Page 7 | To wonder why is Mumsnet so anti-car?

Ticketsto · 2023-01-14T07:37:57+00:00

There is at least one thread a week on here demonizing cars! What is with all the hate? I know they cause pollution and can kill people however they’ve revolutionized the way we live! Not all of us are fortunate enough to live somewhere with good public transport.

Susanthehappytrottingelf · 14/01/2023 12:28

VitaminX · 14/01/2023 11:05

Everyone should drive as little as they can and use other options wherever possible. It's up to individuals to decide what is possible for them but we should all have that goal. And people shouldn't dismiss things they haven't even tried.

This is basically what I think.

And it's not just about cars - we should all do what we can to minimise our impact on climate change. Nobody is perfect (but I don't eat meat or have pets either FWIW) but not being perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try

RampantIvy · 14/01/2023 12:46

I forgot to say that DH has regular hospital appointments. There is no public transport between where we live and the hospital, we have very few taxis now as most of the drivers went to work for Uber and Uber doesn't operate round here, so I take him to and from the hospital because there is no parking there as the big car park is now for staff only (which I think is right and proper BTW)

Sparklingbrook · 14/01/2023 13:02

I’m these parts unless you go by car you can’t practically get to any of the hospitals in the trust.
Even if you go by car though someone has to drop you off as there isn’t enough parking.
There was a park and ride from s local sports club which was great but they stopped that. ☹️

Whewillmylifebegin · 14/01/2023 13:22

Susanthehappytrottingelf · 14/01/2023 12:28

This is basically what I think.

And it's not just about cars - we should all do what we can to minimise our impact on climate change. Nobody is perfect (but I don't eat meat or have pets either FWIW) but not being perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try

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Find me the post that says we should not try.

Bitbloweyoutthere · 14/01/2023 13:57

Susanthehappytrottingelf · 14/01/2023 12:28

This is basically what I think.

And it's not just about cars - we should all do what we can to minimise our impact on climate change. Nobody is perfect (but I don't eat meat or have pets either FWIW) but not being perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try

Show quote history

It would help if there was a public transport system fit for purpose.
If my dad has a hospital appointment, his nearest one is near Rhyl. That's a walk to town to catch a bus. One bus per hour. An hour on the actual bus. Change to another bus. He's 80. The hospital in the other direction is just as bad to get to, but there's also a train involved there. Although that train is frequently cancelled.

There is no public transport to where dh works.
I could, at a push, walk 30 minutes to a train that may or may not turn up. Then change trains. It would take nearly 3 hours to get there by 8am, but at least I'd be saving the environment.

And I live in a v built up urban area. To be fair, if has a great county lines network, so some people are getting around OK.

GPTec1 · 14/01/2023 14:53

usernamealreadytaken · 14/01/2023 11:22

@DifferenceEngines
"Obesity kills people, but cars cause obesity. The Netherlands save thousands of lives each year by getting people onto bikes and making exercise a normal part of the day."

What utter nonsense. I have a car and "normal" BMI; I run several times a week regardless of how much I drive. Eating too much food and not exercising enough, or eating rubbish food, or having an eating disorder, or having mental health issues or learning difficulties or being lazy or hundreds of other things cause obesity, but cars aren't one of them.

Near to where I live there's a morbidly obese man who seems to cycle everywhere. Never seen him in a car; perhaps his bicycle caused his obesity? 🙄

What you are doing is confusing your particular experience/situation/lifestyle and applying it to everyone.

Study after study shows that when car use drops and people walk, cycle, then fitness levels improve.

You know nothing about this man who cycles, just made assumptions.

The fact remains that in the UK, we have very expensive & poor public transport, that combined with higher levels of car use, poor diet, poor exercise habits = one the highest obesity rates in the world.

On MN we see real hatred toward cyclists & runners in parks and canal paths, in other words people who exercise!!! its pathetic, these are real people, husbands wives, sons daughters, nurses, doctors, engineers, carers, trades people etc etc yet posters here and RL call them scum, road lice, w@nkers... they are us!!!.

Given the hatred shown towards cyclists and runners, its no surprise people don't want to get out of their cars.

quinceh · 14/01/2023 15:07

Sorry, only read OP, but if I was to generalise I definitely wouldn’t say MN is anti car. There seems to be quite a lot of scorn/disbelief about people who don’t drive, despite the often prohibitive cost of lessons and car ownership, plus the fact that many people simply don’t want to do it.

