To welcome Cardiff Council's proposed higher parking charges for larger/heavier cars

[LlynTegid]

Cardiff council are planning to have higher parking charges for larger/heavier vehicles (so including most SUVs). I welcome this, wish it was the case everywhere, though a second best option to the separate driving test I would prefer.

AIBU to welcome this?

I voted YABU because that would also include electric cars, which are very heavy. What actually do they want? (And don't say everyone on public transport because that's not actually possible for everyone and it would collapse if everyone started to take it)

The devil will be in the detail, won't it?

That's total rubbish. A modern fiesta is only 5cm wider and 12cm longer than a 20 year old one.

Not according to a quick Google:

New SUVs vs. old cars:
A new SUV is likely to be more polluting than an older small car unless it is an electric vehicle. A study found that some new SUVs are more polluting than a conventional engine car bought in 2013

Consultation open till 1 December.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c04gpp4w0rdo

To be fair, you can say exactly the same thing about the people. But there's no fat jab for cars, is there? Even the Classic Mini was genuinely Mini. Now they're huge, because they're not Mini anymore. I think the brand is German now.

Great idea. I am sick of these giant cars everywhere and I am sure some of these owners live very rurally and have more need of one but I don't live rurally and there are loads of them here. It actually frightens me a bit standing next to something like a Ford Ranger. I'm 5'6 and a size 20 and I look tiny next to one. I can't even bear thinking about one hitting a child.

Plus although there are bad drivers in all sizes of cars I do find SUV owners are quite quick to bully those in smaller cars.

Many electric vehicles are suv and quite heavy due to the battery and are not very polluting

"....quite quick to bully those in smaller cars."

Well, the might is right. Smaller cars are agile and nippy, but go toe-to-toe with, say, a bus, and you're in for a bad time. The small car never wins.

Won’t be going to Cardiff in a hurry then! Millions of families have these vehicles. Let’s make Cardiff a no go area for the better off. What a disastrous idea.

Socialism for you. I don't think Wales has ever not had anything other than Labour. They've always been red.

@YorkshireGoldDrinker We are not intending to go there but most retailers won’t like this - or restaurant owners. After all, who spends more what them?

Why do you agree op? On what basis?

I’ve no issue paying more for a bigger car, I do anyway with petrol costs etc. My priority is safety of myself and my family if some idiot lorry/bus crashes into me we have a higher chance of survival and reduced injuries. My larger car affords us that. I’d never dream of driving a small car on motorways.

Car parks cost money.

Ticket machines are pretty expensive and can be vandalised. The land costs money, the money used to buy it could be invested elsewhere for a return.

If cars are 10% bigger then you can fit 10% fewer cars on the land.

So yes big cars should be charged more.

A big car wouldn't win against a bus either.

Only another bus, the same size as the other bus.

I'm delighted to see this and wish all car parks charged more for them. I'm sick of these giant cars everywhere. Of course if you need a big one, you need it but they have become ubiquitous and now a normal thing to buy for people who would be perfectly fine in a normal sized car.

Well, on the heaviness front that’s all those that have an electric vehicle also targeted. What do ‘they’ actually want?
My cars a massive diesel so fair enough, I’m not too bothered for myself.

My car is 11 years old. It has never failed its MOT and is still £30 road tax. It’s probably less polluting than some newer cars on the road.

Because as the car ages, it becomes less of a liability as newer cars with newer and more technology get on the road. My car is nearly 5 years old and has a collision avoidance system. It has never avoided collisions but has nearly caused them as it thinks potholes in the road are solid objects. So I'm avoiding the pothole safely and the car panics, takes the steering off me, puts the brakes on and then tries to take me into the oncoming lane.

Not all disabled people who need bigger cars have a wheelchair adapted vehicle. My daughter’s walking frame and wheelchair only fit in the boot of SUV type vehicles.

But, most places have exemptions for blue badge holders for any restrictions.

OP where in Wales do you live? I live in Brecon and frequently visit Cardiff. Due to the landscape and area where I live I drive a Landrover. However it is not accessible for me to travel to the capital city by public transport so when I do visit the hospital, work and other places I need to drive my land rover.

The politics of envy are actually winning here.
Very unattractive.

Most people would be embarrassed to demonstrate so vividly that they have no idea what socialism is other than Daily Mail-esque inanities.

When I saw 'inappropriately sized-cars', it reminded me of 'inappropriate amount of wealth'.

"Your car is bigger than mine."
"You have more money than me."

It's just dressed up like an environmental concern.