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Original poster

4x4s... all driven by morons?

93 replies

bakedpotato · 13/11/2004 11:19

so all the rumours are true, about 4x4 drivers being dangerously-insulated petrolheads. yesterday the local high st was wedged solid with these huge macho motors, with one parent and one child rattling around inside, after the school run. me and dd were crossing a small sidestreet in the rain when a 4x4, driven by a man i should add, abruptly turned off the main st and nearly ran us down. he simply was not looking for us. he asumed the road was ALL HIS. being so much higher than us, he'd failed to look down.
i must have been halfway across before he decided to take the short cut down it. admittedly my child is very small (!), but i am all-too visible, being pretty PG at the moment.
i banged on his window as he passed at speed but of course he didn't stop to apologise. he had a child in there as well. all last night i keep thinking of what might have happened.
these cars are so inappropriate in the city.
why on earth would you want one when they say you're
a/ environmentally unaware
b/ a fashion-victim/conspicious consumer
c/ contributing to an exisiting congestion problem
d/ dangerously removed from the realities of the road

?? I'd really LOVE to know

i've always pitied people in them as being brainless... now that prejudice has been completely reinforced

OP posts:
Davros · 13/11/2004 19:52

Uh oh, spot the moron who posted on the wrong thread....... can't handle 2 threads on similar topic but coming from totally opposite viewpoints

fruitful · 13/11/2004 20:01

TBH, I recycle cos its the only way that all the other rubbish will fit in the bin, and I use cloth nappies cos I prefer them, and laundry gloop cos its cheaper...

JoolsToo · 13/11/2004 20:05

I don't mind people driving these monsters as long as they can park them - which sadly not many of them seem competent enough to do (present company excepted of course

Slinky · 13/11/2004 20:15

I don't mind "little" car drivers as long as they can park their cars properly (see my post further down).

And I don't see it very often where I live!

Caligula · 13/11/2004 20:19

I don't feel strongly about them at all, except for the bull bars.

handlemecarefully · 13/11/2004 22:03

Must admit - I was prejudiced against 4x4s and tended to think that their drivers might be arrogant f+8%wits, but who is the stupid one ? - me for being prey to ridiculous prejudices. I've read these posts and realised that there might be sound reasons for having a 4x4 and you shouldn't jump to conclusions about people because of their car. OOOooh, sorry I sound like I am moralising. Can't help it - its the beer talking.

SofiaAmes · 13/11/2004 23:43

My dh hit a deer on the motorway at 70mp last weekend. He had our two children in the back. Luckily he was driving his very big and sturdy 4x4 and not my little dinky flimsy approved by red ken car. Otherwise I would now be attending a funeral instead of preparing my ds's 4th birthday party.

I am seriously considering replacing my little car with a much much larger one.

BadHair · 14/11/2004 00:02

Its horses for courses and 4x4s are built for off-road not the high street. If you go off-road aswell as to tescos in them, fair enough, but they are just totally inappropriate for an urban environment. If you want to be high up and have lots of seats get a people carrier.
Would have a 4x4 if needed one but live in a place where there are perfectly adequate roads so have a normal car.

paolosgirl · 14/11/2004 00:02

Bakedpotato, I'm so glad you started this thread to counter the other one that's running at the mo. Of course you're right. Everyone with half an ounce of sense knows there is no reason or excuse for having one of these cars in towns and surbubia. Those who drive them refuse to justify it, simply because there IS no justification for it. Pointing out the environmental impact of some of these monsters, or the danger they pose to other road users/pedestrians (esp. outside schools in towns/suburbs) and the congestion is futile, as I don't think it actually bothers the owners of 4x4's. Or if it does, it's waved away.

jampot · 14/11/2004 00:40

Right then all you bloody environmentalists - how many of you get on a frigging aeroplane to go on your hols - how much pollution do you think that is causing? I watched a programme on tv that stated that on 9/11 after the US airports closed air pollution DECREASED by 20%.

ChicPea · 14/11/2004 01:22

I attended a lecture about how to save the environment and aeroplanes, central heating, gas and electricity all contribute to destroying our planet. So driving a 4x4, which I do, is a sneeze in comparision to what the above are doing to our environment. I know from this thread and the other not so long ago that you all think that I and others who drive such a car are complete morons, f**kwits, etc and that is up to you. I can honestly say I have never hit a person, child, animal, car and shall continue to use it despite being most hated on the road.

For those of you concerned about the environment, please throw your fridges and cookers away, stop using your central heating, do not get on an aeroplane, do not get on a bus - have you seen the emission fumes from these buses? - and then after a month of this way of living and your continued commitment to your changed lifestyle, you are welcome to call me a f**kwit, moron, etc on a daily basis if you so wish.

