to think that 4x4 drivers are the most selfish w@*&(*&s ever???

[redrobin]

It makes my blood boil! They drive their big childcrushers whilst on the phone, they tailgate other smaller cars, they use enormous amounts of petrol, they block up roads, they look threatening...how can people choose to drive something like that? Do they have ha a selfish gene, do they think they are just better than other people so rules don't apply to them, or are they just thick?

(NOTE this is only about town drivers, i appreciate that they are useful in the countryside).

Sometimes, I think Jeremy Clarkson is winning.

Now now ladies, no need to get all sarcastic, it does your argument that not all 4x4 drivers are wankers no favours whatsoever!

We all like to think that we are careful drivers, I mean no-one is going to say that they are crap are they? But children do get run over every day, I'm sure most of the time the car drivers are not deliberately aiming for them! Crashes will also happen and most people have around two car crashes in their lifetime.

Motorbike drivers and cyclists are the most vulnerable. Yes some of them are idiots, but they don't deserve to be killed for it.

You don't have to be a scientist to work out what will happen if you plough into a car, child or cyclist in a 4x4 compared to hitting one of them in a normal car.

There are reasons why 4x4s are hated and that is just one of them. Yes there is also the environmental issue obviously.

But the posters on this thread really do affirm the dog eat dog world theory.

I think I am going to take the same approach when discussing 4 x 4's as I do when talking to the Health Visitor...

Nod and smile, nod and smile

I work in an acquired brain injury unit, and I will judge people who drive 4x4's. When you buy a car like this yes it is a choice you make, and yes you have evry right to do so under current British law, but God forbid if you should have an accident and you injure someone, and your choice of car determines the extent of this injury. This is a very real problem, the more people that arm themselves with a bigger car to feel safer, the bigger the extent of the problem. I will judge those with the 'i'm alright jack' attitude because I have seen first hand the very real effects of someone hit by a 4x4.

I think I shall do the same muppetgirl!

No-one care to reply to Quad?

quadrophenia.

One of my friends in the US ran over her toddler in her 4x4. The blind spot is huge and she reveresed and didn't see her. In a normal car she would have done. Its a weekly occurance in the US.

She should have checked behind the car like I always do (even though I don't own a 4x4).

I can see where the OP is coming from. I do agree that I'm sure there are also non-4x4 drivers who drive just as bad, tailgating, etc. However the difference is that I don't feel as intimidated by such cars. When I'm in my little Yaris and some tosser 4x4 is up my arse it feels like I'm gonna be squished by a tank. Plus when they park next to you in a carpark you then can't see when you reverse out your parking space. Plus they can't see children walking behind them when they reverse, or short people for that matter. Plus if as a pedestrian you are hit by one you are far more likely to die. Though interestingly if a 4x4 is in a car crash they are more likely to flip so maybe they're not as safe for passengers as their owners like to think.

I know some "yummy mummies" who drive them and they do no more off roading than I do. Doing the school run, Waitrose and having their hair done is the extent of it.

And I can get 4 car seats in my Yaris.

oh god, musicgirl.

how terrible for your friend, nmc.

I am sure quad is right but as I repeatedly keep posting there are people carriers that are the same height/width as some 4x4 (in some cases bigger)

This argument will go on forever but boils down to, no matter what the rising cost or potential damage to pedestrain/environemnt there are always going to be people that choose to drive a 4x4 in our cities.

By choosing to drive a car instead of using public transport/bikes/walking surely we are all gulty of contributing to climate change and raising the risks to pedestrians/cyclists.
If people really searched there souls there are probably few of us that REALLY need a car rathre than just having one for convienece.
(runs for cover)

quite right Pedilla. Very few of us avtually need a car, especailly living in the city but we're used to the convenience. I've only had the bastard car 2 weeks and I've already driven it to the hozzie twice instead of pushing dd's wheelchair the 2 miles like i've done for 4 years. I have become pathetic solely because its sat outside. If it wasn't there, I would grumble but walk.

musicgirl - you are quite unpleasant.

Music girl re "Stay off the road if the big broom brooms scare you" Do you mean it to pedestrians, cyclists or drivers or all 3 ? because I am all three (although not at the same time) and the badly driven big broom brooms do scare the shit out of me when they fail to stop at red lights, pedestrian crossings, overtake on the inside etc.

So not really LOL.

I don't feel intimidated by them at all and I drive a modest hatchback car.

I did object to a parent at pre-school gesticulating at me through her windscreen that I had pulled up in front of her and could I get back in my car and move back to let her out. She had more than enough room behind her very large shiny clean 4x4 to reverse and then pull out easily and this is what she did after I ignored her mimed request and took my child inside.

Did she seriously think I was going to unlock the car strap ds back into his car seat and get back in to reverse a metre instead of her using her mirrors and reversing her 4 x4.

Needless to say we are not on friendly "good morning" terms like I am with other parents.

music girl...you are really horrible.

Im certainly not defending the "im alright jack" attitude of SOME drivers - I just get a bit put out that 4x4 drivers are given the same "personality" ie: selfish, thick etc

This is down to the DRIVER not the car but as previously stated I have recently experienced how intimidating larger cars can be and am considering changing my car with that being one of the reasons why.

I must say though, I can see that a people carrier or similar can cause as much damage as the smaller 4x4's but it the sterotyping and vitriol from people about 4x4's that surprises me TBH.........

Needmorecoffee - for what? Pointing out the obvious. The first thing my parents always did was check behind the car before reversing. The first thing my driving instructor told me to do before getting in the car was walk around it before getting in it to check for kids, pets etc.

That kid got run over because her mother was careless not because of the car she drove.

smug emotion - we have just downgraded to one car and got rid of the Big BMW estate. DH needs car for work sometimes, it will make life a little less convienent as I won't be able to go the gym on a whim and playdates will be a bit less easy.

But I love having a small car, parking is a doddle, we are nippy, fast and I am in control. I really can't believe that all these 4x4 mums are in control of their tanks. In a previous life I testdrove a landrover and it scared me s**less.

shame on you, musicgirl.

Just watched that videio and I can't believe the selfishness of people who have posted saying they think its an advert FOR 4x4s. What a horrible, warped attitude to have towards other people.

I see it as an advert for banning 4x4s (apart from for farmers, etc). Anyway 4x4 drivers will soon have to pay stupid amounts of road tax and congestion charges which hopefully will reduce the number of silly people driving them.

And I have every right to be "bothered" about what other people drive when their choices have the potential to affect me so severely.

The kid got run over because the parent didn't have sufficient experience/skill in driving the vehicle.

Perhaps it should be obligatory to be specifically licensed to drive a 4x4 and that part of the licence revoked in cases such as running over your own toddler.

cleaninglady, being thick or selfish doesn't give you the same personality as someone, but if you make a choice which reflects a certain attitude then you will be judged for it.
Thick - because you didn't even know the implications when buying the car.
Selfish - because you knew the possible implications and did it anyway.

Stripey- the level of road tax is based on engine size not whether or not it is a 4x4!!

So many car drivers will be paying the same if not more than 4x4 drivers!

and mosst, not all, but most, fall into either one of these categories.

Ok Musicgirl - so you walk around the back of your 4x4 before reversing out a parking space. You then get into your 4x4 and start it up and reverse - there was noone there when you looked but by the time you've got back in there is a child there. Perfectly possible. You can't see then as the rear window of your 4x4 is higher than the top of the kid's head. Wheras if you'd been in a normal car you'd be able to see them while you are in the car which surely is what you are meant to be able to do when driving!!!!!!!!!!!!!