To Say Tanks (SUVs) should be banned in cities

[Lovesgood]

www.fastcompany.com/90420280/should-we-ban-suvs

www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/oct/07/a-deadly-problem-should-we-ban-suvs-from-our-cities

They are a pest! I have always disliked them. I know Im not BU by the way. This is something that needs to be looked into properly and where better to start than here on mumsnet where the standard reply about these crap cars is "But I need a tank to drive my kids to school" They are NOT safer than other cars! Its a myth peddled by the car industry and only people who have no clue about cars believe that! (So plenty of people sadly).

Also, a local driving instructor has a BMW estate as a learner car and it is longer and wider than my Land Rover.

A Ford Mondeo is actually longer than my Land Rover

Unless it's part of your job, I'd ban cars altogether

And how exactly would that work? Clearly you haven't considered the logistics of you insane suggestion.
Car-free towns do exist you know. They manage.

Even remote small seaside towns all used to have a train station

All of them.....? They really didn’t!
@MarieQueenofScots go on then, name a town that didn't have a railway station 100 years ago. Villages don't count, neither do places that weren't towns back then.

People are getting bigger too so are going for bigger cars.
I wonder why they're getting bigger.

I wonder if a lack of exercise might have something to do with it.

The car is the problem, not the solution.

go on then, name a town that didn't have a railway station 100 years ago. Villages don't count, neither do places that weren't towns back then.

Quick rudimentary google brings up at least 6....

In any event what happened 100 years ago is slightly irrelevant unless they’re going to reverse the process of the Beeching Axe. Are we thinking CPOs for people now living on the site of the disused railways?

I absolutely support a reduction in car use but wild claims over the past where nobody used cars (after they were invented of course) isn’t a useful argument.

OP have you looked at pedestrian safety in the ncap ratings, I have a suv, which I bought because I like it, there are loads of cars that are far more dangerous for pedestrians than my suv. It is also safer for me but I think it's pedestrians that you're worried about, which is absolutely fair.

go on then, name a town that didn't have a railway station 100 years ago. Villages don't count, neither do places that weren't towns back then.

Why is a railway station 100 years ago even relevant? Once having a railway line which is now completely built over is hardly going to help with today's problem. Very few disused lines can be re-opened as the land has often been re-used for something else.

Also , the cost of rail travel is ridiculous. If taking a family on a rail trip the cost of the tickets will be way more than the cost of petrol/parking for the equivalent car journey.

@macncheeseballs are uou suggesting that I need two cars, one to pull the trailer and one to visit the shops? That's far worse for the environment than an SUV.

Personally I have towed my trailer in the city, because that is the route to get to where I need to take it. I have taken the truck without the trailer into central london too, because I needed to carry a large load into the city.

Why is a railway station 100 years ago even relevant? Once having a railway line which is now completely built over is hardly going to help with today's problem.
@HorseChestnutTree it was only brought up because of a post made by Marie a few pages back where she decided to quibble over whether every single seaside town used to have a railway station. You know what? Most of the principal ones still do. Here in Wales the only section of coastline no longer served by rail is between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen. Elsewhere is would be quicker for me to list the areas not served than the areas which are. So the idea that townies would be trapped in the city for evermore by pedestrianisation and could never see the sea is ludicrous.

A quarter of households in England do not have a car, they aren't all housebound old dears who have a bus pass to get them to the bingo, many of them will be families with children. They manage to take the kids to school, go shopping, go on holiday and see friends.

Where there is poor provision of public transport, it will only improve if the demand is there. It's a chicken and egg situation. If more people start using evening buses, the bus companies will start running later services.

Again, this post is about those driving in cities where large vehicles are often inappropriate but as usual we've had people commenting that they live in the middle of of Nevermoor and have to have an off-roader. This thread isn't about you! Likewise there will always be people who have medical issues which mean that they need exceptions to the rules. The vast majority however do not and it is they who we need to get out of their cars and instead get them walking, cycling, and on public transport (when the current crisis has abated).

We just purchased one

With the current situation with public transport being difficult to manage with social distancing, it is perhaps the wrong time to be trying to get people out of their cars.

Oh and it is vital to get to "our" city which is 40 -odd minutes drive away down tiny lanes with high hedges.

