Typical 4X4's

[tandemman]

The caravan club advises no more than an 85% trailer to car weight ratio. the point to note is that it is illegal to exceed the car manufacturers plated gross train weight or for the trailer to exceed it's maximum plated weight .

 

[Jim_Noir]

Happy days

 

[ComedyPilot]

What I don't get is that this whole 'school run' topic is well known to people in this country, and it is reknowned to cause chaos at kicking out time - yet they still insist on driving the kids 500 yards to school????

The only reason is because they are selfish. We collectively as a nation have become Americanised in our motoring habits, and it sucks.

Please can we change?

 

[Black Sheep]

To be fair, it does take a certain mentality to drive an environment destroying, fuel guzzling, cash squandering, car crushing status symbol on the school run in a splendid effort to ensure less planet for those inside to enjoy when they grow up.

yet some land rovers return more mpg than a vauxhall corsa

 

[very-near]

Anyway, going back to the OP...

The area that RC cycles through is pretty afluent and has some expensive schools around. It's very similar to Sutton Coldfield, where it's not uncommon for roads to become virtually blocked at 3.30 each day by X5s and XC90s parked randomly around school entrances, half or fully on pavements, and covering zigzag lines.

Need pics with reg numbers - can you provide them

 

[Bigtwin]

What I don't get is that this whole 'school run' topic is well known to people in this country, and it is reknowned to cause chaos at kicking out time - yet they still insist on driving the kids 500 yards to school????

The only reason is because they are selfish. We collectively as a nation have become Americanised in our motoring habits, and it sucks.

Please can we change?

Spot on. At my son's school, even the other mums park their sodding Range Rovers and XC90 and the like on the pavements thus stopping other parents using them. There is a huge carpark, on the same side of the road as the school, less than 50 yds away.

With that sort of mentality, what hope is there.

 

[very-near]

Which is?

edit: What's the maximum weight you can pull with a B license and then with a B+E. Look this up and then see that you are....WRONG!

I am aware of the ratio guidance (or lack of it), and you can exceed the MAM of the towing vehicle with a trailer which is within it's MAM with a B+E license, but the reality is you will most likely be done for carrying an unsafe load if stopped - which would invalidate your insurance in the event it caused an accident.

Only someone extremely stupid would attempt to tow a laden trailer weighing twice that of the car, and this is why the caravan club guidelines of 85% are regarded as good practice.

 

[very-near]

No you don't.

Yes I do

 

[very-near]

It's almost as if you're defending people you don't even know, just because you feel some affinity because you also own a 4x4. In all other respects, the school run mom is about as far from you as you can get.

Strange.

No what I am questioning is the notion that the pavements are littered with them when its time to drop the kids off.

Now I'd be interested to see how many kids parents in the school actually own them as a percentage, and how many of them as a percentage are used in the school run over other vehicles, and then how many of them actually park on the pavement in comparison to regular car drivers for an unbiased view.

Given this thread is titled 'Typical 4x4's' , don't you think it right and proper to check to see if there is any mileage in it, or is it just another pop at a soft target which you are happy to run with given your already known sentiments towards the owners of them as a group ?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I used to live opposite a good school in a relatively affluent area. The road outsid (which I had an excellent view of from my third floor flat) was always crowded with badly driven Chelsea tractors at dropping off and kicking out times. Occasionally, I'd park an articulated lorry on the road for an hour or so, then go upstairs and watch the chaos unfold as everyone tried to find somewhere to park to avoid Jocasta and Jeremy having to walk more than 15 yards.

 

[sheddy]

I am constantly amazed as to why motorists think they have a right to park on the pavement.
I don't ever recall having to do this in 30yrs+ of driving, and I would be ashamed and embarrassed if my driving skills were that pathetic.

 

[very-near]

And you've been given plenty of examples.

Obviously it depends where you live.

Come to Brum and I'll take you to Harborne/Edgbaston (RC's commute) and Sutton Coldfield at school run time. 4x4s everywhere. Pick an inner city area and things are quite different.

And you're well aware that size makes a difference.


You live in Cheltenham linfy. I'm sure there's a school near you which you could pop to today. That's you're right and proper check.

Can we assume that you'll do this then, as you're so obviously concerned, rather than making requests of others to go out of their way to take photos of situations that they're already aware of?

I live on the edge of one of the most deprived area in the UK, the schools my kids went to was full of the chavs from these areas so it is fair to say we have inner city schools here as well as posh private ones.

There was a protest a few years ago outside a private prep school which feeds the Ladies college. They ticketed a couple of the 4x4s which were turning up to drop their kids off with some dummy tickets.

The thing is though, the parents of half of these kids don't even live in the town. They are farmers/land owners, lawyers, high flying business people, MP's etc who live out in the sticks. They aren't representative of the population of the town.

You can go to any private school and see this happening, and if they aren't in a 4x4, they are in a big **** off Merc, or Beemer which are equally as difficult to park as any other car.

Given mine is a medium sized 4x4 but has a slightly smaller footprint than a Mondeo estate, I'd say this notion that they are massive vehicles is bogus.

 

[very-near]

And the doors?

You're taking criticism of 4x4s personally again.

And you're well aware of the number of the never-off-road things in Cheltenham, so I don't know why you're pretending that things are different.

Come again ?

 

[very-near]

The doors. Of the average 4x4.

Ever parked next to one?

Every day. I've got one sat on the drive

 

[tandemman]

I think some people have jumped on the 4X4 hate bandwagon, without actually looking at the car size/fuel consumption side of things. My Freelander does more mpg than the wifes Mini and has a smaller footprint than a Mondeo estate, furthermore it is only in four wheel drive when the front wheels start to slip (safety feature not pose value). Maybe if people took a step back from the fashionable eco-warrior standpoint they may see that a lot of their arguments are less based on act than they previously supposed.
I work 200 yards from our local school and there is no group of cars that could reasonably be said to be any more disrespectful of other road users than any other. I've worked here for 20 years I know of what I speak.