good deed for the day

CrookedCucumber

neeb wrote:

Of course some powerful saloon cars are also huge gas guzzlers, and I don't condone them either.

I think that's the crux of the matter. Most of us don't approve of this sort of thing, but we pick on 4x4s rather than fat saloons for two main reasons:

1. They are readily identifiable as a class
2. People who drive them around Islington cafes are numpties.

It's easy and fun to pick on numpties, and they don't fight back with much weight. But in the long term you can't found an environmental campaign on the basis that it is anti-numpty. The problem is that we are all numpties in some areas, and if we're picking on numpty 4x4 owners today, who knows what other unworthy cause will the the target of everybody's misplaced zeal tomorrow?

If you (in the general sense, not you personally) can raise real, hard evidence that 4x4s as a class contribute disproportionately to environmental damage, then that's a good reason for targetting them. But so far I don't think anybody has been able to produce that evidence. The fact that it just seems `obvious' doesn't really cut it.

And the same with safety. The Ford Focus you were plugging early actually scores _worse_ for pedestrian safety in NCAP tests than a Honda CRV, and both score better than a Fiat Panda. It may seem common sense that you'd `bounce off' the bonnet of a Focus but, in fact, real tests do not bear this out.

The environment is a big deal, and it will cost a lot of money and time to sort out the mess we've made of it. We've simply don't have the luxury of mis-directing our efforts on this one, which is why campaigning issues need to be based on real, hard evidence, not prejudice.

CrookedCucumber

willhub wrote:

I seen an advert for a 4x4 on tv, and if I'm not mistaken it was advertising a 4x4 for the city :shock:, bit pathetic that I think.

Yes. It's as pathetic as using a full-suspension mountain bike for riding to the shopping mall to hang out with your mates. But I see a lot of young lads doing exactly that where I live.

Sigh. People do things for daft and unworthy reasons. It's part of the human condition. Adam & Eve should never have eaten that bloody apple

GraemeT

Lilactime,

I think that was a very nice thing that you did.

Well done.

2Fast4Love

I'm not sure if it's already been pointed out in the last 5 pages, but while what this fella did was indeed a dick-move, he did in fact serve the decent purpose of slowing the cars down to the speed limit - i.e. a safer speed.

Lilactime - the fact that you did this aid them in avoiding a fine/points, rather than because of the more obvious safety issues, is why you have taken such a hammering over this. Not snobbishness.

Incidentally, the only time I've flashed another motorist in relation to their speed is in order to convey the message "Slow doing you f-ing idiot, before you kill me, you, or anyone else that happens to be in your way".

BigLee1

Theres a time and a place for going fast A lot of speed cameras are placed in areas where it`s safe to do 120 never mind 60 on clear dry good condition roads.
I love going fast and have done 120mph on a public road in the UK and only got to that because of a rapidly approaching corner that limited my speed I`ve passed lines of cars at "slightly" over the limit with a Police bike behind me and like to think of myself as a good driver/rider (I`ve got certificates to prove it )

Sadly the government would rather punish people than insist on higher standards of driving so saving more lives than a "safety" camera plonked somewhere to take peoples attention from the important things of controlling the vehicle to being obsessed with the speedo. "sorry mate I didn`t see you as I was looking at my speedo most of the time when I wasn`t on my mobile"