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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

4x4s and other similar vehicles....

133 replies

AliGrylls · 02/04/2010 18:24

I live outside central London in a nice area that I love. However, there is one thing that is starting to annoy me and that is the number of 4x4s and other similar vehicles that are huge, impractical and block the roads.

Am I being unreasonable for wanting them banned. I know this is extreme but they really do drive me mad - the roads where I live are narrow and not meant for cars (i mean trucks) this size.

Apart from the above I could argue about the amount of petrol they use, which considering the ever depleting worlds resources makes me wonder why anyone would actually choose to have one.

OP posts:
elvislives · 02/04/2010 18:51

(and DH swapped the truck for a Nissan Note.. can't get much smaller )

ImSoNotTelling · 02/04/2010 18:53

I suspect how you feel about this depends on

  1. Where you live
  2. Whether you own one
  3. Whether you aspire to owning one

And that's probably the long and short of it.

VengefulKitty · 02/04/2010 18:54

LisaD et al.

I said they are comparable in size.

I have said nothing about emissions and safety.

OP says "the number of 4x4s and other similar vehicles that are huge, impractical and block the roads."

Last para mentions petrol as an afterthought but I chose not to say anything about it.

Don't bother stressing at me. I said nothing bad about ANY CAR at all.

Original poster
AliGrylls · 02/04/2010 18:55

Cazinski, I am not sure your argument has much intellectual rigour! I might love going 120mph but would you support my right to do so?

As for the tired safety argument, are those who make it really OK about being a lethal menace to those other parents who choose to drive lighter and smaller cars...and to any children in the road. The energy conveyed by a car in a collision (with another car or pedestrian) is directly proportional to the mass of the vehicle. So, 30mph in your average Cayenne is equivalent in to around 43mph in a normal saloon. I am alright Jack is an argument few would make on their own behalves but most are happy to make on behalf of their DCs.

OP posts:
Miggsie · 02/04/2010 18:55

Round here roads are so narrow that the 4x4 generally park on the pavements. Nice if you have a pram as you have to walk out in the road.

The council then did a blitz on people parking on pavements as they ended up spending a fortune on repairing the pavements. I get pissed off that my council tax is wasted repairing pavements because people buy cars that are too wide for the roads they live on.

I also don't like the fact that if a 4x4 or similar reverses the back end is SO HIGH that the driver could not see my small daughter. How many times have me and my mate leapt out of the way of someone reversing who can't see our kids? That's the main problem with them, they are dangerous for pedestrians and small children.

One BMW thing that fetches up at school gate near us is so high that my DD's head is barely at the top of the front bumper. Just a touch from that thing would probably crush her skull. I doubt the driver would either see her or feel the bump either. I think they are scary.

VengefulKitty · 02/04/2010 19:00

AliGrylls - you saying that about safety... I actually remember a car prog (wasn't Top Gear, could have been 5th Gear but can't remember. It was a few years after the Smart Car came on the market (but before the 4 seater).

The tiny 2 seater Smart Car was at that time and according to their 70mph head on collision tests the safest for the driver and passenger than any other car on the market.

I remember it well as I was shocked at the result tbh.

ImSoNotTelling · 02/04/2010 19:02

I find them scary too miggsie. they are very intimidating vehincles - round here mostly the windows are blacked out as well which adds to the overall impression.

I also agree with ali's point re. them being a bit safer for the people in them but much more of a dead cert to seriously damage anyone they hit - but I guess the majority of people who drive them in places with a lot of pedestrians either haven't thought about it or don't care.

dizzydixies · 02/04/2010 19:03

am sure the car manufacturers are required to do tests regards safety of pedestrians involved in collisions too (could have had Top Gear on in the background at some point )

chandellina · 02/04/2010 19:05

YABU, i wouldn't choose to have one, but what about all the vans on the road?

mangoandlime · 02/04/2010 19:09

The only time I curse them is when trying to turn right, or left in the middle of a road and they block the view of the oncoming cars so you can't see when to turn safely. But then that could also be said of buses and lorries. I covet an Audi Q5 though!

Someone near me has a black BMW X5 and it looks like a pimp-mobile. Range Rovers are nicer, (IMO!)

2old4thislark · 02/04/2010 19:11

The vans are usually do a job! A neccessity not a luxury!

tartyhighheels · 02/04/2010 19:19

YADBU - i love my landrover (which is a 7 seater) and my h has a really inefficient old range rover - just doing our bit for global warming... what a sad and boring world in which we all drive nice efficient dull as fuck jelly mould cars

just remember, we might use a fair bit of fuel but we pay for it and we also pay higher road tax

Original poster
AliGrylls · 02/04/2010 19:22

Mango, I think that is one of the things I hate the most about them. There is one road near where we live which always has cars parked and really just has room for two reasonable sized cars - whenever I come across a car like 4x4 I actually have a small heart attack before I can build up the confidence to drive pass it.

