Car crash at Wimbledon school.

[DataNotLore]

Can everyone stop driving these fucking stupid ego-tanks in urban areas now?

Who needs a fucking wank panzer in Wimbledon???

Ban them in urban areas.

I am 6 foot tall and the bonnet of Defender would hit the top of my hip. That would put me on the ground. A child would have no chance, I think

Merrily pottering along on my bike once and a bloke in a fiesta ran into the back of me, he said, doing about 35mph.

Because I ended up on the bonnet I somehow escaped almost completely unharmed (bruised coccyx from when I fell off the bonnet) but if that had been a high fronted vehicle I don't imagine my outcome would have been as fortunate. I'd have either been seriously injured by the impact itself and/or I'd have been catapulted onto the busy roundabout.

The people who buy these for safety are making a willing choice to endanger the lives of other road users. They are also making vehicles into an arms race. When everyone is in a vehicle that is as dangerous as yours, what are you getting next?

The denial of physics and constant accusations of knee jerk reactions are ridiculous. There is nothing knee jerk about doing something that worsens outcomes for people every day, this event is just what has brought an ongoing conversation to the fore.

Fine some people need them, but prove that need and get that category or exemption added to your license.

The implementation of this would not be difficult, we have all the tools to do it already. Licenses, ULEZ zones, vehicle registration already covered it all. 5k a day fine for anyone breaking the restrictions

The people who buy these for safety are making a willing choice to endanger the lives of other road users. They are also making vehicles into an arms race
@OneTC
SO TRUE
I have long thought that there is an arms race going on when it comes to vehicles, they are all getting bigger and bigger I gave up cycling on the road and the long while back the massive vehicles crowd out everything, everywhere trying to navigate around each other I can barely see over them to cross the road these days. And the roads are getting pulverised full of potholes which makes everyone think they need a bigger vehicle to cope with the smashed up roads.
I wonder if we will end up in a situation where no one is allowed a vehicle over a certain size and weight, and you can't have more than a certain number of vehicles per person, because otherwise there will be no room for anyone to get on the roads 🤷

5k a day fine for anyone breaking the restrictions
Forcing them to walk 5K a day might be a better deterrent 🤣

Yeah I really don't see the point of the huge SUVs in urban areas ('wank panzer' is excellent and I shall be adopting it into my vocabulary).

Especially the ones with cattle bars on the front.

Interesting that you seem to have touched a nerve in this thread. Mumsnet is quick to call for a ban on all dogs when someone gets gored, even though it's a rare occurence and dogs bring so much joy and assistance to many. But no one needs a wank panzer in urban areas. Status symbol only.

They shouldn't be banned outright but they should be subject to higher charges when driving in urban areas, along the model of London congestion charge. And banned during certain times of day, like lorries.

They shouldn't be banned outright but they should be subject to higher charges when driving in urban areas, along the model of London congestion charge. And banned during certain times of day, like lorries
@potniatheron
It's not that I disagree with you, but one problem with higher charges is that the SUV then becomes a way to advertise your wealth and status, driving one becomes a way to show everyone that these higher charges are of no consequence to someone as rich as you.
I like the idea of restricting their usage but governments seem very hesitant to place restrictions on the wealthy and Powerful (presumably because they are wealthy and Powerful and do not wish to be restricted in any way)

@OneTC

Glad to hear you were ok. Obviously all accidents are different but TV presenter Dan Walker was hit by an SUV at a lower speed and he was lucky to survive. The dash cam video was horrific.

I made a similar point upthread. It most definitely is an arms race as you need an ever larger vehicle to see over the one in front. My other car is a 2 seater roadster, which I've owned for aeons and I've noticed a definite change over the years. I have to drive with my wits about me more as I am often missed by SUV's looking to change lanes. They either can't see me below their doorline or their blind spot monitors don't scan that far below. Either way I have to make sure never to be alongside but ahead or in their nearside mirror.

We should really adopt the Japanese law for Kei cars as they reduce congestion too.

🤣🤣 brilliant!

Non-commercial vehicles should have a maximum bonnet height such that a four foot person would not be pulled underneath the vehicle in the event of a collision.

