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?

Bearing in mind the driver of the bin lorry had a history of blacking out behind the wheel going back to the 1970s, had lied about it on his heavy vehicle licence renewal and on having his licence withdrawn on medical grounds promptly got caught driving anyway, that’s not a ‘ban bin lorries’ issue, it’s a ‘catch selfish twats who don’t care who they endanger’ issue.

I agree OP. Of course there will be exceptions but most people who drive in London are not farmers.

Large range rovers, and other ‘flash’ large SUVs motors don’t really serve any purpose other than a status symbol. At least a Lamborghini is safer in terms of bonnet height.

If you need a huge car for a trip, just hire one.

That is a US study. Not denying that it highlights similar issues but the sizes and volumes of vehicles, traffic laws etc are very different in the USA. Indeed, as one of the answers it proposes, the article suggests the USA should adopt European pedestrian safety tests and standards, which they don't currently have -
At the risk of getting a little political, one way to address the problem would be through regulation. For example, European vehicle safety regulations include provisions for pedestrian safety; American safety regulations do not.

Aren't most EVs 4 by 4 ?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022437522000810

What on earth does
We need a crash dummy scenario
Mean?

I, for example, cannot go out and buy a lorry. Or a tank. Or a tractor. I cannot buy a bus and park it on the street outside.

That really depends on when you passed your test - I, for example, can go out & buy a 7.5t lorry, a 16 seater mini bus or a tractor & legally drive them & park them on the street outside my house, all of which are bigger than my SUV.

No

Let's face it though... who has more power over government policy... road safety campaigners or multinational companies like Jaguar/Range rover? There won't be bans due to money.

Posters were asking for proof that the size of the vehicle makes a difference. That study (along with common sense) makes it very clear.

Just because we have better European traffic regulations does that mean we just ignore this obvious size of vehicle issue?

Yes we need Tesco delivery vans. Does every family on my North London road need an SUV? Absolutely not. One does preclude the other.

I also blame car manufacturers. Not many are producing traditional estate style cars that would be able to tow / have decent boot space, as they know they can sell these SUVs for more money. Pure greed and selfishness.

It wasn’t the size of the car that was the issue in today’s incident. It was the standard of driving.

Yes of course they need to be banned - I’m so fucking sick of all the excuses for people who “need” them. Very few people actually need them, they’re just wanky status symbols for pricks and driven terribly because people feel “safe” in them. Fuck the rest of us in our small cars who have to feel perpetually intimidated by them.

I fucking hate them.

Just tax them off the roads.

Make the roads better, do good for the environment and raise cash at the same time.

People who want to drive them can pay the stupidity tax.

Absolutely! I’ve thought this for years. I live in Liverpool and there’s absolutely no need for people to have massive 4x4’s parked out their little 3 bed semi detached on a tight, busy road. When driving around a busy city centre like here or Manchester they make life so much more difficult.

I don't think this is true. I'm sure I've read the driver suffered a seizure of some sort?

@GasPanic I totally agree with you although I’m utterly gobsmacked by the number of people where I live who can afford one. They’re starting price is about £70k!!!

This appears to be the real motive for a lot of the comments on this and similar threads, it is at least honest.

IF a child has tragically lost their life because some clueless idiot posh yummy mummy lost control of a large SUV which was too big & powerful for her to handle safely in an urban area, that should be a tipping point.

It would be very difficult to ban such vehicles, but imposing escalating taxes on such vehicles which apply to owners who cannot demonstrate a clear need for them would be highly effective. For example, annual road tax of £10k for a Range Rover or similar registered to an address inside the M25. The assumption being that nobody who lives in that region could possibly need a large SUV.

@Doris86 dont be ridiculous - there’s no way I could have done that much damage in my tiny car 🙄. It was absolutely related to the ridiculous size of car.

@Fightyouforthatpie you are hilarious. You missed the bit about making drivers who choose to drive an SUV of a certain height and weight, pass an advanced driving test to gain the license. Just as with HGV vehicles. Prove you have the skills... no ptoblem.
As I repeat... I Guarantee 90% of current drivers will fail. Problem solved.

@Fightyouforthatpie yep im totally honest about how much I hate them. They’re dangerous and intimidating. They take up vast amount of space on roads and in car parks and they’re often driven very very badly by people who can barely see over the steering wheel.

I would personally welcome this, it's the first actual sensible proposal I've seen, but I feel it would be extremely unlikely to gain approval (maybe I'm wrong) or if it did, to significantly reduce the numbers of large SUV type cars inside the M25 - but at least the tax could be used for trains and buses.

Totally agree with this. Larger families, people such as us who have big dogs or those who do hobbies that require a lot of equipment need bigger cars. They don't need to be massive SUVs, but there isn't a lot of choice these days.

The message about how unsafe large SUV and pick ups are for other cars, cyclists and pedestrians needs a much stronger message. This thread alone demonstrates how people don't realise how bad they are.

The safety of big SUVs gets pushed, as it's safer for the passengers inside, but it is so so much worse for the people on the receiving end of the impact.

It's like an arms race, people feel vulnerable in their small cars when so many other have heavy SUVs and Pick ups, so they end up in a bigger car to feel safer. And so on.

No one has an issue with farmers etc using big 4 x 4s who need it for conditions, but they are everywhere on urban roads and unecessary.

We need to change how they are taxed going forward, it shouldn't be based on emissions alone, but also on footprint of building/running costs etc. Heavier cars equal more damage to the roads too.

Not sure what supermarket delivery vans have to do with it. They are appropriately sized for the job they do and their efficient use can keep many more vehicles off the road.

Seems to me like people will tangle themselves up in whataboutery to justify selfish choices.