To think car ownership is out of control in the UK

She’s talking about families owning multiple cars, and people using them for journeys they could easily walk.

Obviously.

I fully support everyone else giving up their car or being priced out of car ownership so that I can drive on less congested roads.

I whole heartedly agree OP.
And I'm a non driver so I can be even more annoyed than you 😅

Stupid massive cars, just no need.
My cunt of a neighbour who used the dropped curb of our drive to drive his Range Rover 100yrds along the pavement to get to outside his house. Where there are two more Range Rovers parked, only one of which is on his ample drive way. Cunt.

No one seems to be able to drive any more, cutting corners and making stupid moves, only made worse by the STUPID MASSIVE CARS.

It's not that cheap to drive anymore either (if your not prepared to go into debt) It's almost impossible to get a cheap run around that you tincker and fix yourself. We're sadly putting it off for a while for our 17yr old (til he makes a decision about the next few yrs) because it's just such a huge cost to even get him on the road.

One of my own massive annoyances are people who moan about paying for parking, like it's a god given right to place a 2tonne price of metal whever they like. Idiots.
A small part of our city has just been pedestrianised (not funded by the council) It looks lovely, with really nice planing and room for cafes and bars to spread out etc.
The RAGE for the local community has been insane. In the 1st week of the rising bollards at cut of time SEVEN cars got stuck/hit by the barriers trying to tailgate in behind an authorised vehicle.
Haven't laughed do much in ages 😅😅😅

I see streets like that - a relative lives in one. When I visit I park 5 min away and walk down the road. I'd hate to live on a street like that and it is really congested but rationing parking permits and making controlled parking zones won't change the fact that lots of people need a car for work/other purposes.

Another relative lived in a London borough but was 1.5 miles from a tube or rail station. They did not have a car but almost everyone on their (terraced) street did, presumably because it was a quicker, more convenient way to get to work!

YANBU

Where I live it’s not unusual for a family of five to have three cars. Ridiculous.

@ARichtGoodDram

In England many people even need to drive their kids to school because of how allocations work - that wasn't something previously necessary.

In our case, DS's school was only six miles away but for him to get there in good time for 9am start, he had to leave home at 7am because of the crap buses which only ran hourly, and went all around the houses, and even then he had a mile walk from the town's bus station to his school at the other end! If he missed that bus or it just didn't turn up (far too often!), then we'd have to take him in our car.

where exactly is your constituency jacques?

This is exactly what I think too.

I agree with you about the size of cars. Totally out of control where I live. I don’t drive, and they make life harder for pedestrians. Because they are so large, the drivers often park partly on the pavement to reduce the risk of getting scrapped. Parking on the pavement is illegal where I live. Then it can be qui a pain to squeeze past on some narrow pavements. They're also harder to see over for pedestrians, making it less safe when crossing.

I laugh when I see two large cars meeting each other on narrow roads around here and a stand off ensues. I've noticed people reluctant to reverse in these large cars.

She means the affordability because of monthly finance deals.

How cheap car ownership is.

should the poor have to walk home with their potatoes?
should the NMW carer have to walk from client to client?

im scared of the expense with electric cars. When a Vauxhall corsa costs 30k it’s going to be a problem for people. The driveless homes mean you can’t charge for cheap (or convenience) at home. So don’t worry op, the poor will be legislated out of driving soon enough.

Cars are ridiculous sizes now. I’m a fairly averaged height woman (5,8) and some cars I can’t see over. Crossing the road is so much more dangerous these days.

@JacquesHarlow do agree that people are getting increasingly larger vehicles for no logical reason. Eg the couple opposite me have 2 DC and a toy dog so you’d imagine a regular car would do but they both have identical large 4x4s. They’re quite inconsiderate with parking their huge vehicle also. They frequently park one outside their home and one on the drive rather than both on the driveway and moving as needed as the previous couple (and with smaller cars did) meaning that they permanently take up a large amount of road and kerb that they’re partially parked up on. This spot is directly opposite my driveway also and on a narrow road it makes it difficult for me to pull into my narrow driveway. Why they both needed two huge ones I’ll never know. They don’t have unusual hobbies or anything where loads of equipment or some such is required to be carried. They just go to work and come back!

