, claiming that poor drivers are at fault rather than the vehicle size.The letter, which was published in Tuesday's paper, said the import and sale of SUVs should be banned.“SUVs should RIP” wrote that pedestrians were at risk because of the size of the vehicles and an insufficient number of sidewalks.“Walkers and runners already have to deal with the fact there are rarely sidewalks on Bermuda's roads, and I know people who have been clipped by the wing mirrors of the SUVs, driven by people often exceeding the speed limit who show no courtesy to pedestrians.“The increasing volume of vehicles in Bermuda, together with their increasing size, combined with the fact that most of us ignore the speed limit, is going to lead to a greater number of road accidents and serious casualties in the future.“We cannot widen Bermuda's roads, so please tell me where is the logic in allowing larger cars onto this Island?”Larger vehicles have generally worse mileage for their fuel consumption and produce more pollution, the writer argued.As of yesterday, around 68 percent of 792 people polled on The Royal Gazette website said that SUVs should be banned only 28 percent said they would be against a ban.A number of posts on The Royal Gazette website and the newspaper's Facebook page insisted reckless driving was the root cause of the complaints.Carlton Smith wrote: “We have no ‘big' cars here, just poor drivers.“Every day I witness cars almost colliding on roads and having difficulty passing in opposite directions, where two large trucks pass each other without effort at all.“What we really need is a better drivers' exam at TCD.”Afton Cabral agreed: “People who want to buy an SUV need to have a special driving test to make sure they know how to drive big cars. That's the problem. People buy them and don't know how to drive them.”Melody Bean argued that for many families, driving an SUV is not a luxury, it's a necessity.“Until you have a family and have to have the required car seat, along with a ballet dancer and a soccer player, along with your weekly errands, then you will never understand the convenience and safety of an SUV.“Your gripe is more with drivers than the vehicle.”A spokesman for Bermuda Motors, who sell the Class H Kia Sportage, said the larger vehicles have become popular with families because of the convenience.“One of the points that surveys generally miss out on is that most families have two children, and that most children have at least two friends.“If you were to be driving three children as well as your family, would you rather drive a larger or smaller vehicle?“It's the customers choice. A customer's choice is something we never go against.”* Here's the original letter: http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110222/COMMENT03/110229991l Useful websites: www.facebook.com, www.bermudamotors.bm.