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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: The 4 X 4 Phenomenon
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Eirenist
Shipmate
# 13343
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Posted
Why do some more affluent Brits (in this part of the world, at least) feel the need to transport their children to school in what amount to armoured vehicles? Is it just 'because they can', or is there a deeper reason? What are they afraid of?
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'I think I think, therefore I think I am'
Posts: 486 | From: Darkest Metroland | Registered: Jan 2008
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
If the weekenders with second homes around here are anything to go by, the wives have 4x4s because they 'feel safer' in them. The husband buys one because he knows any damage in an accident is likely to be to the other car.
I keep a 4x4 (ancient) for towing things like boats and horse-boxes - plus its the only way for me to reach my sibling in a wet spring.
But then my 4x4, being ancient, isn't much wider than the average car and is short wheelbase. The problem is with things like a Porsche Cayenne which is massive: give one of those to someone without the skill to drive it in congested traffic and you have a recipe for disaster - we see it here in the carpark of the nearest Waitrose.
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
quote:
What are they afraid of?
Zombies.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
quote:
What are they afraid of?
Zombies.
Aha. If someone selling katana swords and crossbows could just talk to the people first.
I've noticed over the years that the cars I see that have turned over on the side of the road when it snows are always 4wd vehicles. The folks seem to think they are invincible to weather.
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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mark_in_manchester
not waving, but...
# 15978
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Posted
quote:
The problem is with things like a Porsche Cayenne
While walking Hadrian's wall with my brother-in-law, we had to take a detour around a farm with a large paddock. It all looked odd...a little pristine...an impression confirmed as a guy crested the hill in one of those Porsche things towing the kind of gang of mowers usually seen behind a parks department tractor. So don't let it be said that such things don't serve a legitimate, rural-life-style purpose... ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
ETA:
quote:
I've noticed over the years that the cars I see that have turned over on the side of the road when it snows are always 4wd vehicles.
I used to visit northern Finland for work - my mate drove on thick ice all winter in an ancient 2WD Polo, with studded tyres and the usual electric engine block heater (you plug your car in overnight).
My Polish motor-bike mate makes his own studded winter tyres using self-tapping screws ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
[ 10. September 2015, 14:08: Message edited by: mark_in_manchester ]
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"We are punished by our sins, not for them" - Elbert Hubbard
(so good, I wanted to see it after my posts and not only after those of shipmate JBohn from whom I stole it)
Posts: 1596 | Registered: Oct 2010
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
I used to visit northern Finland for work - my mate drove on thick ice all winter in an ancient 2WD Polo, with studded tyres and the usual electric engine block heater (you plug your car in overnight).
Is that a VW? I used to see studded tires every once and while when I was a kid but we really don't get enough snow for folks to go full time with them during the winter. It seems one of the best cars in the snow that I've seen was always the rear engine VW bugs and the VW Thing I had in college was good, too. Surely the Polo's heater is better than the Bug or Thing, too.
quote:
My Polish motor-bike mate makes his own studded winter tyres using self-tapping screws
Motorcycles in the winter? You are truly a He-Man.
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
This is generally true. Parents even drive their adult children to work.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
They buy them because it feeds the fantasy that they are gentleman farmers with wide acres, who need them to drive around in mud. It give the delusion that one's urban life is not where one really belongs.
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
They can't reverse up lanes (or down, either, but that isn't required in the Highway Code), and given a lane which would be just wide enough for vehicles (even theirs) to pass, they can't draw into the hedge on their side. Furthermore, given a lane with verges both sides, it has to be the car without the off-road facility which goes onto the verge, and possibly slides into the ditch.
None of this applies to Landrovers of the working type.
If observed in Dulwich* while it is raining stair-rods, the driver will lean out of his pristine vehicle to cast rude remarks at a pedestrian in a Stockman raincoat and wide brimmed oiled hat as though they are out of place. Working 4X4s are never seen in Dulwich.
*A flavour of Dulwich for those unfamiliar with it. Dulwich Society It should be pointed out that it does include social housing blocks of flats and a multicultural population who don't show up much at the Society meetings.
