4x4s... all driven by morons?

[bakedpotato]

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

petrol. is your that gas stuff?

I agree suedonim, unless you are working and living in the bush or the deset (sp) the times you really really need a 4x4 you may as well hire a proper one.

Personally I blame the car manufacturers for pandering to fashion.

And I'm not against big cars, I have a volvo estate (which I am considering converting to liquid fuel)

Yes Misdee

What about the environment?
Carbon monoxide emissions are around 80% less than petrol and 40% less than diesel. Hydrocarbon emissions are around 60% less than petrol and 50% less than diesel. Nitrous oxide emissions are around 80% less than petrol and 90% less than diesel. Particulates (PM10s) are non existent in LPG. Carbon dioxide, which contributes to smog and global warming, is lower in LPG.

yes but we dont get much choice in the fuel we use in our car as its mobility vechile.

arent they trying to get more car manafactuaers to use LPG anyway?

A lot of Vauxhall cars are dual-fuel Misdee

I don't have a 4x4 (but only because when we test-drove one DS1 got carsick from the bumpiness in the back ). I really don't understand why people get so het up about them. So what if they don't go off-road? The one we wanted was a 7 seater & at the time it was cheaper than an MPV (& we have 4 kids).

For all of you up in arms, do you have a car that is exactly the right size & no bigger? Those with 2 kids have a Corsa & those with 3 have an Astra & so on? My neighbour is expecting her 3rd so has gone out & bought an MPV. That's what bugs me.

Yes some 4x4s are driven by prats, but then so are every sort of car you can get. There is a woman in a little tiny car who parks over my neighbours drive every morning with her engine running for 15 minutes. Every morning I follow a line of people in a variety of different sorts of cars & vans up the MWay slip road at 40 mph, most of whom pull straight into the middle lane, for reasons know only to themselves. It is some drivers who are idiots, not people who drive a particular type of car.

but we are limited by the lost they give us. i dont think duekl fuel was on the list at the time, and dont think it now

There seems to be an awful lot of focussing on the environmental impact of the 4x4's, but I think what the drivers haven't addressed is the safety of other road users issue. The bull bars are almost guaranteed to kill someone who would only be slightly injured if there were no bull bars in the event of an accident. That's what I object to.

And also, it is the issue of any big vehicle, like a lorry or a white van (!), that drivers of those vehicles tend to be less considerate and less careful than others because in the event of a collision, they are less likely to die or be injured. SofiaAmes' story about the deer is a perfect illustration of how much safer for the occupants these vehicles are, but like any safety improvement in vehicles, it leads to less careful driving of that vehicle. There's a huge amount of evidence which shows that since the introduction of compulsory wearing of seatbelts, drivers are actually less careful than they used to be, because they feel safer. Which is tough luck on pedestrians.

Bit of a tangent, but I think it's linked. People in smaller, less safe cars tend to be more careful, because they're more likely to die if they're not (unless they're driven by young men under the age of 25, all of whom are of course, immortal). Perhaps that's what makes drivers irate about 4x4 drivers driving badly - they don't feel it's a level playing field.

Jeremy clarkson once siad that all cars need just one safely feature, a big spike sticking out of the stearing wheel

Well said Caligula.

This might already have been answered here, but can anyone tell me what SUV stands for?

Stupid Ugly Vehicle?

Sports Utility Vehicle, ssd.

Big 4x4s (or SUVs) are very dangerous to pedestrians even without bullbars, because of the height of the front. This is interesting - in the US SUVs kill more than 3000 pedestrians (and 2000 of their own occupants) each year. It doesn't give relative statistics however.

I like what suzywong said about SUV drivers in Australia. Driven sensibly and with care there isn't a problem with them (except for their size, in the UK) but so many aren't driven that way here.

Lib Dem Shadow Environment Minister - 4x4s - a programme for change . Constructive suggestions plus loads of scary stats. Very interesting!

i told you, link envy, you need a week in the priory

I do have a bad case...do you think the NHS would pay?

without a doubt, ill start a petition