Aibu to hope that this is the start of a major backlash against SUVs?

[gingganggooleywotsit]

Just seen this on the BBC news website.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56647128
It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone in motoring speak out publicly against suvs. I pray this is the start of a major backlash and rightly so! Before anyone says..”you’re jealous” as I usually see on these threads, I would just like to say-I could afford one myself but I wouldn’t be seen dead in one!
Also I am only talking about city suvs. In the countryside/farming it’s of course a different matter.

- Being twice as likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists in accidents.

Where does this data come from?

I'm curious as the UK government doesn’t record passenger vehicle type in collision injuries and deaths.

@ArcheryAnnie

Live and let live!

MtsDoylesTea that's the point, really - many SUV drivers aren't "living and let live".

• Blocking half the pavement because they are too small to park on someone's front drive - and thus making it difficult for people to pass, especially people in wheelchairs.
• Jamming up small roads, and taking up disproportionate parking space
• Being twice as likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists in accidents.

Driving an SUV makes it much more likely that you will have a negative impact on other people. That's not "live and let live".

(And they aren't even safer for the people inside them in a crash, either.)

ANY car can block the pavement - it's obviously not just SUV's - around here the worst offenders are those in small cars who just leave them blocking the entire pavement because they seem to think the car is so small it won't cause an obstruction!

Jamming up small roads, and taking up disproportionate parking space - again, not just SUV's. Cars are generally bigger than they were in the past and the roads and parking spaces haven't widened to accommodate. Even smaller cars struggle to park in some car parking spaces as they simply aren't wide enough for today's cars. We had issues with our hatchback in some spaces - so it's not just an SUV thing.

Being twice as likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists in accidents - ANY car can kill a pedestrian or cyclist - if someone is that worried about it - you simply wouldn't drive anything. Also this stat gets chucked about fairly often but there is no actual data to back it up.

Also SUV's in general DO have higher safer ratings than other types of car. Ours has one of the highest ratings - we chose it because it's safe for OUR family - like I said above, I can't buy a car based on how safe it is for pedestrians - as then I wouldn't drive anything as none of them are really "safe" - you hit someone fast enough, they die no matter what you are driving.

The hate for SUV's is ridiculous - you don't like them, fine - but it doesn't mean you can dictate what other people want to drive.

Apparently, black cars are 12% more likely to be involved in an accident.

Once SUVs are banned, maybe they should be next?

Green after that?

White is the safest colour so we really shouldn't be allowed to buy anything else.

Apparently, black cars are 12% more likely to be involved in an accident.

This should be used against car manufacturers so they start offering more colours for free🙈

People are already paying for mileage in the taxes on fuel they buy.
SUVs are higher than standard cars but are not necessarily longer or wider, so I don’t understand the blocking roads argument.

As long as they are being sold in this country, people are free to buy them.

I don’t have a SUV but DH does. It’s great when he has to pick multiple kids up for clubs as it’s a 7 seater and we camp a lot so when the seats go down we can load up the car and go. We have our own drive so no pavement blocking here.

Exactly.

Everyone talking about how SUVs are too wide and too long needs to look at dimensions of non suv cars. Some suvs are obviously bigger, but by far not all. I am sometimes thinking it sounds like people are describing US style SUVs not the ones actually on the road in UK.

To be fair it's not just suvs, it's the dominance of cars in general that I don't like. A sustainable future does not have us all driving about in tin boxes, stuck in traffic jams, putting our individual needs first all the time, sometimes you have to think outside the tin box as it were

@ArcheryAnnie

Live and let live!

MtsDoylesTea that's the point, really - many SUV drivers aren't "living and let live".

• Blocking half the pavement because they are too small to park on someone's front drive - and thus making it difficult for people to pass, especially people in wheelchairs.
• Jamming up small roads, and taking up disproportionate parking space
• Being twice as likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists in accidents.

Driving an SUV makes it much more likely that you will have a negative impact on other people. That's not "live and let live".

(And they aren't even safer for the people inside them in a crash, either.)

I drive a 4x4 (very well I might add).

I don't block half the pavement, my car fits on my drive very comfortably
I don't jam up small roads, I'm more than happy to schooch to the side or even into a muddy ditch to get out of other cars' way, I live rurally and have never created any difficulties for others to get by my car. I'm a shit hot parker (word?) and therefore, I don't take up disproportionate parking space with my car
Being a shit hot driver, I'm way less likely to cause an accident in the first place, so you don't need to worry about me killing you. Transport for London did some research and found that the collision rate for 4x4s was 30% lower than that for other cars. So you have less likelihood of an accident happening in the first place.