Please buy and read Meyer Hillman's book on how to save our planet in a bookstore near you today. And you will see how little the 4x4 really does to our environment...

zebra · 14/11/2004 05:20

Agree with Caligula...Paolosgirl -- Jampot started the other thread after Bakedpotato started this one!

I don't mind 4x4 drivers esp... except my neighbour. She is a menace, because she drives it like a nippy little Fiesta or Fiat, rather than the great big lumbering Beast of a Car (BoaC) that it is. She overtook me once on my bike close enough that I could almost touch her -- from a cyclist's perspective, that's too close!! She should have waited until we were past the cars parked on the other side of the road, and had she been in a smaller car, she wouldn't have been so close.

Once she pulled over to chat to me when I was walking home. Left the motor running which is a big peeve for me (Petrol is way too cheap in this country). A car was coming the other way so to make room she heaved the BoaC up on the pavement. My 3 & 5yo were standing there; they're well-trained about not going in the road but they're used to the pavement as space they can safely run around on -- they are not trained to handle a great big Land Rover driving on it!

Cue panicked shouting from me at them...

To give neighbour credit, at least she usually walks to school, and the town centre.

nasa · 14/11/2004 09:12

like this thread bakedpot.
can't stand them myself, particularly people who use them just for the school run/to go shopping. So unneccessary.

jampot · 14/11/2004 09:22

so nasa - you cant stand the vehicles? or the people who drive them? which?

misdee · 14/11/2004 09:29

i class people who drive the huge mosters of cars as silly with their money as those with 1 child who drive a 7 seater mpv. why why??

my sister told me she has to be careful with her 4x4 as its likely to tip if she turns too sharply.

misdee · 14/11/2004 09:29

btw loads of FIL friends drove old landrovers as it holds all their diving equipment.

tabitha · 14/11/2004 09:36

I do hate them, which is probably completely irrational, as I'm sure that in many ways they are no worse environmentally and congestion-wise than many other cars.
In saying that, I have ooccasionally borrowed my work's landrover (I used to visit farms regularly as part of my job) and I really loved driving it both in town and in the country. So, not only am I irrational, I also have double-standards.
P.S. I also hate Micra drivers and, try whenever possible not to fly when I go on holiday (for environmental reasons although lack of money helps too)

misdee · 14/11/2004 09:37

i also hate the smart car. stupid ugly looking thing.

edam · 14/11/2004 09:48

Hard to defend driving a car which is guaranteed to kill a pedestrian in a collision. And is a huge contributor to hastening the death of the planet.
Of course, easy for 4x4 drivers to assuage their guilty feelings by saying 'it's not my fault, look there are lots of other things that are bad for the environment'. Completely illogical.

jampot · 14/11/2004 09:55

I cant believe everyone here is finding it so hard to grasp that there is nothing wrong with driving a 4x4. The truth is everyone who gets on a plane, takes delivery of stuff (Ocado included) which is transported by road, and chugs around in their own car or buses/taxis is contributing to the demise of the planet. Kindly take that responsibility on board too.

For what its worth, I dont fly anywhere, I never use public transport and we drive to the supermarket once a week and as I have stated many times now my car is greener than yours!

zebra · 14/11/2004 09:56

Jampot, pls. stop getting wound up. People will always "disapprove" of something you do. Life is too short to please everybody.

suedonim · 14/11/2004 09:57

Not sure whether this post should be here or on the other thread. 4x4 drivers give me a great deal of pleasure at times. I live in rural Aberdeenshire by a road that is regularly shut due to snow or flooding. There is often some eejit who thinks "Me, I've got a 4x4, I can ignore the police signs and go anywhere, I can." and ends up stuck in the snow or, as happened recently, got swept away in the floodwater they thought they could cross. One year, someone's Disco was stranded for five days on top of a massive heap of snow. How we all laughed though it makes me angry we have to pay via council tax for the emergency services to attend such arrogant drivers.

And despite living in remote environs, we wouldn't consider a 4x4. At most, it would be of use in snowy weather on 3 to 5 days a year and as dh says, getting to work is no guarantee you'll be able to get home again. Having said which, dd2's aim is to have a pink Hummer - I'm currently in LA and the place is heaving with Hummers (but not pink!!) and other saddo 4x4 vehicles.

suzywong · 14/11/2004 09:59

Just to add another perspective

Here in Western Australia, where we really do have the country to warrant the use of the 4x4 function, there is a movement to ban them from the city centre as they are considered far too dangerous to be driven in pedestrian dense areas.

FWIW you cantell the real 4x4 users as they drive with utmost care and courteousy as they are actually aware of the power and density they are in control of and drive responsibly. It seems that those drivers that never use the 4x4 for thier true purpose (the majority here) are the danger to pedestrians, not to mention other vehicles.

misdee · 14/11/2004 09:59

jampot how do i compare whose car is greener? mine is new model astra, can you compare?

jampot · 14/11/2004 10:02

what fuel does it run on Misdee?

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