supergirl wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 9:40 amI just want to say a few things.

Firstly comparing 4x4 to the gun situation in the US is completely irrelevant, and frankly quite crass for all the victims and their families involved. But I sort of get what someone would make the comparison I suppose.

There are a lot of people who only owns 1 car because they cant afford to run 2; so that car has to be multifunctional: the school run, the food shop, the trailing, the country roads, the snow, the mountains etc. Not everyone choose those cars for status symbol but for practicalities, functionalities and versatility. A better question is how many of the owners of those car have ever switch the 4 wheels drive on?
Also when lifting a newborn out of a car it is easier from a tall 4x4 instead of bending down.

Banning those cars isnt the answer in my opinion. It was a very very tragic accident but it was an accident. The investigation isnt finished yet so we dont know if that driver has suffered a mini stroke or anything that could have made the accident happen or if it was indeed dangerous driving.

I think the only way to look at it is what about public transport? People use their car because the alternative is expensive, delayed, not frequent and therefore inconvenient or even dangerous if you are on bikes. Local authorities and public policies have to make it enticing for the vast majority of us to use an alternative mode of transport. A complete overhaul is absolutely necessary in light of this tragic accident. 

- more public transport: so hiring more drivers and pay them well;
- more often 24hrs/7 so again pay the drivers an incentive for them to want to work night/week end;
- more stops ie. buses almost like hailing a yellow cab in NYC;
- overhaul of the cycle lanes with marking on the grounds and their own dedicated lights, like in Amsterdam where it is so safe to cycle (I was so impress 3 weeks ago).
- every schools should have school buses like in the US
- and many other policies that would make choosing your own car inconvenient.

Let's keep the roads for lorries, taxis, blue badges and ambulances/fire engines/police, and of course public transports

KatherineHepburn wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 10:32 amYes, I think it is time we overhauled the rules on SUV use in cities.

2 eight year old girls have died. Their families devastated. It's simply awful. Inexcusable.
It is a slow road around the front of the school, the sheer weight and power of that Land Rover took it through a metal fence, across a group of children and parents and into the side of the school building.

I think that this probably sums it up:
'SUVs are a paradox: while many people buy them to feel safer, they are statistically less safe than regular cars, both for those inside and those outside the vehicle. A person is 11% more likely to die in a crash inside an SUV than a regular saloon. Studies show they lull drivers into a false sense of security, encouraging them to take greater risks. Their height makes them twice as likely to roll in crashes and twice as likely to kill pedestrians by inflicting greater upper body and head injuries, as opposed to lower limb injuries people have a greater chance of surviving.  '

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019 ... our-cities