To think the law needs to change on 4x4s and Supersized SUVs in Cities.

[JustMint]

Unsure how, but today's news is just horrifying, these vehicles really need to be reduced in numbers in residential areas in my opinion. They are significantly heavier than smaller cars (I know that's stating the obvious) but who really needs a 4X4 in a city?

A rare rational post on this thread.

Incidentally, I saw this morning that you can't insure a Range Rover in London now because they are the easiest car to steal and obviously high on the list of cars people want to steal so that's half of the problem solved.

@C8H10N4O2

Or we could all wait and see the accident reports for the details of the actual cause before jumping to unworkable solutions.

Don't be silly, if we did that we would know what actually happened and there would be a danger that the investigation might actually come up with some unwelcome conclusions...(e.g. size/weight of vehicle not a significant factor in severity the accident, some safety features on the vehicle saved further loss of life..).

Don’t be so pedantic - nobody is going to be angry at someone with disabilities driving an accessible car. I think the majority of us know we’re talking about people who drive them unnecessarily.

@MammaTo not quite true. Everyone is mad at this lady driver, enough to start and continue a thread, but has no idea if she has this 4x4 for medical reasons.

@MammaTo nobody is going to be angry at someone with disabilities driving an accessible car.

See @Alyso 's posts! You will see that they very much are

That would please me no end! I drive a "20yo banger" and my MIL lives just inside the Greater London boundary.

Soon, it will cost me £12.50 to go and see her, and she only has one other family member who lives within a couple of hours drive. When she had pneumonia and pleurisy the other winter, SIL, DNiece and I took in turns to got and stay a couple of days at a time while she was recovering. It would have cost me a fortune if ULEZ had been in force then.

These threads always go the same way and surprise surprise, on page 1 there is already someone popping up saying 'what about farmers who need to drive into the city sometimes!!'. Other items on the bingo card are: 'lucky you don't have a disability OP', 'i hope you don't fly/eat meat/use plastic/breathe because that would make you a hypocrite', 'Im not giving up my car because China', 'why are you worried about when I'm doing when it doesn't affect you' (🤔) etc etc ad infinitum. Yes of course, in the vast majority of cases it's selfish to drive AND PARK an SUV in a city and even if OP doesn't have the answers there are certainly many very well studied people who do, in fact they've been shouting the answers for years. It's not only about the collision force or the pollution, it's that there is simply not enough room for everyone to demand that amount of public space just for themselves and it decreases everyone's quality of life. Incidentally I hope none of the SUV owners have ever complained about urban overcrowding because that would certainly be hypocrisy at its peak.

@Mumtothreegirlies why on earth are you dragging vegans into this?!

A family member used to drive a Ford Ranger, which she really needed for the school run in her Surrey commuter belt town, practically the only driving she did.

Their other car was a Highlander.

And it depends on where in London you're going. I wouldn't dream of trying to take my car into central London, or anywhere accessible by tube.

Using public transport for my regular journey to MIL's by public transport would involve:

bus or taxi to my nearest station
train to her nearest station
tram/bus or two buses to her house

The train alone takes an hour, minimum. My local buses are only 2 an hour, never dovetail with train times, don't run at all for 2 hours in the afternoon (they're used as a school bus then), stop around 6pm and don't run at all on Sundays. No idea about the buses at her end, but it's a good 20 minute drive to the station by car, so a minimum of half an hour. I think I'd be lucky to do the journey in under 2.5 hours by public transport.

It's a 37 mile trip and takes about an hour cross-country.

Notably, though, the huge Landrovers aren't available on motability.

I can't get into lower driving positions either any more, but I don't drive a defender.

I think we need to reconsider "SUV" as a designation, really.

There are even mini-SUVs now. All vehicles have become chunkier. That doesn't put them in the same category as the enormous cars so prevalent in SW London.

@Alyso Reported for your abusive wall of text

I think it was the "nobody needs a private car" posts that tipped it towards a disability discussion.

And the number of disabled drivers on the roads is huge. The Motability leased fleet alone is enormous.

@JeandeServiette I think your point about the difference between Land Rovers and regular SUVS (& the definition of SUVs) is a fair one. They do need redefining.

If she lives just inside the boundary, you could park just outside the boundary and walk the rest of the way.

So there are equally suitable cars that don't present the level of danger to pedestrians but you don't want to use one cos you think they look shite?

Welcome to the mentality of every other SUV owner

Are you saying that SUVs are not more dangerous? Despite all the evidence posted in this thread?

This accident was tragic, and it's what's set off a conversation about something that increases negative outcomes on a daily basis. 5 people a day die on the roads. Any nibbling away at those figures means even a tiny percentage of people not dead adds up to a significant number of people not dead

you can afford to run a car, I presume you can afford a tenner to visit mil

Some of the comments on here are the height of ignorance. If this was down to mechanical failure or a medical incident, the driver is not entirely to blame. If it was because of drink/drugs or mobile phone use, throw the book at her and make an example of her. RIP dear little Selena.

I think we all need to look at what we are driving and the impact on the environment. These huge 4x4s are just a fashion accessory for most people. We had a Range Rover sport when we were in the country but then realised we were as bad as the ones we moan about 😂 so we are electric with our mini and Tesla.

...and where would MN be then???

But its also quite obv that a Landrover Defender weighing in at 2600kg is going to do a lot more more damage than a Citroen C1 at 800kg.

Chances are that the wooden fence would have stopped the C1.

I doubt very much the in built safety features of the defender stopped any more children being killed, do you?