Cycling UK Forum

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Hi,
Niether of my 4X4's are on the list

I dont neccesarily think 4 X 4's are the worst drivers its just that they are big and bold and can easily be more intimidating
And you remember them, sounds good too even more dramatic "Big 4 X 4 with a *!^%$ driving it" or "a Golf" which sounds more dangerous..............
You cant argue with a close pass by an artic, when the trailer starts to close you out and you have to brake not to be crushed.

On my current training course it has a very steep lane, (barely enough room for a car and a cycle at the same time) and I have had at least three or more 4 X 4's pass me head on - they pulled right in to the hedge brushing the bank with their wheels and I had to brush the hedge with my arm and handlebars too.
But we pass slowly and I give a nod and a thumb and all is well.

That’s the list from Which? Car magazine’s owner’s survey.

If yours isn’t on the list, there weren’t enough respondents to make a reliable statistical calculation.

All owners of those cars must have been doing better things with their time.

Ha ha, my son has just got rid of his 'bundle of trouble' Honda CRV which is at the top of that Which list, whilst my totally trouble free 3 year old Mitsubishi ASX is at the bottom! Lol!

Its the drivers, a small % of scruffy white van mans and a few drivers of motorhomes that I am wary of. Most 4x4 people seem very good around here, but it is a very rural area.

Al

al_yrpal wrote:Ha ha, my son has just got rid of his 'bundle of trouble' Honda CRV which is at the top of that Which list, whilst my totally trouble free 3 year old Mitsubishi ASX is at the bottom! Lol!

And your point is?

Its the drivers, a small % of scruffy white van mans and a few drivers of motorhomes that I am wary of. Most 4x4 people seem very good around here, but it is a very rural area.

Al

The 4x4/SUV's I have most problem with are the stylistas

reohn2 wrote:

al_yrpal wrote:Ha ha, my son has just got rid of his 'bundle of trouble' Honda CRV which is at the top of that Which list, whilst my totally trouble free 3 year old Mitsubishi ASX is at the bottom! Lol!

And your point is?

Its the drivers, a small % of scruffy white van mans and a few drivers of motorhomes that I am wary of. Most 4x4 people seem very good around here, but it is a very rural area.

Al

The 4x4/SUV's I have most problem with are the stylistas

The point is fairly obvious… and I believe you but I am not quite sure what a stylista is? How do you decide?

Al

What worries me more about SUVs is their dire pedestrian (and presumably also cyclist) safety ratings. Being flat-fronted, and in some cases very badly designed in other ways for pedestrian safety, you're far more likely to be killed by one than by an ordinary saloon if hit at the same speed. As indeed one of my own family was.

They ought not to be being driven without an additional test, and shouldn't be being used for commuting on ordinary roads.

Hi,

al_yrpal wrote:Ha ha, my son has just got rid of his 'bundle of trouble' Honda CRV which is at the top of that Which list, whilst my totally trouble free 3 year old Mitsubishi ASX is at the bottom! Lol!

Its the drivers, a small % of scruffy white van mans and a few drivers of motorhomes that I am wary of. Most 4x4 people seem very good around here, but it is a very rural area.

Al

Lika Ayesha says thats a list of people WHO responded, so not a true reliability list.
Mitsubushi cars are Jap so they are normally reliable (good electrics and over engineered moving parts) Mitsubushi Shogun was at one time top of the list of true reliability (it might be the actual make Mitsubushi not the model neccesarily) And I know that Toyota was top in the past with two models in the top 5 and BMW slipped in to the top 5 reliabilty based on a particular model not the make so there's two ways to look at it, the actual model or the make
I had a Mitsubushi Colt that had done 100K all the suspension joints were rubber except two lower front ball joints and two track rod ends, never needed work on the suspension at all in that 100K so rubber joints are the key, not greased bushes with grease nipples....................I dont think I even replaced a track rod end either.

Hi,
Possible that proportionately suv's / 4x4's are bad drivers, but is their bad driving more worse to show up that much more on being discourtious / dangerous to cyclist than other models of cars , or as suggested is your own personal experience marring across the board cyclists experiences
We all will at times shoot off if another same model of car or type of car gives us a bad maneuver again.

Edited _ For Grammar

al_yrpal wrote: The point is fairly obvious…

Enlighten me,as it seems all you're doing is comparing one SUV to another,which has no bearing on the discussion.

and I believe you but I am not quite sure what a stylista is? How do you decide?

Al

The vehicle is a good indicator though that's not the absolute mark of a bad driver,most stylistas* are good drivers,but it's proportional ie;proportionally the number of problems I get from small HB's are minimal,whereas 4x4/SUV's** is high.

*highly fashionable,vanity plated,up their own rear end,types,which in it's self isn't a problem, but they tend to be more than a bit self centred(check their parking habits too.two bays for one vehicle,yellow line parkers,etc.again proportionally),hence my comment up thread of ''I'm so important in my big car whilst you're so insignificant on your small bicycle'' types accompanied by close o/takes etc.
I maybe be accused of stereo typing and even being jealous.
I'm not,anymore than your experience of badly driven motorhomes is, my experience of badly driven Stylista 4x4 SUV's is a reality,for me at least,and not perceived or clouded by jealousy or bigotry.

