LETTERS
Killers on the school run
So there I was the other day, crouched on my bike at a very busy road junction, waiting for a gap in a constant stream of traffic so I could make a left turn. I had been waiting for about a month (well, it seemed like it) when a woman in a 4x4 pulled up alongside me. Her intention, to turn right.
This poncy off-roady thing stood so tall I reckon the driver needed oxygen to prevent altitude sickness. It was like having a brick wall suddenly spring up at my side and left me with zero visibility of the road to my right. There was only one thing for it – I had to wait until Mrs 4x4 made her move so I could duck in using her ten tons of tank as my shield.
That got me thinking. First thought – all 4x4s should be transparent so you can see what they so dangerously obscure. Second thought – ban them! Third, and more seriously, I wondered if the growing number of these vehicles on our roads had resulted in an increase in the casualty rate among other more vulnerable road users – bikers, pedestrians, cyclists and even those car drivers who have opted for wheels with less armour.
Mrs 4x4 opts to buy one of these monstrosities to take her own little monstrosities to school because she reckons wrapped in such a cocoon they will be safer from the consequences of her appalling driving. And they are, but at the expense of every other person or vehicle she hits. We have all seen that ad showing the shattered child with the ethereal voiceover that says she would have stood a much better chance of surviving had you hit her at a slower speed. Is the same rule of survival applicable to the consequences of being hit by a ‘normal’ vehicle instead of a 4x4?
Let’s see some research into that question. If it turns out they are as potentially lethal to the rest of us as it would appear, there would be a strong case for creation of a new licence category requiring 4x4 owners to undergo and pass more extensive driver training. That should drastically slash the number you see on school runs.
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