[ 10. September 2015, 14:56: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
They buy them because it feeds the fantasy that they are gentleman farmers with wide acres, who need them to drive around in mud. It give the delusion that one's urban life is not where one really belongs.
I can't read their minds. However, I just calculated that folks in the UK are paying 3 times what I am for gasoline and those vehicles probably get barely over the half the gas mileage of the Honda Civic I drive. The difference would sure buy lots of beer.
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Bicycles. It's how I went the 8 miles to school 50 years ago. Several of us, picking up each other along the way. In winter, we'd get a drop off part way. These experiences of daily travel with age-mates are lost today.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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quetzalcoatl
Shipmate
# 16740
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Posted
My neighbours have a massive 4 x 4, so I tell them they look like drug dealers! Well, I hear that the Porsche is the favourite car of that profession. Although, come to think of it, on local estates, they use bikes.
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I can't talk to you today; I talked to two people yesterday.
Posts: 9878 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2011
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Beeswax Altar
Shipmate
# 11644
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
quote:
What are they afraid of?
Zombies.
I've spent some time considering this. Come the Zombie Apocalypse, the most important thing one can have is a shark suit. Once you've acquired your shark suit, then you can invest in a bug out vehicle and other survival gear. Helps to have a few types of weapons depending on the type of zombie you face. All zombies die from head trauma. Prepare accordingly. I plan on joining the zombies.
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Losing sleep is something you want to avoid, if possible.
-Og: King of Bashan
Posts: 8411 | From: By a large lake | Registered: Jul 2006
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
But then my 4x4, being ancient, isn't much wider than the average car and is short wheelbase. The problem is with things like a Porsche Cayenne which is massive: give one of those to someone without the skill to drive it in congested traffic and you have a recipe for disaster - we see it here in the carpark of the nearest Waitrose.
Waitrose ought to factor that in and make their parking spaces wider ... ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif) We used to have real trouble at their Richmond store as the wide cars spilled over into adjacent spaces.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
Of course, they buy their monster trucks, and then have to drive down narrow roads (to get to their posh, out of the way, school), and park them to drop the kids off (often on the road, because the 10 parking spaces have been taken by the first 6 vans arriving had taken them, and were still chatting to each other).
I drive to work in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The number of Chelsea Tractors blocking the road is scary. They also have to drive slowly, because they are knobheads. And yes, they probably get less MPG than my TT does, because they are often huge engines, and only ever drive a mile to school and back, so never get warmed up. And if they are diesel, they pollute the school and home area that their kids live in. So much for caring about their kids.
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Blog
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Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001
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Tortuf
Ship's fisherman
# 3784
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Posted
Here in the US President Bush the Lesser encouraged buying SUV's with tax breaks.
I have heard all about the safety of a larger vehicle in crashes as well as for visibility and ability to see more from on high, so to speak.
My thought, for what it is worth, is that a certain amount of follow the leader sets in and people buy the kind of vehicle their friends and neighbors drive.
Beyond that, vehicles have often been sold on the "image" that owning such and such a vehicle projects. So, fancy two-seater sports car denotes either a young well to do sporty type, or a person suffering from mid life crisis. A SUV denotes rugged individualist, or soccer parent. A mini van denotes nerd. So, people buy a SUV to have the cargo room of a mini van while avoiding the nerd image.
Not really sure such a decision is worth condemnation.
My favorite vehicle is one that is: reliable; cost effective; safe, and; paid for. If I have a lot of off road use, or I have to haul a trailer around a lot, that might include an SUV.
Posts: 6963 | From: The Venice of the South | Registered: Dec 2002
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I have a 4x4 in Brazil (not an armoured SUV). In my defence, I often drive off-road.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
Nearly late for my wedding because of those bloody things clogging up the roads around Wandsworth Common, and that was in 1997.
Basically selfish bastards too snooty/ frightened to get out of their ultrasafe space. I've always imagined that the argument for taking Tarquin and Jemima everywhere in one is that it's not safe, you see, for them to walk, because of the traffic- what traffic?- why, all those 4x4s for a start...
