Saturday 8 July 2023

Not Letting A Tragedy Go To Waste...

Former Lib Dem transport minister Norman Baker, has long campaigned against 4x4s on environmental grounds and believes they should face higher taxes to drive them off the road.
He told MailOnline: 'While they are useful for farmers, they are completely inappropriate for urban locations, and clearly more dangerous and have a bigger impact if a collision occurs.
'The taxation system should be changed to reflect that they are antisocial vehicles. We need to increase tax on them and make it social unacceptable to drive them in cities.'

Some of the victims of what's looking like a tragic accident that could have happened to a bus driver of lorry driver (all large heavy vehicles) are still in hospital. 

But don't let that stop you clutching their tattered blood-soaked clothing to your breast while you indulge yourself, eh. Norman? 

Not that you're the only rabid authoritarian out there...

John Scruby, a road safety campaigner and former policeman, suggested drivers of 4x4s could face extra tests before being allowed on the roads.
He told MailOnline: 'People in outlying areas need these vehicles, but I'm not sure that parents on the school run do.

How about we let people decide what they need, rather than some jumped up little popinjay? 

'Drivers need to be aware that they're in a four-ton killing machine and they need to be used accordingly.

If the driver did suffer a medical episode, she wouldn't have been aware of anything, would she? 

'As police officers we needed to take a separate course to drive a heavy vehicle. That's something we could look at with 4x4 drivers more generally.'

Hasn't stopped your former colleagues killing people while driving, has it? 

5 comments:

Doonhamer said...

Makes sense.
No license, tax or instruction for driving very light weight electric scooter.
Extra tuition, special license and high tax for driving a car with an extra ton (or tonne) of battery bomb under the passengers.
Next problem. How to stop budding architects and brain surgeons stabbing infants. Oh, look, a squirrel!

Ian Johnson said...

Battery cars are also heavy killing machines, but there won't be calls to ban them or introduce special licence conditions for them

Anonymous said...

Rather than 4 x 4s, perhaps the Met should deal with these tiny penised, wealthy, morons, mindlessly parking their ultra super sports cars all over the place, blocking roads and causing inconvenience to passers by. Got a parking ticket? No problem, my accountant will deal with it. If given a parking ticket, enter details on a data base. A second offence should lead to the vehicle being lifted and placed in a car pound (somewhere like Middlesbrough seems appropriate). These numpties can then experience what inconvenience is.
Penseivat

Stonyground said...

My SUV isn't a 4X4 although a 4X4 version is available. It is however the most wonderfully versatile car that I've ever owned. Long journeys in quiet comfort, with bags of legroom in the rear seats, check. Intercooled turbo diesel that combines excellent performance with amazing fuel economy, check. Folding seats that turn it into a voluminous truck in seconds, check. A hundred times less environmental impact than a virtue signalling and useless electric car, check.

If John Scruby has a problem with my car, I suggest that he stands for election on a ban SUVs platform and sees how many votes he gets.

JuliaM said...

"Next problem. How to stop budding architects and brain surgeons stabbing infants. Oh, look, a squirrel!"

Indeed!

"Battery cars are also heavy killing machines..."

Far heavier than a normal car, too. But yes, they'll escape censure from the usual suspects...

"...perhaps the Met should deal with these tiny penised, wealthy, morons, mindlessly parking their ultra super sports cars all over the place, blocking roads and causing inconvenience to passers by."

You can now add 'delaying the post' to that list!

"A hundred times less environmental impact than a virtue signalling and useless electric car, check."

Yes, I do miss my Landrover on occasions, now sadly departed due to the impending ULEZ. But I wasn't going to shell out on an electric car, no way..!