AIBU to think that people should only be allowed a 4x4 if they actually need one?

[boomting]

They are ridiculously fuel inefficient, and given the finite supplies of oil and the effects on climate change (and no this isn't a climate change thread!), I think that the government should only allow you to own a 4x4 if you have a demonstrable reason for needing one. You would have to submit a form and be issued with a special licence to own one. Reasons could include being a farmer, or having to tow heavy trailers that cannot legally be towed with a smaller vehicle. This isn't an exhaustive list of acceptable reasons, but people who only use them for the school run and going to the supermarket shop should not be allowed to use them.

AIBU?

Reading some people's replies on here, it's clear that the aim of being a good mother/citizen is

1. Owning the biggest and best you can buy - house, car, whatever
2. Doing exactly what you want with it and sod the rest of the world
3. Shouting at anyone who points out that you are infringing their rights.

So I should buy a Range Rover L322 or a Land Rover Amazon, crawl down the narrow London Victorian road to the school looking for a parking space for MY CAR WHICH I HAVE A RIGHT TO.

Then park on "keep clear" zig-zags because there are no spaces large enough for my car.

Then beep loudly at anyone who dares challenge me for endangering their child with my behaviour.

Yeah, I like this Mumsnet.

Love that the 4x4 drivers always win these threads!! Survival of the fittest!

Amandine might I suggest stalking 4x4 drivers less? I couldn't tell you the average parking ability of a hatchback driver.

I don't really have an opinion about 4x4's, but I can't help reading these threads.

Prius drivers are responsible for all the smug. I saw it on Southpark.

I feckin hate them and DH wants a Landrover. To me they just shout, LOOK AT HOW MUCH MONEY I'VE GOT AND I DON'T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT COS I'M LOADED, SO THERE PEASANTS!!

I am fighting his choice, as you can tell.

shockers, funnily enough, I know a local person who owns some sort of environmental consultancy and he's involved in local sustainability innitiatives. He's loaded and you've guessed it, he drives a 4x4 and he thinks it's great that the soaring fuel prices will force the peasants off the road.

I also know someone who works for an environmental charity who just bought a 4x4. I'm a bit surprised by all of this, because I thought they would both be driving around in swanky hybrids or EV's.

BunFagFreddie... bonkers ain't it??

It is more of a class chip-on-the-shoulder thing really though isn't it? Lots of big cars and MPVs and SUVs are only two wheel drive and lots of cars have AWD or 4x4.

And the newer cars tend to have parking sensors and cameras so are much easier to park than the old ones.

I have never seen these dithering big car owners struggling to park in the car parks. I have seen a man in a Volvo go back and forth a few times, so much so that I was tempted to offer to do it for him. I have also seen young men crash small cars that they can't drive and old people crash all manner of cars that they don't know how to drive.

If you're gonna criticise cars, there is such a huge spectrum of appalling driving, you could pretty much pick on anyone.

And I don't have a 4x4, but I do have a huge estate car that is no problem to park because it has parking sensors, thank you very much.

To be fair, most of the dithering drivers I see are old men, and the make of car is irrelevant.

Hello! This is actually DH of Shockers....sorry she left it open and I looked! I haven't read the whole 9 pages, but just thought I would let you in to my thoughts....(some of them anyway).

Most of the cars on the road at the moment are very similar, i guess to do with aerodynamic etc, the Land Rover and Volvo XC90 types are a bit different. The Land Rover Discovery or Range Rover do around 27 to the gallon and the Volvo around 40ish. If you compare them to older cars probably not much different. They are however nice to drive, have all the toys and for somewhere we spend an awful lot of time, so its nice to have the comfort thing...and if you can afford it then.........only joking ;-) but it is nice to drive...and I can.

As someone has already mentioned, you can pick any type of driver, young, old, women, middle aged, hat wearing, non indicating, parking on school zone, disabled and kids spot taking fools, but that's not the cars fault, and as always, you only see what you want, when you want... it's like suddenly recognising that there are lots of your type of new car on the road; they were there before, it's just now you notice them. You get a bee in your bonnet about 4x4's and you'll notice all the idiot 4x4 drivers and the rest will just get on with life.

I know it's not much of a technical argument, or indeed an environmental one, I try to be as green as possible, I recycle pretty much everything, I cycle, and am very lucky to live where I can walk to most places, but when I need to use the car and have DW(love you and sorry x), kids, friends, dog/s, luggage tents, bikes, its nice to be comfortable. Compare me to someone who has 1 or 2 holiday flights a year, (thanks to my beautiful wife, I get to go camping in England, Wales or Northern France), and i'm pretty sure i'll come out greener....

Just a few thoughts...oh and as I said it's mainly because I like the look of them compared to other cars...I don't normally think as much as this!

I will no doubt never see your replies and will get told off for having posted...but I hope as the good book says, sic 'have a look in your back yard before taking the tree out of your brothers' ;-)........

That's one of the politest (and most reasobable) account-hackings I've ever seen Mr Shockers

These threads always make me want to trade my car in for a 4x4

the OP said you could have one if you needed one. So that's ok for all of you who live in the back of beyond, up steep unsurfaced hills, on farms and so on.

in cities they serve as a useful warning to everyone else that the driver is probably not very good. They are also a way for people who can't observe speed limits to go over those bloody speed humps without noticing. I have to go over those at 15mph or less in my car to avoid damage, and whenever I do this a Chelsea tractor materialises tied to my rear bumper. Very strange.

This whole thread reads like a piece of self congratulating sanctimonious bollocks, can you imagine meeting people in real life who actually have conversations about what cars people should have? I bet if such creatures exist they are very twitchy nervy tightbums who alternate between MN 4x4 posts and the hilarious 11 plus websites that I think are satirical and written by Jo Brand and Jennifer Saunders.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - that is exactly why trying to affect change for the better in the environment is so very difficult. People who do care and try and spread the word are immediately labelled sanctimonious, judgemental hippies by those who feel judged. Christ, encouraging my MIL to compost her veg in her enormous garden, or throw her 8000 wine bottles a week in the recycling (provided) rather than the bin feels like an exercise in careful, crucial diplomacy.

I'm not even talking about bloody 4x4s here.

Well I am talking about 4 x 4s not compost or mothers in law who are revolting enough to have a big garden, how dare she?

I think you wilfully misunderstood my post. I didn't mean it like that at all - don't be ridiculous.

Shit - a 4x4 thread that I have missed.

Is Everlong on?

Acksherly - just wondering if this could be another wind up - like the baby names from the fridge thread started by a poster from another forum....

Husband is a farmer so presumably, you would allow him his 4x4. I don't work and mainly use my 4x4 for school run and round town but I do also use it when I take the dog for a walk in the New Forest, where we live, as many of the tracks/fords etc would not be manageable in a standard car.

I must add that my car is new and therefore probably a lot more efficient both in terms of fuel and emissions than a lot of older vehicles (even non 4x4's) on the road.

I laugh at people who buy those pick up things when they don't need one and the most you could put in the back is a couple of bags of shopping

I live really quite rurally and manage with a really crap french car but I don't expect someone who works in the agricultural industry to cope with it

Both sides of this ludicrous argument think they deserve a badge for being so clever. I can't imagine ever wanting to have a shitty little car and some people couldn't imagine anything worse than driving my Escalade or Hummer. It's not like you are going to change my perception any more than I will change yours. We think each other are idiots and we only come on here to defend our views.

I'm wishing we had our landy now. Dh is on the way home but they have closed the road into town. Cara are being abandoned on the road to the dss school. Not quite sure how we'll get them.