What if you can't afford to buy a house with more parking? Not everyone has the means to buy a "perfect" house. Houses without parking are usually cheaper for that exact reason, so the people buying/renting them often don't have the luxury of being able to live somewhere else with more parking!

And the multiple cars per house is in massive part because the adult children who would have previously moved to accommodation associated with their work now live (subsidised miners cottage, nurses homes etc) at home longer and need to drive to work.

In England many people even need to drive their kids to school because of how allocations work - that wasn't something previously necessary.

Give up you car and lead by example. I won't be giving my SUV and little mazda up, for you or anyone else. I have lived on those streets you talk about and of course thought wasn't put into future generations owning more than one vehicle. People still have a choice what car they drive and how much it costs them. So long as they drive within the law, they don't need to feel pressurised by the latest saviour rant from somebody trying to guilt trip other adults. Oh and as for the women not liking to reverse, I hope you aired your disapproval at women drivers being ridiculed on the why do people need big cars thread; those who struggle to park.

Yep, too many Chelsea tractors in the city. Unless you're a farmer or live on the tundra, you don't need one. Trust me, nobody's jealous because actually you just look like a prize prick squeezing through Victorian city streets or dropping little Ophelia off at school. To say nothing of headlights that are more suited to police search and rescue helicopters and do a fucking good job of terrifying oncoming drivers. I mean, what the actual fuck.

public transport isn’t great in a lot of areas, for instance I’m south east, now commuter belt for London. Our catchment school has no public transport (it’s 10 miles)
can’t get to the local hospital on public transport
can’t get to the local train station on public transport

we have no cycle routes.

we aren’t rural.

So there’s that, I know we aren’t unique by a long shot.

with both parents working, time is poor so they often have to drive the kids to school.

I do agree cars are too big (and heavy) now, but car seats, safety and two parents working so needing two family cars. This is the result.

also, men are just at shit at reversing as women - so that one is a really shit comment to make.

Firstly, before I get flamed - I am a woman, a car owner, and yes I have a driveway now (though didn't before). I am a car enthusiast in terms of the enjoyment I've got from driving and I don't have an issue with "cars" per se.
What I have an issue with is how ridiculous Britain's councils and governments are on car ownership. How cheap car ownership is. How anyone can distort the living environment around them with their choices.

Rules for thee and not for me!

Some people might not want to spend their money on a car, but it’s not easy to not drive. DH can’t drive due to a disability, and it limits jobs and where we can live because he needs public transport to any job, and from our house to shops etc. and this is often not great. It’s doable, but if he could drive we’d probably have two cars because it would make life easier.

Why don’t you use public transport to visit your friend if the parking is tricky

Another thing that needs to happen is work vans sorry shouldn’t be allowed to be parked up on residential streets.

Some streets can look like dpd (other companies available) car parks at times.

In fact you’ve got super markets closing from 10pm who could rent out their empty spaces to these companies for van storage.

Parking restrictions for one resident car per household on road with visiting permits available and a couple of monitored visitor spaces.

The amount of houses here that have 2/3/4 work vehicles and then the same as personal cars even with driveways means there’s huge amounts of cars on the roads per house.

Of course there are trains and buses, but not necessarily frequent enough, cheap enough, extensive enough, nor actually go to/from where some people want to go.

A bus stop outside your front door isn't much use if there are no Sunday services and the buses stop at 7pm in the evening!

What’s your solution OP? Because you like driving. So it’s ok for you but not others.

YABU as you are blaming people rather than recognising that it is a symptom of changing way of life in modern times.
Mothers work! Adult children who also work are still living at home. Often 4 or 5 working adults in a home. None of them work in same factory or even town. Public transport is rubbish. Many train stations have closed. Non existant in rural locations. Many schools have closed so not on doorstep anymore. Childminders often live in different towns and villages than the family.

I agree modern cars are too big but the parking and public transport infrastructure needs to improve so fining working people who don't have the power to change is not the answer