That was Jeremy Clarkson and he was following the theory that if everyone was forced to drive a less-safe car driving standards would improve measurably. The point was that this would be a darwinian process whereby the bad drivers would get found out and, probably, killed.

The side issue he neatly avoided, of course, would be the equal loss of life amongst pedestrians and ‘safe’ drivers whilst the dangerous element purged themselves spectacularly from society.

By the sticks I mean muddy fields and wet, slippery, gravelly slipways i.e terrain that an average family car would have an issue with. Your assumption that ‘most of these drivers’ have never used their vehicles 4WD features is entirely baseless…the heavy snow we had earlier this year saw all sorts of people utilising their 4×4’s for exactly the purpose they were intended. There was a magnificent effort from the parents in my eldests school (a small secondary in rural Oxfordshire) that saw parents with ‘Chelsea Tractors’ pulling duty getting kids to and from school before the snow closed it.

You may say thats a ‘one off’ and perhaps it is…but it was a damn good job they were there!

Heavy SNOW now how deep was that snow ? Dont see the Nords or Finns having a 4 X 4 frenzy ! 10 or 15 cm a joke.

my point exactly they are a statement of wealth nothing more,:)

They! most people that own them never leave a town, they go for a sunday drive maybe to a ford or what they deem a mucky road !! I have completed hill climbs in Landrovers and completed military courses, thats when 4 X 4 is needed .

So is this what this is all about then?. 4×4’s being driven in London?. Isn’t that more properly an issue of addressing the traffic chaos in London more than deriding 4×4 owners nationwide?.

Then there is the small issue of whether someone might exist, who lives in a city/town environment, that regularly has a need to drive out into the sticks. Should they perhaps be forced to leave their big hulking 4×4’s in edge of town car parks and then be made to drive Micra’s into town to their homes???.

Ludicrous!.:mad:

OK !! I understand your use for a 4×4. But how many people really use an off road vechicle for its intended design ? What do you deem the sticks ? Most drivers of these vechicles have never used low or high ratio gears. Its laughable.

Ooooh, the good old “no one but me is a good driver” controversy….

I have one of those 4×4’s, a beautiful venerable old Land Rover 90D:
http://www.cardatabase.net/?pid=00062087 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 Lovely eh?

I bought this car not to annoy, intimidate or threaten anyone, but because its is so strongly built that it reached it’s age of 20 years and 500.000+ km’s without effort, some TLC and a spare part every now and then. Try that with the more common tin boxes!

Owning this vehicle makes me no better being or a better driver, I’m not compensating for, well, you know, I do not feel superior over smaller cars, I just appreciate it.

I drive buses for my living, including the articulated ones (http://tinyurl.com/2k76gm) and as a professional I assure you: it depends ENTIRELY on the attitude of the driver, it really doesn’t matter if you drive a Nissan Micra, a Lincoln Navigator or even a bicycle. And, by the way, I too make mistakes and errors in traffic. You just have to realize that every now and then.

Tillerman.

Is that the Landrover Defender ? Great for off roading and Green Lanes, but just cant see why people have to drive them round London ! like i say if you put the average London Land Rover owner on an Off Road test, they would be clueless.

Sounds about right. Thing is most 4 x 4 drivers think they are bomb proof in such vechicles, most dont even know how to drive the properly. I saw someone killed this evening in one ! the front of the cab was totally crushed.

Best news i have heard all week.

Sir we only have to view your old and inane posts to understand your vindictive side, to moderation and public posters.

No nerves touched, these kind of statements are consistent with the level of drivel that prevails on these forums today.

Having driven everything from 40 tonne trucks across Europe to your basic Fiesta around town, I have come across good and bad drivers of every type of vehicle you care to mention. To say that because someone drives a (insert type of vehicle) they are either arrogant, brainless, ignorant etc… is pure twaddle (a stronger word would be used here, however we have to think of the moderator’s sensitivities).

You seem to spark most of the drival on this forum !! Forums are freedom of speech !