Really Big Cars

I nearly got run over yesterday by a truely huge 4x4 vehicle I'm 5'10" and this monster came between my hips and upper rib cage, I know that round here a lot of people need big 4x4's for work and for just getting around if they live in a remote bit of the island with poor roads, but do we really need them, should they be discouraged?

The latest thing seems to be electric range/land rovers, all huge and heavy, the damage done by these cars to our roads is increasing and because the roads are in a poor state people feel they need a 4x4 to cope with them, some of the pot holes are real car killers. I'm concerned about the size of so many of these newer vehicles, they're so huge and people are so careless, they don't fit in normal parking spaces and if I get one on either side of me in a car park I can't see past them and have to slowly drive out hoping for the best that theres nothing whizzing up behind or in front of me.

I have a skoda fabia, a perfectly normal small family car, and I often feel bullied by these huge things, I don't feel that I'm visible and it scares me, I could fit my car inside some of these huge things.

I'm seriously thinking it's time to have some sort of restrictions on the size of vehicles that you can have on a normal driving licence and that maybe there should be a seperate licence catagory for cars over a certain size like there is for motor bikes

Parents
  • I'm concerned about the size of so many of these newer vehicles, they're so huge

    This is all a result of electric vehicles being the only real solution to travel being pushed by the government.

    Battery technology remains very heavy and bulky due to the range needs of the average user in the UK and keeping the cars low and wide is a solution that reduces wind resistance and gives a sensation of a spacious vehicle (so long as you are not tall). Add in all the safety features that cars need now and you have a hugely expensive and bulky / heavy vehicle.

    All the electric motors, batteries and general mechanical bits make the car much heavier than the petrol powered counterparts, but since petrol will soon be a legacy product then this is the future. If only electric cars were green enough across their lifecycle to merit this then it would be a good thing.

    Car parks could make the spaces bigger but they stand to make a lot of profit from fine (by using more than 1 space) by keeping the spaces tiny. There is no business incentive to pay to have the spaces all re-worked since it will result in an overall loss of revenue.

    I suspect there is going to be a new generation of electric vehicles to "solve" this issue soon, just as soon as everyone has one of the old, bloated ones. Making them smaller will be a great way to encourage people to buy the new ranges.

    I'm seriously thinking it's time to have some sort of restrictions on the size of vehicles that you can have

    Once the government are losing sufficient revenue from the heavily taxed petrol / diesel then they will find a way to tax electric vehicles since you won't be able to buy anything else. I suspect weight will be the avenue used here which will co-inside with a drive by the electric car industry to have smaller cars. Amazing what their lobbying and donations to the political parties can produce.

Reply
  • I'm concerned about the size of so many of these newer vehicles, they're so huge

    This is all a result of electric vehicles being the only real solution to travel being pushed by the government.

    Battery technology remains very heavy and bulky due to the range needs of the average user in the UK and keeping the cars low and wide is a solution that reduces wind resistance and gives a sensation of a spacious vehicle (so long as you are not tall). Add in all the safety features that cars need now and you have a hugely expensive and bulky / heavy vehicle.

    All the electric motors, batteries and general mechanical bits make the car much heavier than the petrol powered counterparts, but since petrol will soon be a legacy product then this is the future. If only electric cars were green enough across their lifecycle to merit this then it would be a good thing.

    Car parks could make the spaces bigger but they stand to make a lot of profit from fine (by using more than 1 space) by keeping the spaces tiny. There is no business incentive to pay to have the spaces all re-worked since it will result in an overall loss of revenue.

    I suspect there is going to be a new generation of electric vehicles to "solve" this issue soon, just as soon as everyone has one of the old, bloated ones. Making them smaller will be a great way to encourage people to buy the new ranges.

    I'm seriously thinking it's time to have some sort of restrictions on the size of vehicles that you can have

    Once the government are losing sufficient revenue from the heavily taxed petrol / diesel then they will find a way to tax electric vehicles since you won't be able to buy anything else. I suspect weight will be the avenue used here which will co-inside with a drive by the electric car industry to have smaller cars. Amazing what their lobbying and donations to the political parties can produce.

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