Gareth
Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26705
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There was a particularly nasty anti 4x4 letter published in the Mail today. I can't find it on the web, but here is the letter I just sent;
Dear Letters
In response to the letter by Mrs Stewart of St Albans regarding 4x4 vehicles,
She says that we all drive too fast. No we don’t, its the kids in their customised ‘cruisers’ with their dustbin sized exhausts and boom, boom audio systems that drive too fast around where I live, not the 4x4’s. They are far more of a menace to society than any 4x4.
Do 4x4 vehicles block the roads? No they do not. FACT - a Rover 75 saloon takes up more road space than a Land Rover Discovery! The delivery vans that think they really do own the road are constantly blocking the roads (and pavements) in my town, not the 4x4. In the car park its the posers in their shiny Mercedes, BMW’s and Jaguars who don’t want their doors dinted that take up 2 spaces for every one, not the 4x4’s
Our children are at risk from 4x4 vehicles? Any child in any village or town is at danger from any moving vehicle. To single out 4x4’s as the main culprit is plain ridiculous. Better education of all drivers and children, and enforcement of existing speed limits and rules is the answer here. What is needed is a return to good quality policing of parking, speeding, and general bad driving by all vehicle types, not just 4x4 vehicles.
4x4 vehicles block the view? The buses and lorries that gridlock our streets block the view more than any 4x4. I think you will find that the poor old 4x4 is not the biggest thing on the road. There are big cars and small cars; it is a fact of life.
4x4 vehicles endanger children outside schools? All cars are dangerous around school gates; this is absolutely nothing to do with 4x4 vehicles. The answer is to make your kids walk to school like mine. If you must drive them to school, then park away from the school gates and why not use a 7-seat vehicle to take someone else’s kids to school too? That way there would be half the cars needing to park, and half the pollution than all the parents taking their 2x4’s that can only seat 3 passengers.
To say that a child is 27 times more likely to suffer a head injury if hit by a 4x4? There is also a study that says a child hit by a flat fronted 4x4 is far less likely to suffer internal injuries than if hit by a sharp fronted sports car. To my mind, it is far more important to not get run over in the first place; again better education of all children and drivers is the answer.
Most 4x4 vehicles have far better visibility than 2x4 cars. The chance of them hitting a child or anything else is consequently much less. The main reason I drive a 4x4 is for its amazing practicality. It seats 7 people and still does over 30 miles per gallon. It is time to stop this ridiculous campaign against a small section of motorists. Lets have the truth, and keep the arguments fair.
Yours sincerely
Gareth Roberts
Stockport
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 9th Aug 2006 12:39 am |
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Jamo
Member Since: 18 Jan 2006
Location: Esperance, Western Australia
Posts: 1170
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Well Said!. Good on you Gareth!  Have a nice day!
2010 Cayenne Diesel with PASM & Off Road Pkg
2005 HSE D3 (Sold)
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| 9th Aug 2006 12:53 am |
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DG
Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50939
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Nice reply there Gareth...
I had a converstation with a colleague today and one aspect of the convesation concerned how 'dangerous' 4x4's were on the basis of how many more times a fatality was likely when being hit by a 4x4.
I then proceeded to reel off that pedestrian deaths tended to multiply dependant on the type of vehicle they were hit by eg:
cyclist
moped
motorcycle
small- vehicle
mid-vehicle (may include 4x4's)
large-vehicle (may include 4x4's)
large van
up to 7.5 ton
a rake of lorry combinations up to 44 ton
Well as I suspected, all of that was ignored and 4x4's were still the main culprits.
I also mentioned that trains killed about 280 peeps per year who stumbled onto the tracks ,either accidently or otherwise, and nobody seemed to be calling for them to be banned.
 21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
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| 9th Aug 2006 1:12 am |
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NoDo$h
Member Since: 02 May 2006
Location: Finding new and exciting ways to milk badgers.
Posts: 19689
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When we live in a country where the likes of Prescott can be given the reins for weeks on end, what do you expect? We've become a nation of idiots. In fact I suspect that we have always been a nation of idiots, but with a good PR team.
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| 9th Aug 2006 2:17 pm |
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Gareth
Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26705
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my letter is printed! todays Mail has a debate on bottom of page 66, 'Are 4x4's the scourge of the highways' well I have to say that the one comment in agreement with the question is very lame and a weak argument. The 3 replies in disagreement with the question (including an edited version of my letter) present us with a strong case to claim victory in this little debate.
The war continues however. That's 2 letters I have got printed now. The more of us that send letters, the louder our arguments with the anti 4x4 brigades will be.
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| 14th Aug 2006 2:22 pm |
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JustinL
Member Since: 26 Jul 2006
Location: Somerset
Posts: 48
  
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Well done. That is great news. Lets keep up the pressure.
I picked up a copy at my parents in law and stumbled by the letters.
We certainly won this round! D3 TDV6 S Buckingham Blue
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| 14th Aug 2006 2:26 pm |
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LT
Member Since: 31 Dec 2005
Location: South West
Posts: 23385
 
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Well done Gareth, Can we look at the letters section on line? Had a quick look at The Mail website but couldn't find the letters.
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| 14th Aug 2006 2:41 pm |
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Mossy
Member Since: 01 Jul 2005
Location: Hollyoaks, UK
Posts: 2682
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Result!!! Well Done!!!  D3 HSE V8...
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| 14th Aug 2006 2:47 pm |
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simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
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Nice one G
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| 14th Aug 2006 6:38 pm |
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Very Annoyed
Member Since: 19 Nov 2005
Location: Up there, past the strange people and the sheep.
Posts: 3698
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and the anti 4x4 letter writer was so brave as to ask for his name to be witheld! Loving the power of the TDV8!
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| 14th Aug 2006 7:26 pm |
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Gareth
Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26705
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Well, to argue that we are all 'evolved' Volvo drivers is pretty insulting  I am not surprised he withheld ID.
Wasn't you was it VA??????????
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| 14th Aug 2006 8:46 pm |
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