GasPanic · 14/01/2023 15:35

I am not anti car. Definitely anti SUV.

Carrying around a lot of excess metal for no real reason needs to be punished by heavy taxation.

Devoutspoken · 14/01/2023 16:04

Usernamealresdytaken - inactivity is the new smoking

ivykaty44 · 14/01/2023 16:06

I’m these parts unless you go by car you can’t practically get to any of the hospitals in the trust.

Even if you go by car though someone has to drop you off as there isn’t enough parking.

So driving a private car is going well then?

ivykaty44 · 14/01/2023 16:14

The food itself might not be transported by car, but the workers still need to get to work and last time I checked, you can't park an HGV on a residential street. They need to get to the big industrial estates and lorry parks somehow!

my mate cycles to the depot and takes his bike with him on his trips, then cycles bike from the depot when he returns to depot. In between he parks up and uses his bike to get about - as you say you can't park a HGV on a residential street with ease - and on his off duty with the HGV he can get to the local shops etc on his bike

KimberleyClark · 14/01/2023 16:14

I would never live somewhere with no public transport - that's a choice people have made

Exactly, plenty of people choose to live in rural areas with poor public transport for lifestyle reasons.

Devoutspoken · 14/01/2023 16:17

Whewillmylifebegin, at no point have I argued for a 'non car utopia for everyone' - but for ways to reduce car use for some - and when it comes to privilege, a bike is a lot cheaper to run than a car

ivykaty44 · 14/01/2023 16:17

Given the hatred shown towards cyclists

they never thank me when I cycle to the hospital for my regular routine appointments and leave them my parking space as my car is at home, strange they hate me for doing this.

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 14/01/2023 16:35

KimberleyClark · 14/01/2023 16:14

I would never live somewhere with no public transport - that's a choice people have made

Exactly, plenty of people choose to live in rural areas with poor public transport for lifestyle reasons.

And plenty of people can't actually afford to live elsewhere.

Our mortgage plus the cost of running two cars is much cheaper than paying the costs of rent/mortgage and public transport in the nearest city. Besides, even if we did move, we'd still have to run two cars as we both need them to run our businesses.

Yes, some people choose to live rurally for the lifestyle but for many it's also the cheaper option.

Bitbloweyoutthere · 14/01/2023 16:40

I would never live somewhere with no public transport - that's a choice people have made.

Roughly 50,000 people live in my immediate area. Hardly rural. We're about 10 miles from a city. Public transport is still shit. I wish people would stop assuming that its only rural places with crap links. It's more that cities have good links..... and nowhere else does.

usernamealreadytaken · 14/01/2023 17:56

GPTec1 · 14/01/2023 14:53

What you are doing is confusing your particular experience/situation/lifestyle and applying it to everyone.

Study after study shows that when car use drops and people walk, cycle, then fitness levels improve.

You know nothing about this man who cycles, just made assumptions.

The fact remains that in the UK, we have very expensive & poor public transport, that combined with higher levels of car use, poor diet, poor exercise habits = one the highest obesity rates in the world.

On MN we see real hatred toward cyclists & runners in parks and canal paths, in other words people who exercise!!! its pathetic, these are real people, husbands wives, sons daughters, nurses, doctors, engineers, carers, trades people etc etc yet posters here and RL call them scum, road lice, w@nkers... they are us!!!.

Given the hatred shown towards cyclists and runners, its no surprise people don't want to get out of their cars.

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But if we had fantastic public transport, people still wouldn’t be walking and cycling… so would you then say that public transport caused obesity?

Devoutspoken · 14/01/2023 17:58

Unless you have a bus stop outside your front door, then public transport gets u moving more than owning a car

usernamealreadytaken · 14/01/2023 18:02

Squamata · 14/01/2023 12:06

@usernamealreadytaken there's the direct impact of car ownership - some people will use it to drive to the gym or to the nearest mountain range for hiking, some will use it to take them 200m to the newsagent.

But indirectly lots of cars impact the whole community - whether having a walk or cycling is something you'd do because of traffic, how long it takes to get places. Even how towns are designed, with out of town shops or walkable high streets. Whether you bump into neighbours who are walking around, or don't see them because they go from house to car in 2 seconds. Some neighbourhoods become disadvantaged when they're near big roads.

