Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
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:
mrsfred · 02/04/2010 20:29

'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'

With all due respect, if you are that nervous then perhaps you shouldn't be driving. How on earth do you cope when you meet a large van, or bus???

timelordvictorious · 02/04/2010 20:30

"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."

But we do have to go into the city occasionally. So it does get a run out into Oxford, Reading and, occasionallly, London. We countr folk don't hang out here exclusively.

And I am not accusing anyone of jealousy. Shit, anyone who saw the monster would laugh at the idea of jealousy. What I was saying is that it is a NECESSITY for us. And we pay for it, so shouldn't have to justify ourselves to people with an anti-4x4 fetish.

southeastastra · 02/04/2010 20:33

it's such a status symbol round here.

there owners really aren't doing much to improve relations

Lizzylou · 02/04/2010 20:35

Timelord, you said:
"I resent the vitriol directed at me because I chose to pay more for a car that was practical for my family."
So excuse me if I assumed you were starting the "you're just jealous" posts (have been on these threads before ).

I do think that they are unnecessary and if they block the roads and make driving more difficult for other then very selfish.
Being able to get out in the snow 1 week a year doesn't render them a necessity for the rest of the time.

They are simply too big and cumbersome for our roads.

YourCallIsImportant · 02/04/2010 20:35

OP, boring, boring thread.

Would you like to ban Transit vans, taxis, buses and trucks too? All of these are bigger than 4x4s and have higher emissions.

I've had 4x4s and the fuel consumption is pretty good actually. Much better than the Ford Focus ST which DH used to have.

People can drive whatever they want, get over it.

scaryteacher · 02/04/2010 20:35

YABU - we have a Range Rover (12 years old) that is used for off roading at times, and for dh's gliding hobby - it is great for retrieving the glider from the middle of a muddy field, and tows with ease. We lived in Cornwall before Brussels, and it was easy to get around in the winter. It was very useful in the snow in Belgium this winter as well.

Ours is converted to LPG, so it is greener than many cars, and is kinder to the environment. It was also great for the Brussels/Cornwall commute that dh used to do - good visibility (important with the Belgian drivers) and comfortable to drive for dh.

timelordvictorious · 02/04/2010 20:36

But where are you, SEA?

Here, they are very much a fact of life.

southeastastra · 02/04/2010 20:36

they generally seem to think they have a right of way on all roundabouts.

i guess they feel protected in their tanks and sod everyone else

scaryteacher · 02/04/2010 20:36

I am more scared of the Belgian drivers in an Audi than I am an of a Brit in 4x4; in fact, make that ANY Belgian driver.

sheas · 02/04/2010 20:38

I use my Range Rover for the purposes it was intended for, ferrying animal feed around (and sometimes farm animals)getting up farm tracks and muddy fields and carrying my family around in safety. If I lived in London (god forbid) I wouldn't have one but as I live in the countryside and have to feed livestock no matter what the weather, I LOVE IT!!! It isn't reasonable to ban everything you don't like, I don't like people who mistreat their children or animals, poeple who are cruel and spiteful, or chavs but don't expect them to be banned just 'cos I want them to be

southeastastra · 02/04/2010 20:39

i really appreciate that some people need 4x4s, they don't where i live in herts they are a status symbol

timelordvictorious · 02/04/2010 20:40

How do they block the roads, really? They are just cars?

Drawing attention to the fact that they cost more to run was by no means intended to imply jealousy - more than anything it was a means to show that I am aware of the possible green implications and my willingness to pay for the privilege.

And I very rarely use my tumble dryer, haven't been on a plane for four years, and am pretty happy with my carbon footprint.

Lizzylou · 02/04/2010 20:41

Sheas, if people need them (genuinely) and they are essential then that is one thing.
If you live in a city they are not necessary and are impractical and are clogging up our roads/car parks.
All so you can look like a Wag/drug dealer with your blacked out windows.

timelordvictorious · 02/04/2010 20:44

They take up ONE car parking space.

ONE lane in the road.

Just like a normal car.

Undercovamutha · 02/04/2010 20:46

We used to have an old Landrover and it was great. We got rid of it (impractical for kids ironically as it only had front seats), but it was really useful (we were doing a lot of DIY so great for transporting stuff to the tip) and great fun to drive and take off-road.

I don't see how they block the roads - I have more of a problem with the ridiculously long pick-ups that seem to park right next to me in multi-story carparks - making it impossible to get out of the space.

I am also bemused by people with convertibles - we live in a country with shit weather for the majority of the year. I can understand having one in Spain or Florida - but why in the UK????

paisleyleaf · 02/04/2010 20:46

I don't like them at all.
I live in the countryside and drive around in a really small car, like they do in the countryside on the continent.
The village near us hasn't got roads wide enough to accommodate them much like this
....and it's because of this space issue here that it seems the drivers are selfish barging around in their fat cars.

And I don't know about the safety either. My brother hit someone in his fiesta a few years ago. The police said that if he'd been driving a 4X4 car they would probably have been killed.

YourCallIsImportant · 02/04/2010 20:48

"our roads are simply not built for these vehicles"

How'd you work that one out?

So there's no trucks, buses on the roads where you live?

Where I live the roads are built for vehicles of all sizes.

YourCallIsImportant · 02/04/2010 20:49

[hides thread now]

follygirl · 02/04/2010 20:50

Well I live in Herts and I certainly needed my 4X4 when it snowed as most of the roads were I live weren't gritted.
I spent most of my time ferrying around my neighbours and going to the shops for people.
Tbh if I wanted a status symbol I would have a Porsche 911 not a boring 4X4, it's not exactly sexy is it?

Nattynar · 02/04/2010 20:50

There are arguments for and against 4X4's. My DH is after a Land Rover, and if he wants one, and to pay for it then that's his pregoative.

The only point that I would like to make is about people assuming that the larger and bigger the car is the safer it is!! This is not the case. All modern cars are put through the same test, and given an NCAP rating. 1 being worst performing, and 5 being the best performing.

Not to put the fear of god into anyone, but on Top Gear a Free Lander got a NCAP rating of 3!! I'm an Mini owner with a NCAP rating of 5. Meaning that given the same crash scenario I would be able to walk away from my mini. The same could not be said of the Land Rover.

It's not the cars anyway, it's how some people choose to drive them!

Lizzylou · 02/04/2010 20:50

They are miles bigger than a standard car!
Far bigger, sorry.

It's difficult to see round them/get round them, most people can't park them.

They are wider/higher/longer than a standard car.

scaryteacher · 02/04/2010 20:51

Well, going towards the countryside in Belgium tonight there seemed to be a hell of a lot of pick ups, Audi 4x4s, and some massive trucks, so I don't think that everyone drives small cars in the countryside on the continent. Those that do may not wish to pay the 2k euros car tax each year, as it is done on horse power in Belgium, as opposed to emissions.

mintyfresh · 02/04/2010 20:52

Quite right paisleyleaf - I live in the countryside and have NEVER had the need for a 4x4 - the only people who could possibly justify having them are farmers!

jellybeans · 02/04/2010 20:52

YANBU People should consider others not just themselves. That is partly what is leading to our more selfish society.

Lizzylou · 02/04/2010 20:52

When people use truck size vehicles as everyday cars it clogs up the roads.
We haven't the vast road networks of the USA/Canada.
So having more people driving cars twice the size of standard cars causes problems, have you not read the OP?