4x4 prejudice
Considering all the anti 4x4 stuff going around in the media at the moment. This new site may be of interest.
http://www.4x4prejudice.org/index.php
And another site,, of no interest.. :lol:
http://www.stopurban4x4s.org.uk/
Good post. Thank you. If nothing else we can get our names on the petition
However, it is worth remembering that, "Against stupidity, even the Gods struggled in vain"
I think we're going to have a fight on our hands against the likes of Mr. Livingstone and his
peculiar cronies.
Q
at last someone has done what I have been wanting to do for a long time, can any one tell me what other vehicle can carry 7 people and be the size of an ford escort ?, no, the only difference between a 7/8 seater people carrier and a disco is an inch in width and 6 inchs in length, so whats all the fuss then. And they want to tax the 4x4s at a higher rate. the heaviest 4x4 is around 2. 8 tonne and the road tax is the same for a 3.5 tonne transit. Anyone know what the road tax is for a 7.5 t lorry, yep the same as a 4x4, oh and for a 10 tonne lorry, the same again, yet all these commercials do between 10 and 18 to the gallon and 4 times as much milage and damage to the roads.
Gets my back up
Tsk,tsk,
An ounce of moderation would go a long way, mostly I have felt compelled to write to 4 by 4 and Landrover magazines to the opposite effect ie anti 4WD.
This is mostly due to the pillocks that seem to think they have a God given right to "green lane" and that it does not do any harm! or detract from others usuage of the same lanes/bridele paths. Off road sites are available , pay for them, you found the money for the 4WD!
If one needs 7 seats try a VW Galaxy, 40+ mpg, 9 or 10 seats buy a Caravelle!
Fine if towing a heavier trailer a 4WD makes sense.
Then theres the Mummies ( and sometimes Daddies ) I meet along our narrow rural roads, they drive 4WD's so that they can stay in the middle of the road and intimidate lesser beings in ordinary cars into the verge --- one would'nt want to get Disco/Shogun dirty.
Oh and I almost forgot -- the school run -- to bunk over kerbs, so as block the footway and the carrigeway similtanously, and God forbid that one would reverse or have to reverse to free congestion so caused.
As for taxation, its already built into the fuel cost, the cost of the road fund liscence is now insignificent ( as part of overall costs ) -- unless for LGV's
Mr Moderation will now sign off.
Marcus
the word scapegoat springs to mind. i think that one should have the freedom of choice
to drive whatever vehicle one god damn likes :evil:
mahoney
p.s apart from 4x4 owners apparently
The pressure of anti-SUV activists in California is relentless. Last year in the state congress a bill was proposed to enact a special tax on SUVs. While there was much support for the bill, the opposition was fierce, vocal, and well organized. In the week of the final vote, opponents put together an endless parade of hundreds of SUVs which circled the state capitol building for an entire week!
Last month California's Governor Schwartzenegger appointed a new head of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Her first act was to attempt to generate support for a bill that would require all vehicles to be fitted with GPS telemetry devices. The per gallon fuel tax that we now pay at the pump would be replaced by a tax per mile driven. But it didn't stop there. A higher tax would be charged at certain times of the day for especially popular routes.
Of course, privacy advocates were the first to jump out of their skins, as the GPS units would allow the ability of the government to track each vehicle's every movement.
The average laissez-faire California votor was against the measure because we have approved too many taxes in the past with the always-unfulfilled promise that the proceeds would be used to improve roadways.
I was against it because I hate the idea that the State might be sending me speeding tickets in the mail based on GPS data! :wink:
I'd like to say that it was saner heads that prevailed, but ,ironically, by far the most vocal opponents were the anti-SUV crowd - those same people who have sold their gas guzzlers and purchased electric or hybrid vehicles. They revile the notion that they should have to pay the same tax per mile as someone with an SUV. The problem they had was that removing the per gallon tax also removed the built-in punitive effect on high consumption vehicles like SUVs. (As if the cost of the fuel weren't enough!) They hated it so much that it was mainly their opposition that put the bill down. :shock:
— Spalding
There was some mention recently in the press about a Gov't. idea to use the GPS tracking for tax reasons. Our vehicle registering agency can't even collect the due taxes for vehicles just for being registered, can you imagine the shambles if they tried to record every vehicle movement in the country and then charge a fair tax on it. Come on even the best computer system in the world couldn't successfully handle that amount of info. The first thing to do would be disable the gps then have tax free motoring for a YEAR then say "I don't know what could have happened" only used on Sundays... Why don't these peolple just .........(.too rude to type.)
1984 is here guys. Orwell was right.
Agreed, Orwells 1984 is here, and getting far worse. I can't believe an anti 4x4 is in here! As for having to pay to 4x4, that's fine if you want to go round in circles on a course. But this country is littered with legal roads that may or may not be mettalled. Who has got the right to tell anyone they cannot go there? They were there before we were born and they'll be there long after our remains form a part of the mud they drive over.