Of course it's possible to have a car and not be obese, but cars probably overall have a negative impact on public health. There's air pollution and climate change to consider too.

People used to walk much longer distances and not think twice about it, it was probably shit sometimes in rain etc but cars have definitely reduced people's ok overall activity levels.

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Exactly, it’s personal choice. It’s entirely likely that those who are obese car owners would be obese non-car owners, because food is the issue and they can choose, like many of us do, to not use the car unless necessary and to be more active. I use my car to drive to work, and to go to the supermarket. I run approx 15-20 miles a week, and walk the dog once or twice a day - it’s a choice.

Teatime55 · 14/01/2023 18:03

I live in a large town. Public transport is woeful.

DH recently had a 8.15 appointment at a hospital in another town in the middle of a housing estate. No way we could have gotten there by public transport. And then gotten back for work.

im anti suv

lieselotte · 14/01/2023 18:04

LlynTegid · 14/01/2023 07:46

I don't demonise cars.

I do object though to SUVs driven by people and the impact of the environment, when what I would call a standard size car is perfectly adequate.

I object to travelling walkable distances and parking badly, and the impact it has on their health and the delays for whom there really is no easy alternatives.

I object to those (usually men) who drive aggressively, often in certain makes of car, to intimidate others (often women) on the road.

I object to those who want cyclists off the road, or tractors at the time they travel, because it inconveniences them for a minute or two.

I object to giving licences and not banning those who drink and drive, or who take illegal drugs. I want to see medical checks at reasonable intervals, as I think perhaps 10% of car drivers are sadly not fit to drive for health reasons.

I object to courts not taking motoring crimes seriously, and being allowed to accept bleeding heart excuses and not ban someone.

All of this, and particularly SUV drivers and drivers who park on pavements.

lieselotte · 14/01/2023 18:05

To be fair though, how many women drive for short journeys because they don't want to walk or cycle by themselves at night (or at all)? We could take more cars off the road if men stopped attacking women.

LolaSmiles · 14/01/2023 18:06

On MN we see real hatred toward cyclists & runners in parks and canal paths, in other words people who exercise!!! its pathetic, these are real people, husbands wives, sons daughters, nurses, doctors, engineers, carers, trades people etc etc yet posters here and RL call them scum, road lice, w@nkers... they are us!!!.
Agreed.
The cyclist logic is always an amusing argument:
Cyclists should not be on the roads because they slow important drivers down.
Cyclists definitely shouldn't cycle 2 side by side, which allows cars to do one safe overtake. They should string out so that impatient drivers can squeeze past without having to go on the other side of the road.

Cyclists should not be riding towards the middle of the lane because that forces cars to do a proper and safe overtake. They should be in the gutter with all the grit, leaving limited room to move if(when) an arse of a driver overtakes dangerously.

Cyclists should definitely be on cycle paths, even if the cycle paths aren't fit for purpose

Cyclists should not be on the cycle paths because being on the cycle paths because people need to walk across them/their DC want to play on them/they don't want to supervise their DC and keep them on the correct side/their dog likes to run all over the cycle path.

Cyclists using the cycle path should be going at snail pace because anything else is zooming around thinking they're in the tour de France.

Cyclists also should not wear lycra because some mumsnetters care when strangers wear exercise gear for their activity.

If a man is wearing lycra it's perfectly fine to cackle at his body and make nasty body-shaming comments about MAMILS, how disgusting their bodies are and how nobody wants to see that.

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 14/01/2023 18:07

usernamealreadytaken · 14/01/2023 17:56

But if we had fantastic public transport, people still wouldn’t be walking and cycling… so would you then say that public transport caused obesity?

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Exactly.

You can drive multiple times a day and be healthy.
You can also rely on public transport, walk everywhere and be unhealthy.

I use my car everyday and couldn't do my job without it. I'm also a dog walker and am on my feet and walking for 5-6 hours a day, everyday. My neighbour doesn't have a car, walks 20 minutes to work and then sits down for 7-8 hours and walks 20 minutes home again.

She's not automatically healthier than me because she doesn't drive and walks to work everyday.

lieselotte · 14/01/2023 18:07

I would never live somewhere with no public transport - that's a choice people have made

No, if I am looking at a house, there are several non-negotiable factors for me. One is off-street parking. One is a second loo. But the third is a town with a railway station. I am always surprised that elderly people move to towns without decent public transport (including my father, twice).