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.

I don't think we are selfish or stupid to drive a 4x4. It was in the price range we had for a second hand car; was already converted to LPG, and was great for the Brussels to Cornwall commute that my husband did for 2 years. It tows the glider, has loads of space for logs for the woodburner; is good offroad when retrieving the glider and suits our purposes. It is driven by a responsible and mature 47 year old, who has done courses on how to handle this type of car. It is suitable for our purposes, and as it is 10 years old, and we will keep it until it no longer functions, then I consider that we are less selfish than buying a new car every three years which adds to pollution with manufacturing processes.

"i find it so amusing that most of the posters who 4x4 defenders (not all) have confirmed my suspicions that they are either selfish or stupid."

Needmorecoffee (or needforcoffee? sorry) summed it up really well with

'I also get a vibe from this thread that society and other people don't matter. Its about about the individual and what they want and stuff society and what is better for everyone'

I find this attitude rife in society, it is so individualist these days. I think that is partly why there are so many probs in society with the me first attitude. What happened to community. We should be trying to minimise car use and have smaller and safer cars where possible and better public transport. It would be easier for me to get a car as I sometimes hate trapsing about in the rain but DH and me share. Nearly everyone else I know, though, have 2 cars per family and never walk anywhere. Yes people should have a say what they do with their money and their life but surely they should consider others too. Their kids and grandkids will be pedestrians at some point too.

But MrsXX - the difference is you don't have to drive your 1.4 car like a selfish twat - you choose to drive it in a twuntish manner. Therefore you're more of a twat then your dh. There will be plenty of people who also have cars with "wicked" accleration who drive them better and get better fuel economy. But people with 4x4s will not get as good a mpg as a small car no matetr how carefully they drive.

And no I wouldn't have said as old as 18, infact I'm wondering if you're old enough to drive

at someone having one for their dog!!!

It's amazing how people confuse 'want' with 'need'.

we recently bought a small mpv to fulfil the practicalities of having a family with 3 kids.

dh's ex commented as dropping off dss one weekend (please adopt superior attitude and tone upon reading)

'wee need a new car actually. but there's no waaaay we'll be buying an mpv or an estate. yeeeuck!' and then visably shuddered.

one week later she dropped dss off in a brand new, mahoosive Jeep Grand Cherokee (complete with bull bars and personalised reg)

To me, she sums up most urban 4x4 drivers. She's a show-off and a snob.

Even a 'responsible and mature' driver can hit someone if a toddler runs out into the road. My DH was run over as a child and broke both legs and arm. If a 4x4 hit him he probably would have been hit in the head and not be here. I think we should be trying to get cars off the road and if one must have one then they should consider (and be encouraged accordingly with taxes etc) the smallest and safest (to themselves and others) car. I have heard people with 4x4's say that one of the reasons they drive the car is that they feel their kids are safer even though it means someone elses kids may be at more danger!! Surely all our kids should be equally as safe to walk the street or to school!

does lapin still do the judgey judgey award?

I don't drive my car like a twat. I love motorway driving because i can use my exceleration but around down i drive at about 25mph. I often get tailgated for driving too slow I have my dd in the car for goodness sake so i am not going to put her life at risk am i. I drive so slow around town because you just don't know when a person might run out, a car could pull out from a side road suddenly etc. Too many risks to drive fast.

But thanks for not making an assumption based on the fact i said my car can get up to 35mph in first gear.

scary - OP states that i think that they are acceptable in the country - and you don't sound like an innercity warrior.

Were you talking to me??

xx - who??

You didn't say your car can go up to 30mph in 1st, you said YOU drive your car at 35mph in 1st. I stand by my opinion.

Yes, I agree that if a toddler runs out into the road, it may be hit...but it may be equally hit by a Prius or a Saab or a Ford or whatever was coming along at that moment...the school bus, or a lorry for example, so don't demonise 4x4 drivers for that please. Why is the emotive and hypothetical toddler being allowed to run into the road anyway?

It is not practical to take cars off the road I'm afraid, however much you'd like to. I would not have been able to get my son to school, then on to my school, and do the reverse trip in the evening without a car, as where I used to live in Cornwall there is one bus a day, and it goes in the wrong direction, and at the wrong time. Until there is massive investment and improvement in the public transport system, and it is all joined up, which will NOT happen in rural areas hence the 4x4s for families like mine; people will need cars.

I don't agree that the smallest car equates with the safest either. Surely the point is that cars are inanimate objects until you stick a human behind the steering wheel. We need to do refresher driving courses, rather than keeping our licences until we are 70, and then getting signed off by the GP as still fit to drive.

The problem with your tax solution is that those who drive cars with bigger engines already do pay with the fuel they purchase. Also, whilst one can afford the yearly tax and the cost of keeping the car running, it may not be feasible to stump up for a brand new car, which is what you appear to be advocating. You cannot take away freedom of choice from people, or dictate how they spend their money. We now live in Brussels where the higher the horsepower of your engine, the more you pay. However, it is not enough of a financial disincentive to get rid of the Range Rover, as my husband uses it for his very eco-friendly and carbon neutral gliding hobby. I would also add that the state of some of the smaller cars I have seen on the road here would involve them being taken off the road in the UK, whilst the bigger cars seem to be better maintained.

oh yeah that pesky emotive and hypothetical toddler again...certainly not the drivers fault if he was hit and killed eh? we've had that one already thanks.

Only the people who drive 4x4's in built up areas will disagree with this, everybody else know they are a pita.

My mother lives on a road with a 40mph speed limit. When i visit i park on the road side. When i leave i look in my mirror to make sure it's clear to pull off and do so. I have reached 35mph in 1st gear but i don't always. I usually change gear at about 15mph.

Yet another assumption that i meant on a 30mph bit of road.

oh a 40mph speed limit... that's ok then! phew!

i refer you to quadrophenia's posts, scaryteacher. she's the one working in ICU, she sees every day that the injuries caused by 4x4s are worse. but go on, call her an idiot for noticing and caring...

I quite often have to excelorate hard to join a motorway/duel carrageway.

Your driving along the on slip wanting to join the carraigeway but selfish drivers won't pull over into the empty outer lane meaning you have to slow right down. So when there is room you have to excelorate hard to pick up speed again quickly to keep in flow with the speed of the motorway/duel carraigeway. If you don't, you get a wave of people having to brake which causes accidents. All because there are people too selfish to switch lanes and have it in their heads that joining a carraigeway is the same as pulling out of a side road and that your somehow trying to push in

ROFL, what are you on about, mrsxx?

i do find the carbon neutral gliding quite amusing

towed by a muckle great car, of course...

I was rambling then wasn't i.