I don't "green lane", but I certainly dont have a problem with anyone who does. Perhaps the answer here is to have green (or muddy) lanes running parralel to tarred roads. The one who uses the muddy track that costs nothing to maintain pays no road tax.
I wonder how long it would take for the balance of traffic using the green lane to outweigh that using the road??? :shock:
The environmental menace in this country is the Lorry. All this freight should be shipped by rail, with local distribution from rail depots. Works everywhere else in the world - and it used to work here. Once rid of 16ton plus HGV's there will be a fraction of the traffic problems.
Dooooh,
So John, why is Europe chock-a-block with 44 tonners, as it said or the rear of a lorry I was once stuck behind --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"YOU bought it / ordered it"
However I do agree with you about moving more Freight by rail, flexibility seems to be the issue and I suspect the amount of ground required for sidings/cross handeling would be huge, oh and after all we live in a free country or are those privileges only to be accorded to 4WD users?
P. S. One simple thing that does work is restricting Freight movments at the weekend, that way lorry drivers get a life too.
P. P. S. Did I mention we are for getting a caravan!
Marcus
I think its funny that red ken hates 4x4 and i get a free congeston charge in my 300dL because its got 9 seats ha ha
leave the tuckers alone
peter hgv1
No, I wont leave truckers alone - they're a pain in the proverbial. They take delight in obstructing you, and if they're bigger than you, they'll barge their way through.
Regards the land take for railways, it's already there. This country used to survive on its rail network (UK that is). Maybe there are 44 tonners on the continent, but the continent is much much bigger than this little island.
Yes I have got a bee in my bonnet (and I hate caravans too!), and I'm quite content with it being there - nah! Would make some kind of rude gesture if I knew how to paste in here!
Come on, pile in and have a dig at me...I can take it, I'm a G driver, it'll get me out of the s...
John, Waasup !!! I totally agree with you on the rail network ( lack of it ) They should open all the old lines up and get all these ferkin yorky munchers aof oor roads. There that's tell't thum, ae. :P
Start pocking fingers at other road users based on the type of vehicle their in, then your the same as the anti 4x4 lot..
Gentlemen,
Displaying a little bit of tolerance won't do us any harm.
I am entirely in agreement with Mark.... we should really be a little more civil towards other road users. That's basic to a civilised society.
So let's keep the tone of the discussion down, please.
Much appreciated.
Your moderator.
Ta Rusty!
Do unto others as they do unto you. I been frigged about by truckers way more often than any other vehicles. We are plagued by builders lorries wrecking our region and taking over quiet country lanes as race tracks - who also use the 'fastrak' tractors and 12 ton trailers as they dont pay road tax on them. Have you seen a Fastrak heading towards you at 45mph with a massive trailer banging around - whilst you're on horseback, its scary.
4x4 owners (unlike car drivers) dont race down country roads because they know there may be horses or pedestrians out for a stroll. Truckers dont give a damn, as they know whoever may be there will hear them coming and leap out of the way. I had one trucker (who I flashed because he refused to dip his lights), come across into my lane and drive straight at me - I ended up in the verge without his reg no, and he kept going because he didnt give a hoot. Naturally, I hope he rots in hell someday.
The other thing they're doing is dumping trails of diesel fuel down our roads making them downright dangerous. I'm looking forward to seeing the Police clamping down on overfilled derv tanks.
There are laws for all of us. 4x4 owners generally don't drive fast (though there are some idiots always) as 4x4's aren't designed for speed. I'd say they are more responsible drivers and mostly their vehicles are maintained to a much higher standard in terms of roadworthiness.
Yes, I'm prejudiced, and I don't have a problem with that. Regards rail Rusty, I would love to see it used again for freight, but the only reason SBC want to reopen the Waverely line is to turn the Borders into a commuter zone for Edinburgh and push up property values! Nice to hear from you again.
Hi John,
You should not have mentioned horses, at our last address there was a lunitic young woman who insisted on riding her large high spirited horse down what was virtually a single track road during morning and evening rush hours this road being used by a lot of poor sods going to and from their work, in the winter months it was wilfully, needlessly, stupid and hazardous
I was raised on a farm and still live rural and always give cyclists and horses time & space but again it is a two way thing.
OH and btw. one of our near neighbours brings on showjumpers to international standard and we meet him on the road and it is never a problem, he can control his mount and is sensible when and where he rides.
Now, why does that seem familar.
Mr. Moderation will say no more.
We still have to remember that the highway code states the following HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY in order.
Pedestrians
Horses
cyclist
motor vehicles.
I think thats the order they appeared on earth. so that means a human driving something over terrain that a horse can tackle must be right up there.
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Got no problem with trucks, towing caravans or most other people on the road, apart from the occasional twit in a Beemer :wink: ...
Start pocking fingers at other road users based on the type of vehicle their in, then your the same as the anti 4x4 lot..