**RR,LR disco's,Qashai,Audi Q series,BMW X series,etc,etc.The ones that the only off road they've seen is a gravel driveway

Flinders wrote:What worries me more about SUVs is their dire pedestrian (and presumably also cyclist) safety ratings. Being flat-fronted, and in some cases very badly designed in other ways for pedestrian safety, you're far more likely to be killed by one than by an ordinary saloon if hit at the same speed. As indeed one of my own family was.

They ought not to be being driven without an additional test, and shouldn't be being used for commuting on ordinary roads.

Or should have 'roo bars fitted with sharp edges to them,I'm puzzled as to how they get though an MOT with such thing bolted to the front.
On the point about additional tests etc,there should be a tax load put on them as unnecessary polluters,along with trailers with a gross weight over a tonne*,or wide vehicles ie; caravans,motorhomes,etc,the law is way too lax IMHO.

*which should also have a form of MOT,and before anyone begins to accuse me of anything,I own and use a caravan and trailer both with over one tonne capacity.
Edit:- it may come as a surprise that a trailer can be used with way out of date tyres so long as there's legal tread on them,such tyres are an incident waiting to happen,no legal checks,no road worthiness ceritficate,nothing,all left to the owners discretion

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Hi,
Possible that proportionately suv's / 4x4's are bad drivers, but is their bad driving more worse to show up that musch more on being discourtious / dangerous to cyclist that other models of cars , or as suggested is your own personal experience marring across the board cyclists experiences
We all will at times shoot off if another same model of car or type of car gives us a bad maneuver again.

That's what the thread is all about,to find if others have the same experiences as I do.So far the only real defenders(sorry)of 4x4/suv'S has been their owners,which are also cyclists so they're bound to be biased,perhaps because they're careful drivers around vulnerable road users,which again shouldn't be any surprise.
My point is one of proportion of bad drivers, which as I posted up thread I find higher with 4x4?SUV drivers.If you don't see it that way that OK, we differ in opinion.But there are far more medium sized MPV's and small HB's on the road than 4x4/SUV's and proportionally I don't get the same problems proportionally,that's not to say drivers of those types of vehicles don't give me any problems at all,they do just less so.

reohn2 wrote:

Flinders wrote:What worries me more about SUVs is their dire pedestrian (and presumably also cyclist) safety ratings. Being flat-fronted, and in some cases very badly designed in other ways for pedestrian safety, you're far more likely to be killed by one than by an ordinary saloon if hit at the same speed. As indeed one of my own family was.

They ought not to be being driven without an additional test, and shouldn't be being used for commuting on ordinary roads.

Or should have 'roo bars fitted with sharp edges to them,I'm puzzled as to how they get though an MOT with such thing bolted to the front.
On the point about additional tests etc,there should be a tax load put on them as unnecessary polluters,along with trailers with a gross weight over a tonne*,or wide vehicles ie; caravans,motorhomes,etc,the law is way too lax IMHO.

*which should also have a form of MOT,and before anyone begins to accuse me of anything,I own and use a caravan and trailer both with over one tonne capacity.
Edit:- it may come as a surprise that a trailer can be used with way out of date tyres so long as there's legal tread on them,such tyres are an incident waiting to happen,no legal checks,no road worthiness ceritficate,nothing,all left to the owners discretion

The bars may just get removed for the MOT and put back afterwards. Or they may be perfectly legal (though they ought not to be).

Living in the north east of Scotland we have a lot of 4x4 vehicles. I have not noticed any particular discourtesy shown by them than other vehicles. Unlike other posters, I do not claim this as a fact, only my observation but it seems to me that, generally speaking, drivers are a bit more considerate up here than they reportedly are in Englandshire.

My comment about the reliability of my 4x4 vs my sons SUV was just about the irony of Which findings. I subscribe to Which but I do make my own mind up on purchases taking into account their views. Nothing to do with the discussion.
I think the reason why so many buy SUVs is the interior space and the driving position which is often nicer than a conventional car. In my case the 4x4 bit which is actually 2WD most of the time is for the winter because around here the roads are often skating rinks and when the snow comes you can forget driving a conventional vehicle because the roads are never cleared by the council. My MIL gets trapped indoors in those conditions. Others live rurally and would be cut off with no access to a 4WD. Undoubtably there are many stylistas too.

Al

TBH I can't say I have much issue with 4x4's over (say) Audi's which I do seem to have issues with.

I can't say I like 4x4's, I don't believe your average punter should be allowed to drive around in a 3 ton vehicle just for the sake of image.
I find them particularly annoying in the winter when there's ice on the floor and I spot them in peoples gardens after their drivers discovered that just because 4 wheel drive gets them off the mark a bit quicker it doesn't do much for actually stopping on ice, nor do the large wheels and mass show much respect for other peoples property (and occasionally other people).

There's no doubt some folk need them but compared to the number sold it's a tiny number. I'd be inclined to reduce the maximum weight for PLG effectively removing heavy vehicles out of private use whilst allowing those that actually need them to add the extra license requirements.

Flinders wrote:The bars may just get removed for the MOT and put back afterwards.

I don't doubt it,along with big exhuasts,stupidly wide wheels that almost touch the wheel arches,etc,etc

Or they may be perfectly legal (though they ought not to be).

Yep,after all who needs a 'roo bar in the UK

We have a distinct lack of law enforcement in the UK because it's been decided we can't afford it