I get the arguments but is there really an epidemic of SUVs killing people in vastly greater numbers than other cars, or is this a theoretical argument? If the former then fair enough.

As a truck driver in urban areas I'm on the road all day and the biggest danger to me is those in fast cars hurtling around. Fiesta STs seem to be the prime offender. Only the other day some young lad overtook another car whilst going downhill in a 30mph zone and only just swerved back in in time - he was so close I lost sight of him below the cab in the final moment. He would've 100% been dead had we collided as I was running at 32t gross weight.

Apparently there's talk of restricting all cars to 70mph. It's not a 'fun' option as it prevents people from going over and using the autobahn but for domestic driving it would prevent the habitual speeder which is a fairly large % of drivers.

I get the arguments but is there really an epidemic of SUVs killing people in vastly greater numbers than other cars, or is this a theoretical argument?

If you look at statistics for pedestrians, deaths and incidents of pedestrians have fallen over 48% in the last 12 years and continue to fall. In correlation to this SUV`s are now becoming one of the most popular vehicles.

So statistics show pedestrian deaths falling, and SUV ownership rising. 🤔

All newer cars especially larger ones are getting more advanced collision detection and avoidance built in, so you could say that older cars are more dangerous to pedestrians than newer ones with technology. But that wont fit the narrative will it.

I fully agree op! I live in a very rural area and the school is a small village school, I see ridiculously large estate cars reversing and one actually nearly hit me and my children the other day! Woman explained “oh sorry I didn’t see you there”.. there’s been an increase in accidents in our area which are involving these massive estate cars.

my mum has a smaller car and she also lives in a small town and the amount of times one has nearly reversed/gone into her car is unreal.. totally not necessary for them to be on the roads at all in rural areas unless as others have posted they are a farmer and genuinely need that type of vehicle.

The problem of people using it as a method to flaunt their wealth could be reduced significantly by making the tax/charge punitive and based on the individual's wealth or, better, by making an assumption about the person's wealth.

For instance you could have to buy a special licence to own or use a large vehicle, the cost of which is £50,000 per year or 20% of your income or 20% of the value of your assets (including fixed assets like property), whichever is higher. Anyone falsifying information would be jailed for 10 years. Only the owner would be allowed to drive the car, therefore you couldn't have a situation where someone buys it for someone else to limit the cost.

An SUV-lite licence could be available for people who genuinely need one, like greenlaners or farmers, but the terms of this licence could prohibit you from using the vehicle in built-up areas.

If you buy a "lite" licence your SUV would have to be a specific vivid colour like hot pink with yellow wheels. If you buy a full licence it has to be lime green with postbox red wheels

If SUV ownership really is rising that's scary. We need to do something about it,

Hilarious.

@Dotjones that'll be great for you know, people who sell and service the cars and collect them who need to drive them

Just because I drive a LR occasionally, I'm still on min wage!

This is a really strange post. Reads like a wish list of punishments! If the government were to ban SUVs where unnecessary - and I’d hope they’d do it on the basis of solid research proving that they cause unacceptable levels of harm - there are ways of doing it that don’t involve jailing people for ten years and hot pink cars.

Well, I probably wouldn’t ask them to help me tow a cow out of a ditch. I’m sure they’re grateful when I move fallen trees off the road, though.

That's an American SUV unavailable here. US SUVs are absolutely huge, our largest are their smallest. Skoka Kodiaq (pictured) is one of the largest SUVs available in the UK.

We have cars bigger than the Kodiaq. The Audi Q8 is one and a Range Rover another for starters.

That photo is angled downwards but you can see quite clearly that your youngest would be hit square in the chest/face if you drove into him. Your eldest doesn't look like they'd fare much better either to be honest.

Some mental gymnastics there.

Found a site and have some pics you might find interesting. Not much of a difference between the Audi Q8 and Skoda Kodiaq but the Landrover Defender 110 size is noticeable.

@SamanthaCaine That's not me and my family btw! Taken from a blog. I don't have an SUV either. I'm just interested because it's hard to find photos of kids standing near them. I'm curious. They seem to slope, with the exception of the Landrover Defender 110.

Horrendous!! An adult woman is swallowed up next to this ugly tank let alone a child.