Neil Williams wrote:
On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 23:19:30 +0000, Dave Arquati
wrote:


I never even suggested banning 4x4s from central London. There are other
measures which could be taken to reduce their use.


That may well be where we differ. I don't see why a 4x4 vehicle
should be considered any different from any other vehicle, in Central
London or otherwise. We may well want a target to reduce the numbers
of private motor vehicles in general in London, but to target a
specific type of *transmission* in such an ill-informed manner is not
a good idea.

I say transmission, because 4x4 vehicles come in many shapes and
sizes, the only thing they *all* have in common being power
transmission to all wheels in some way. Only *some* of them are Range
Rovers, Discoverys etc, and as has been stated even those don't take
as much road space (on the horizontal plane) as people think.

I do understand the argument you're putting across - and it's valid; it
would be silly to target the type of transmission. However, within the
4x4 class, there are a whole set of vehicles that could be classified as
a nuisance - for safety reasons (for the occupants and for other
motorists, cyclists and pedestrians) and environmental reasons. Perhaps
these factors should be concentrated on.

There are also practical factors - the large Range Rovers etc. seem to
have trouble manoeuvring into parking spaces or around each other in
narrow streets, and that has implications for traffic flow. Other bulky
vehicles like vans tend to be driven by people more experienced with
such manoeuvres.

I'm not convinced by the vertical plane argument, as I would have
thought most drivers don't look ahead through other cars as a means of
seeing the road ahead, as visibility is that poor that way.

It's not just the vertical place - as the Range Rover-type vehicles have
a larger cross-section, you have to keep a greater distance to see
things either side of the car.

I find looking through the vehicle ahead gives greater visibility (i.e.
some) of the road ahead than not looking through it (i.e. none).

Conversely, drivers of taller vehicles also have worse visibility of
smaller objects like children, especially to the rear. It's said that in
the States (where I accept that SUVs are generally even larger than the
equivalent here), every year around 80 children are killed by parents
who reverse SUVs and hit them because they can't see them.


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London