Follygirl, sports cars are low down to the ground and usually don't take up a whole road. I care less about the fuel consumption than I do about the fact I feel scared when I can't see what is coming down the road because a 4x4 has parked right in front of me, or there are only 2cm for me to pass this darn vehicle.

If you can tell me how to drive my own car, so I feel safer I would be more than happy to listen.

OP posts:
chandellina · 02/04/2010 19:23

ok well don't visit the US because every other car is a "SUV." I think it's gotten slightly better what with people waking up to how expensive they are to have, but there are still a shocking number of them about.

mangoandlime · 02/04/2010 19:30

tartyhighheels, I think most 4x4s are 'dull as fuck jelly mould cars' too, apart from the Audi, of course! The new BMX X6 is rather lovely though, saying that, but it's HUGE!

mangoandlime · 02/04/2010 19:32

The new Land Rovers are nice too though.

morleylass · 02/04/2010 20:05

I used to hate 44s then we got a caravan and the had to change our car because the best towers are 44s. We got it in December and it was fab with the snow here. I live in a tiny village with most of the roads not gritted and large drainage ditches full of water on the sides of the road so I feel much safer in a 4WD.

Yes we use more fuel than we used to be we:
no longer fly abroad for our holidays
hardly put our heating on
don't use a tumble drier
used cloth nappies with the kids
so our carbon footprint is probably less than many other people.

I think the issue is with the type of people who drive the cars in certain areas rather than the cars themselves, but I think there are equally as many selfish drivers who drive other types of vehicles..4*4s are just an easy target.

ML x

timelordvictorious · 02/04/2010 20:13

YABU.

I live in the arse end of nowhere.

I have two huge dogs.

We live, because of my husband's job, 200 miles from any family so need to drive a long way to see Grandparents etc.

I drive a Honda CR-V. Yes, it's a 4x4. It has room for the dogs, the child, and all the paraphenalia that goes with both.

In the snow, we could get to where we needed to be. We would all be safe in an accident.

The emmissions are less than I think you imagine them to be, and we pay more road tax than those driving smaller cars.

I DO NOT feel guilty for having a practical car, and I resent the vitriol directed at me because I chose to pay more for a car that was practical for my family.

mintyfresh · 02/04/2010 20:13

They are repulsive things and should be banned YANBU!

Moominfamily · 02/04/2010 20:15

YANBU, I don't think it is reasonable to ban them altogether, but there could be restrictions in their use in urban areas, and a TOTAL ban on using them near schools.

I live in the same street as a school and the number of near misses I see are beyond belief. If a car that size hits a child, even at 20, it could easily be fatal. Would all those lauding how safe these vehicles are for their own kids consider how they would feel if they took the life of a child? Is it really worth it for what is, in an urban environment, nothing more than a fashion statement?

JustMyTwoPenceWorth · 02/04/2010 20:17

This winter, I watched from my window as 4x4 drivers were out day and night rescuing people who had got stuck in the snow in their little ford fiestas. I saw little cars sliding sideways down the road and 4x4s driving up and down.

They came in very handy.

And a lot of people would have spent the night in their cars without their help.

Lizzylou · 02/04/2010 20:17

timelordvictorious , you don't live in a city? Then the OP isn't talking about you.

It has nothing to do with the cost of your car, which I imagine is not a great deal more than most brand new non-4x4 vehicles, so please don't roll out the "you're just jealous" crap.

YANBU op, our roads are simply not built for these vehicles, I don't see any need for them in towns and cities (not entirely sure they are needed in most rural areas either).

Alouiseg · 02/04/2010 20:22

Ok, Range Rover Sport, live in the sticks and when the snow came we drove everyone to the shops, collected the parcels from the post office. Drove an old lady to the doctors.

Free country we pay huge amounts of tax for the "privilege" and will be driving our 4x4's while the batteries from G whizz are rotting in the municipal dump.

We'll replace it with a new 4x4 when the time comes, GB won't tell me what i can drive.

squiby2004 · 02/04/2010 20:24

Oh we haven't had a thread about 4 x 4 for a over a week!!

Same old same old! If you don't like them don't get one. YABU telling other people what they can and cant have though. Yawn-a-rama!

Alouiseg · 02/04/2010 20:27

Oh Balls! I'll have to root around for the others!