I'd restrict ownership to people entitled to have red diesel, or at least ownership of any 4x4 that hasn't got dents in it and moss growing at the bottom of the windows. Oh, and I'd make it legal-possibly obligatory- to scrtach the paint of any car that overlaps the boundaries of a parking sopace.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Rowen
Shipmate
# 1194
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Posted
I have a 4x4 .... Not an enormous one, but big enough. It is my church-provided work car, but I can use it for a certain amount of private use too. I drive hundreds of kms on dirt roads, in steep ranges, through mud and snow.
This week, I am visiting some large cities. Locals stare at you car, I think, as it is so different from their 4x4s.... Mine is covered in mud, small scratches and similar! Theirs'? Pristine! Never used out o town, I bet.
Parking spaces in shopping centres are smaller here, than those at home.
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"May I live this day… compassionate of heart" (John O’Donoghue)...
Posts: 4897 | From: Somewhere cold in Victoria, Australia | Registered: Aug 2001
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Arabella Purity Winterbottom
Trumpeting hope
# 3434
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Posted
Rowan has nailed the essential distinguishing marks of a 4x4 used for its intended purpose.
Dirt. Having grown up in the country, the 4x4s I'm familiar with are rugged from rough use (my favourite cousin took the front doors off his, so he could get in and out quickly on the farm). The pristine behemoths that clog up city roads are just silly status symbols.
In terms of size, I relate the story of my teen years (1970s), when I belonged to two youth orchestras as a cellist. I used to travel with a friend, who played double bass, and his mum, in their Mini. Yes, you can fit a cello, a double bass, two teenagers, and a mum in an old-fashioned Mini if you try. Bit of a squeeze, but we did it for 2 years, every weekend.
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Hell is full of the talented and Heaven is full of the energetic. St Jane Frances de Chantal
Posts: 3702 | From: Aotearoa, New Zealand | Registered: Oct 2002
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bib
Shipmate
# 13074
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Posted
I believe that 4x4s used in city areas are just status symbols. You only have to observe the drivers - well coiffured thirty something women who wield their vehicles as a terrifying weapon. It is a different matter using said vehicles in rural areas and for specific occupations, but I am cynical at their use for Mum's taxi.
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"My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring"
Posts: 1307 | From: Australia | Registered: Oct 2007
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Bicycles. It's how I went the 8 miles to school 50 years ago. Several of us, picking up each other along the way. In winter, we'd get a drop off part way. These experiences of daily travel with age-mates are lost today.
Some areas around here are good for that. We've never lived in an area that was. Our youngest was in a good area for riding a bike to school when she was in college, though, so that's what she did.
[ 11. September 2015, 00:28: Message edited by: Mere Nick ]
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
My Polish motor-bike mate makes his own studded winter tyres using self-tapping screws
Motorcycles in the winter? You are truly a He-Man.
If you think that's macho consider Ice Speedway. In this class the bikes don't have studs: no, they have 3cm spikes in the tyres! (see about 22:00)
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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PaulBC
Shipmate
# 13712
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Posted
Over here in North America the SVU makes sense you can have massive distances to cover.
A few years agio I spent an hour riding in a vehicle and never left Calgary Alberta . In the UK I wonder why you need it , unles you live in the Scottish Highlands , the Moors of the NE or Cornwall or the Welsh mountains . Come to think about it those places are a little like Canada's mountains just older & lower but beautiful.
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"He has told you O mortal,what is good;and what does the Lord require of youbut to do justice and to love kindness ,and to walk humbly with your God."Micah 6:8
Posts: 873 | From: Victoria B.C. Canada | Registered: May 2008
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
I don't think anyone has a problem with people who use 4x4s for their intended, off-road purpose. It's the people who when they get a dent in the bumper (the part intended to protect the structure of the car from damage) have to get it mended immediately. It's the people who clean their car weekly to make sure it looks good. They should own something different.
And the problem, as Albertus said, is that the dangers they are trying to protect their little seed-banks from are other people like themselves. I am just waiting to see the first person to take young Francesca to school in a tank, just for safety.
My children walked to school pretty well all of their school time. I usually walked to school (my dad used to take us part of the way if he was going into work and it was convenient). Around the South East, there are plenty of schools, so there should be a school within walking distance of most people - so let them walk. Or if you have to drive them, drive something small and appropriate.
