Reply With QuoteHarold Scruby is a PITA. He s trying to get cyclists banned from the streets. Where else am I going to ride when there are no footpaths, and no cyclelanes where I commute to and from?
Wizard
Eleni Hale
December 28, 2008 12:00am
FOUR-WHEEL drive vehicles should be banned from city and suburban roads, most motorists say.
Three in five Australians are against 4WDs and SUVs being used for regular driving.
They say they should be forced away from schools, out of town and "off-road where they belong", according to a new survey.
Driving alongside 4WDs causes so much anxiety that Australians have voted them one of the most annoying aspects of road travel, says the McCrindle Research survey, Australians and Driving.
The big vehicles are labelled a danger to pedestrians and other road users, as well as environmentally irresponsible.
Harold Scruby, of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, said yesterday that hundreds of people were hit by 4WDs and SUVs each year because their drivers couldn't see properly behind them or beyond their bonnets.
"There are shocking blind spots, especially (dangerous) with children around schools," he said.
They also block the view of other drivers, according to the RACV.
"Don't get a 4WD if you don't need one," RACV public policy general manager Brian Negus said.
But despite being hated by most drivers, SUVs are growing in popularity, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
More than 44,000 were sold in Victoria up to the end of November, compared with 33,000 over the same period five years ago.
In Toorak village on Friday, one of Melbourne's 4WD hot spots, almost every other vehicle in the shopping centre was a 4WD or SUV.
One particularly big 4WD took up two car spaces, while another was taking up so much road space it was impeding a tram.
Toorak resident Vanessa Griggs said it was outrageous 4WDs were being sold as family cars, considering the fatality rate for pedestrians.
"It's like their family is cared for but everyone else's can go to hell," she said.
However, SUV driver Jamie Nevile, of Toorak, said she struggled to see past trucks and they weren't being banned from the road.
"It's much easier to see ahead and to manoeuvre in traffic," she said.
Master
Harold Scruby is a PITA. He s trying to get cyclists banned from the streets. Where else am I going to ride when there are no footpaths, and no cyclelanes where I commute to and from?
Master
I voted no btw. Even before I was interested in 4x4's, their presence didnt bother me. Just made for more things to overtake, which was fun
YarnMaster
So what stops toyota bring out a 2WD Crusier? The market is far too big for 4x4's for a total ban.
I've allways thought about starting a driving school for larger cars. Duel controled Defender?
Cheers Easo
OldBushie
I need a 4WD city use is driving the market to make them all nice and rounded and soft and better suited to the suburban life than the bush - queue picture of LC200. So those of us who want a true 4WD that can, without modification, handle the bush have an incredibly limited choice - or we buy a Defender.
I'm all in favour of banning the 4WD from the cities unless the owner can prove that it will be used off road. It would hopefully improve the market choice and make them less car like.
The YES vote is slightly ahead still and there had been a total of 583 votes which is hardly a representative basis for a statistically valid conclusion (unless you're the media).
I'll still vote NO btw.
MY15 Discovery 4 SE SDV6
Past: 97 D1 Tdi, 03 D2a Td5, 08 Kimberley Kamper, 08 Defender 110 TDCi, 99 Defender 110 300Tdi[/SIZE]
YarnMaster
Yea, but what a nightmare to prove!
ForumSage
Same bloke has been advocating banning bullbars for 20 years.
The herald sun winds him up like some clockwork drummer, he spins around making lots of noise then fades away until the next year.
Obviously the ban 4wd vote will win. IMHO most drivers in Melbourne would like to ban all other road users. Our road network is clogged and run down. Citylink is not even 10 years old and it is still regularly overloaded. Improving public transport, bicycle paths and roads would go a lot further to improve safety.
YarnMaster
So what happens if your a country person and you only own a 4x4 and need to travel to the city?
Also who decides how a city is determined and where the limits are in that city for 4x4s are?
Easo
YarnMaster
Probably something like if you're pulled over driving in the city, checking your licence to see where you're from, & speed limits such as "60" denotes a "city" where 4WDs are not allowed to be owned by city people unless they have a "genuine" use for the?
God only knows!
As if the poor coppers wouldn't have enough to worry about!
Originally Posted by easo
Fossicker
I have voted a few times already
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