[Tom_77]

Interesting piece in The Guardian about SUVs.

[quote]

Sold as a means of escape from the concrete realities of the modern world, a symbol of individualism and the pioneer spirit, the SUV represents instead a uniform kind of selfishness, a collective indifference to community to which, alas, we are all more or less prone.

[/quote]

 

Topic

[ktache]

https://www.theguardian.com

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/16/paris-us-size-cars-europe-emissions-suvs-france

[Tom_77]

Car tax in France is

Car tax in France is interesting reading. There’s a huge one-off tax to register a heavily polluting car. There’s also a one-off tax of €10 / Kg for every Kg over 1800 Kg, so a 1900 Kg car would cost an extra €1000 to register (EV’s don’t have to pay).

[wtjs]

Pick-up trucks already are.

Pick-up trucks already are. If they have class N1 type approval and a payload capacity of over 1000kg – which they would have to as the VAT & BIK tax advantages are only applicable if they are commercial vehicles, then they are subject to the same reduced limits as a van

I’m taking you as an expert, so this is useful information!

[lonpfrb]

grumpyoldcyclist wrote:

grumpyoldcyclist wrote:

They may be limited to 50 or 60 mph, but they don’t observe it and speed cameras haven’t been told about the different limits.
Bring back traffic police Richi

It’s negligent enforcement that speed camera systems don’t use ANPRS and DVLA lookup to determine the allowed speed of each vehicle. This is all within government control.

[Rendel Harris]

ktache wrote:

There are a lot of light up collars on walked dogs this year. Red are the most stand out for me, then green, then blue. Last year and previously they were difficult to see,  somewhat fuzzy, this year, proper stand out and bright.

Loads in Battersea Park on the darkest section of the commute, trouble is the owners often still wear black clothes, hats and even scarves over their faces, so you spot the dog, fine, then have to slow right down until you’ve figured out where the owner is.

[ktache]

There are a lot of light up

There are a lot of light up collars on walked dogs this year. Red are the most stand out for me, then green, then blue. Last year and previously they were difficult to see,  somewhat fuzzy, this year, proper stand out and bright.

[levestane]

Ad association!

Ad association!

[andystow]

Rendel Harris wrote:

Obviously Paris is the City of Lights and all that but it might be taking it a bit far to expect pedestrians to be festooned with them. Is there anywhere in the world where pedestrians do habitually wear lights at night?

I won’t walk on the rural roads here without lights at night. Many running clubs require them for night runs, and I even see dog walkers with lights on them and their dogs. But not in cities.

[Rendel Harris]

neilmck wrote:

neilmck wrote:

Here in France, pedestrians only bother to look half the time before they cross the road. On top of that, they never wear lights at night. As a cyclist in the Parisian region I would say that pedestrians are more dangerous than SUVs.

Obviously Paris is the City of Lights and all that but it might be taking it a bit far to expect pedestrians to be festooned with them. Is there anywhere in the world where pedestrians do habitually wear lights at night?

[andystow]

neilmck wrote:

neilmck wrote:

Here in France, pedestrians only bother to look half the time before they cross the road. On top of that, they never wear lights at night. As a cyclist in the Parisian region I would say that pedestrians are more dangerous than SUVs.

So pedestrians kill more cyclists in Paris than SUVs do? That’s… unbelievable!

I have more squirrels nearly crash into me every day than pedestrians or SUVs, but I know which is more likely to kill me.

[neilmck]

Here in France, pedestrians
Here in France, pedestrians only bother to look half the time before they cross the road. On top of that, they never wear lights at night. As a cyclist in the Parisian region I would say that pedestrians are more dangerous than SUVs.

[Simon E]

Good in principle but not

Good in principle but not much help when most of the crashes we read about are in urban areas, and surprisingly often on residential streets.

[Brauchsel]

Rendel Harris wrote:

 all the twentysomethings were loving working from home, all the thirtysomethings and above with kids at home were absolutely begging to be allowed to come into the office!

Once schools/nurseries reopened, it was the opposite at my place. The young people were sick of working from poky houseshares, and were itching to do young-people things in town after work. Us old(er) folks found out that we quite liked our own homes, being able to shop/do chores at lunchtime and not have to spend hours rushing to/from work and school. 

[grumpyoldcyclist]

They may be limited to 50 or

They may be limited to 50 or 60 mph, but they don’t observe it and speed cameras haven’t been told about the different limits.
Bring back traffic police Richi

[Sriracha]

Left_is_for_Losers wrote:

Left_is_for_Losers wrote:

mark1a wrote:

Just my $0.02, you exclude VW on the grounds of reliability but would’ve considered Skoda? 

The VW family is generally considered one of the most reliable, and certainly fairly easy to fix due to the crossover of parts etc. 

That’s the marketing. My Skoda has needed 2 injectors at near a grand each time, the A/C packed up, the windows work on Tuesdays, the nearside mirror adjusts in one axis only and neither heats up. My VW is on its third turbo, the central locking works on Wednesdays, the rear door window mech has been replaced twice, and the bodywork has rusted through in two panels. My sister’s VW had to be replaced by the dealership because the DSG gearbox was basically shit mated to the small petrol engine. I would not recommend them at all.

Oh, and they are duplicitous lying bustards too.

[Author]

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