And we wonder why they grow up entitled and completely cut off from the real world, to become senior members of the Tory party.
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Blog
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Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.
Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Actually, round here, there can be problems getting to school. Since changes in admissions policy, being in the nearest school can't be counted on. And lanes have no footpaths, and drivers, not necessarily on the school run, who can't be trusted to drive with consideration for others. So I would excuse some parents driving the offspring to and from school. Clogging up the roads from half an hour before school ends, though, is a menace.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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leo
Shipmate
# 1458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Send them to neighbourhoo0d schools.
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My Jewish-positive lectionary blog is at http://recognisingjewishrootsinthelectionary.wordpress.com/
My reviews at http://layreadersbookreviews.wordpress.com
Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001
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betjemaniac
Shipmate
# 17618
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Send them to neighbourhoo0d schools.
If I had children, it would take them an hour and a half to walk to the nearest secondary school from my house....
Not everyone lives in an urban area.
[ 11. September 2015, 15:29: Message edited by: betjemaniac ]
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And is it true? For if it is....
Posts: 1481 | From: behind the dreaming spires | Registered: Mar 2013
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Ricardus
Shipmate
# 8757
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Basically selfish bastards too snooty/ frightened to get out of their ultrasafe space.
Are they safer anyway? I thought they were actually more likely to overturn because of the higher centre of gravity, but that might be a myth.
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Then the dog ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail. -- Tobit 11:9 (Douai-Rheims)
Posts: 7247 | From: Liverpool, UK | Registered: Nov 2004
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Fr Weber
Shipmate
# 13472
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Posted
They're a lot more common in The Town than they should be, and their main purpose seems to be to display status or to make incompetent drivers "feel safer" (by endangering everyone else).
And, of course, as AJ Soprano said, to "waste petrochemical resources."
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"The Eucharist is not a play, and you're not Jesus."
--Sr Theresa Koernke, IHM
Posts: 2512 | From: Oakland, CA | Registered: Feb 2008
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ricardus:
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Basically selfish bastards too snooty/ frightened to get out of their ultrasafe space.
Are they safer anyway? I thought they were actually more likely to overturn because of the higher centre of gravity, but that might be a myth.
I think it was one particular model with a narrow wheelbase. The ones round here are pretty wide.
And I do have to be a bit fairer to the ones wh won't go near the hedges. There are a few places where, because hedge management is now done by flails, there are hidden bits of wood sticking out, which can damage a car. I lost a wing mirror while avoiding someone who didn't go very close on the other side.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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argona
Shipmate
# 14037
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Posted
I've heard that more than 60% of London registered 4x4's have never been outside the M25 ring. I suppose their owners have an ordinary car as well that's much more comfortable on a long run, not to mention having some luggage space. Keep the tank for showing off in the city.
Posts: 327 | From: Oriental dill patch? (4,7) | Registered: Aug 2008
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
Here is the ultimate SUV.
Moo
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Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
quote:
Originally posted by Ricardus:
Are[/i] they safer anyway? I thought they were actually more likely to overturn because of the higher centre of gravity, but that might be a myth.
I think it was one particular model with a narrow wheelbase. The ones round here are pretty wide.
It wasn't, and isn't, one particular model. The higher you go up, the easier it goes over. Whilst suspension plays a role, it is a fairly simple width to center of gravity ratio that determines most of stability. Active suspensions do help, but gravity, mass and inertia rule.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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rolyn
Shipmate
# 16840
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Posted
There is something to be said for driving a vehicle which is resilient to a head-on smash situation. But we,re talking A -roads here, where you have the potential of combined speed crash which is equivalent to hitting a solid wall at 100 mph.
Having a 4x4 purely for city and motorway/dual carriageway does seem OTT as far as being safe from an idiot on the wrong side of the road is concerned.
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Change is the only certainty of existence
Posts: 3206 | From: U.K. | Registered: Dec 2011
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
Albertus: I'd restrict [...] ownership of any 4x4 that hasn't got dents in it and moss growing at the bottom of the windows.
I'm safe then ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
My Chevrolet Tracker doesn't really have dents, but a lot of scratches from having to drive through branches. I wash it around 3–4 times per year because I really have to.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
Here is the ultimate SUV.