My Land Rover has a 5* safety rating, it's super safe inside.

@SlothWithACloth

People are already paying for mileage in the taxes on fuel they buy. SUVs are higher than standard cars but are not necessarily longer or wider, so I don’t understand the blocking roads argument. As long as they are being sold in this country, people are free to buy them.

What authority are you quoting that says they are not necessarily wider?

Go look at Volvo XC90 width. BMW X5 width. Range Rover width. These are wide, wide cars.

And just drive around our suburban streets for five minutes - you can feel the width, and the terrible driving from those who can't handle the dimensions and are terrified to reverse

Odfod and find a hobby @gingganggooleywotsit

Interesting article

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

[quote mumwalk]Interesting article

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

This is a good read.

There are so many myths about SUVs (perceived larger boot space, perception of more space for occupants, safety, etc) that people are happy to just accept because of the following things they like or silently state:

• I'm higher up. I must, I must be higher up.
• my car looks chunkier which makes me feel safer
• it's bigger on the outside so it must be bigger on the inside?
• Estates and saloons are for old men. Hatchbacks are for poorer people.

This is the stuff I see in between the hand wringing "we have potholes round here and my DCs are 6 foot" posts.

@Ginuwine I’ve seen some suvs take up less floor space than BMW 3 series. As an example Nissan or Honda SUV’s aren’t that big.

The volvo xc90 is same width as the audi a4 avant someone mentioned above for example.

The most sold suv apparently is qashqai with width 1807 it's as wide as ford focus (action few cm smaller) at 1,825-1,844. Putlander is in this size as well. So is skoda octavia accprding to google.

Yes, there are massive suvs, but lots of top selling ones seem to have same width, sometimes lenght as non suv cars. So as some people mention they nedd bannong because of space, well so do other cars, not just "suvs" then.

Audi seems to be really into making wide as fuck cars lately. Never realised until this thread how width obsessed they became!👀

Sorry for the typos! I swear it's not me. It's the technology🙈

Maybe not necessarily SUVs but imposing additional taxes on wider/longer/higher (eg: bigger than needed) urban-based cars is a good idea. With a few exceptions, they're mostly unecessary - ie: the longer ones have most of their length under the hood, for the powerful engine that is mostly unneeded in town. Several more examples.

4x4 does not mean big - I used to have a little Subaru pick-up that was small and very comfy to drive, RIP little blue Subaru.

DH has an old 7 seater that mainly sits on the drive. We have it because we have 3 kids (one adult size and two needing car seats) and on the very rare family trip out, need to squeeze in the mother in law too.
We also live rurally and tow a caravan once our twice a year.
I don't drive it very often - just pinch it for snowy days and my cross country commute - and DH works from home.
My main complaint about SUVs is that people rarely know how to manoeuvre and park them.

These pictures were taken on the same day in the Waitrose car park. Mine is the small blue car and was parked to leave plenty of room for the eldest, in a crotch to toe cast, to get in and out.

I'm with @Macncheeseballs. Over reliance on cars in towns and cities is a massive problem and the majority of car journeys in the UK are less than a mile that can easily be walked or cycled. I wish the government would get real about this climate emergency and make it much less convenient for (able bodied) drivers who do not have a good reason to be driving short distances to do so. Massive SUVs are dangerous, selfish and unnecessary in cities but if you do want one for all the reasons given on this thread, why not save it for those journeys you need it for (the camping, big family outings, taking friends kids, lugging gear around) and not to drop your kids at school a mile away when you could walk/scoot/cycle or get a bus ?

That's nkt an suv problem. That's a parking like a twat problem

I drive an suv/4x4 and have not noticed parking spaces being too narrow. I always fit in them easily.

My SUV has lots of inbuilt safety features, lane assist, crash assist, parking sensors and cameras etc. It also drives amazingly in the ice and snow. It has a 5* safety rating so I’m perfectly happy with my choice and spending my money how I wish.

I love having a big car, nothing would persuade me to drive a smaller car by choice. Our second car is small and I hate driving it.

I certainly won’t be changing my choice because someone in a small car isn’t happy about being in a smaller car

But someone who parks badly in a Peel P50 is not the same as someone who parks equally badly in a tank Range Rover.

😂 i had to google that.

So to the next person claiming that their above average height teenager means that they must have a big car, here's a picture of the 6'5" Jeremy Clarkson in a Peel P50:
i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/25/35/e72535437ca067251fe6afcacfbc5f66.jpg

Yeah big kids can fit in smaller cars