Utter bollocks. You do not need to drive an SUV to get into Truro. Just learn to drive properly, get some more lessons if you need to learn how to drive on country roads.

YANBU OP they're a menace and generally their drivers seem to be inconsiderate and dangerous, I guess because they think they're safe being higher up so there's no need to drive considerately. Can't stand the things

There have been a lot of studies that show people take less care when additional safety measures are introduced because they "feel" safe. Not just driving, but H&S at work and stuff too.

I always wonder how much they can see behind them. The modern ones have really small rear windows and I always think it must be like peering between the slats of a blind.

And if anyone knows the middle-aged man driving a Jaguar F-Pace at a Tesco in Sussex on Saturday (or possibly Friday), tell him to fucking well look before he pulls out of the pick up point, or at least indicate so that we have an idea that he might and take evasive action.

Actually, I was behind him for 4 roundabouts and a T junction, and he didn't signal at any of them. Twat.

I think that might be why so many people hate them. They seem to be driven by a disproportionate number of twats.

You do not need to drive an SUV to get into Truro

You certainly don't! I had a Micra for several years and went to Cornwall in it at least once a year, sometimes several times. I took that poor little car down some god-awful pot-holed tracks. Any lane that didn't have grass growing down the middle felt like a main road after a while.

I had a friend who was obsessed with devising "pretty" routes, involving tiny lanes and, ideally, a ford or two, and that Micra took it all in its stride.

i despise them, they're lethal in terms of the impact on any vehicle or person who they plough into.

as status symbols go they're extremely lame, especially in London where a modest house sets you back the price of easily a dozen brand new top end SUVs. when it boils down to it i'm sure that the main reason for buying them is the desire to come off better in a future road accident.

i can't think why we don't have a maximum vehicle weight of say 1500kg for driving on public roads [anyone who wants to drive a hummer or tank or whatever on their own private land shoudl of course be free to do so].

@rattusrattus20
when it boils down to it i'm sure that the main reason for buying them is the desire to come off better in a future road accident.

No. I bought mine because for 3 reasons initially. 1 - the boot space. No other 'regular' car has the capacity that my 4x4 does whilst 2 seat rows are in use. 2 - it needs to be able to tow a boat. 3 - the ability to go off road occasionally.

The fact that in a collision my son may be less vulnerable is a comfort though, and I shan't apologise for that.

@rattusrattus20 i can't think why we don't have a maximum vehicle weight of say 1500kg for driving on public roads

So everyone has tiny cars because it would be safer in an accident? What about workmen with vans, what about lorries they're still on the road and on more occasions than not it is an accident between a car and a lorry. So how is your safety aspect going to work.
If we are looking at safety on the roads then everyone should be encouraged to drive SUV's and above as this means accidents are far far less likely to be fatal.

Yep, one tore the bumper off the brackets on my (parked) 50 year old MG this weekend and left a whopping dent in the side too. Didn't even bother to leave a note to apologise.

My ex was also mangled head on by one years ago - smashed his legs and his chest and had him in a wheelchair for months. His VW golf was a ball of twisted metal after it while the SUV was just crumpled up at the front. But the other driver was grand so I guess the purchase worked out for her.

My car weighs more than 1500kg but it isn't a SUV. Still can't work out if I'm allowed to drive mine or not.

I went to the supermarket today and only parked in one space and everything 😲😂😂😂

@ Shmithecat2 - how public spirited of you ["The fact that in a collision my son may be less vulnerable is a comfort though, and I shan't apologise for that."], do mind that karma though.

when it boils down to it i'm sure that the main reason for buying them is the desire to come off better in a future road accident

I still think people get them because they want people to think they've got lots of money. Masses of identity bound up in cars, for some reason. For me they are a means of getting from A to B and nothing else.

I went to the supermarket today and only parked in one space and everything

there's always an exception that proves a rule

The thing about SUVs is they are exempt from pedestrian safety standards that apply to all other vehicles. To buy a vehicle exempt from those standards it should be a absolutely required, rather than nice.

I'm sure that if you had to prove agricultural use to buy an SUV car manufactures would find a way to make accessible vehicles that do meet those standards, but for now they are happy to save the cost of having to do so

@rattusrattus20

ODFOD.