Moo
If you are going to drive something as a statement, that works.
For driving the local roads, I would much prefer my car, which is nippy, but grips the road superbly. From a safety aspect, I think it is very safe, as long as I drive with attention, because it handles so well.
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Blog
Music for your enjoyment
Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.
Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001
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leo
Shipmate
# 1458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Send them to neighbourhoo0d schools.
If I had children, it would take them an hour and a half to walk to the nearest secondary school from my house....
Not everyone lives in an urban area.
Bus?
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My Jewish-positive lectionary blog is at http://recognisingjewishrootsinthelectionary.wordpress.com/
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Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
Bus?
I don't know about the UK, but here in the US, school buses went the way of the dinosaur decades ago as a victim of the anti-tax/ low budget/ small government crusade. Sometimes city buses will be a possibility, but in many parts of the US, particularly rural areas, those too are unavailable/unreliable as a means of transport.
[ 12. September 2015, 13:50: Message edited by: cliffdweller ]
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
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Originally posted by leo:
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Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Send them to neighbourhoo0d schools.
If I had children, it would take them an hour and a half to walk to the nearest secondary school from my house....
Not everyone lives in an urban area.
Bus?
They rode the bus when they first started school. We moved to another school district and they often rode the bus then. However, as kids get to middle school age their behavior was not something we wanted our daughters around. When they were in high school they would ride with my wife because she was a teacher there. When they were old enough to drive they would normally drive themselves because of after school jobs, sports, or other activities. It was pretty normal for kids to car pool if they could so they could save gas money.
I drove a high school bus in the mornings during the spring of 2012. It had automatic transmission, Mercedes Benz engine, and everything was push button. Surely nothing like the ones I rode when I was a kid. The route was in the northern end of Buncombe county, bordering on Madison county. The kids were always very polite and quiet in the mornings. Any trouble and hell raising was normally in the afternoons, if then.
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"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell
Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Send them to neighbourhoo0d schools.
If I had children, it would take them an hour and a half to walk to the nearest secondary school from my house....
Not everyone lives in an urban area.
Bus?
You're joking right? Rural bus services, even in the UK, are dire.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
(PS I do admit that having a car that says "I care less about a scratch on mine than you do on yours" comes in handy when driving in Brazilian cities.)
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
I don't dislike them, in fact we used to have one. A Toyota Hilux. We went on a few holidays round Norway and Europe with the canadian canoe on top. An ideal vehicle for such jaunts.
But I still loved my little square Fiat Panda for tootling round town.
Now we have a VW Passat estate - a grand all-rounder.
I don't understand judging others for the car they drive. If it suits your needs it suits your needs. We used to be a four car family, now we are retired and we're a one car couple. It works well for us (I have the car whenever I need it and he gets on his bike, haha!)
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I don't like the Hilux. No matter what I do, it gives me a back ache after driving longer distances. I find its four wheel drive weak too.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Hilda of Whitby
Shipmate
# 7341
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Posted
IMO the best take-down of these 4 wheel drive behemoths was the "Canyonero" jingle on the Simpsons (sung by Hank Williams Jr.). The whole thing is great, but I especially like the line:
"12 yards long, 2 lanes wide/65 tons of American pride/Canyonero!"
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"Born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world is mad."
Posts: 412 | From: Nickel City | Registered: Jun 2004
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
quote:
Originally posted by Mere Nick:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't know the answer but i think that they are selfish polluters of them planet who are depriving their kids of the joys of walking to school woith friends.
It would have taken well over an hour for our kids to walk to any of their schools.
Bicycles. It's how I went the 8 miles to school 50 years ago. Several of us, picking up each other along the way. In winter, we'd get a drop off part way. These experiences of daily travel with age-mates are lost today.
Unfortunately it's an article of faith for most in the UK that only a lunatic would ride bike on the road in the other traffic. They base this, IME, on knowing how appallingly they drive, and how dangerous they make the roads for cyclists and motorcyclists.
Because of this belief, the roads are full of motor vehicles with the result that they're largely right. It's a self-fulfilling policy. Many schools discourage cycling; some won't allow it at all.
[ 12. September 2015, 18:11: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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