Balmain Boys Do Cry

Friday, November 26, 2004

4WDers. Yes, they're wankers, but...

Darp has a crack today at some particularly stupid guys in a 4WD. I've actually been meaning to write a post on this topic for a couple of weeks, ever since the Good Weekend article a couple of weeks ago. There is certainly enough circumstantial evidence to suggest all 4WD owners are complete fuckwits, but are they just easy targets? Well, I guess wilderbeast are easy targets sometimes too, because they're so dumb, and they all follow one another. A strong parallel I think you'll agree. But anyway, here is my response to Darps post:

Now I know it’s fun to make sweeping generalizations, especially when they’re based in fact (yes, most urban 4wd driver ARE wankers) but lets consider a few points here:

The BWM, assuming it was the 6 cyl petrol model, uses less fuel and puts out way less pollutants (thanks to more modern emission control technology) than your falcon, and probably about the same, if not slightly better, than even a new falcon. It’s about 15% heavier.

When it comes to crash avoidance, rather than impact effect, the BMW is certainly going to have the edge over a lot of cars with things like electronic brake-force distribution, as well as the fact that it’s less likely to slide when changing direction quickly. In short, the BWM will stop, or swerve successfully, whereas the falcon (or Daewoo for that matter) will just keep going, especially cheaper models without ABS.

So perhaps the death on wheels comment isn’t exactly accurate. All cars can be death on wheels when driven by dickheads.

Yes, these guys certainly do sound like A-grade tossers, a mentality not uncommon amongst 4wd owners, but I think we need to consider there may be some differences between the likes of a CRV / RAV4 / X-trail and a Landcruiser. The former set are smaller overall, have smaller engines and weigh less than an aussie-6 wagon, which they probably replace. And they’re hardly expensive in terms of new cars, so the elitist tag is possibly not appropriate. I say possibly, because I’m sure that there is a percentage of those drivers who really wanted a Disco, but couldn’t afford it.

That said, using a 2.something tonne Pawanko as a taxi is just stupid. Big-arse, heavy duty 4wds ideally should be confined to the bush, and an upgraded license should be needed to drive them, regardless of where. A Prof of mine at Uni, on an exchange program from France, bought himself a Disco, went bush, and promptly rolled it. I don’t think he’d ever been behind the wheel a 4wd before, and certainly had no off-road experience. Great guy, but obviously overestimated his own driving ability, as we almost all do.

The question is, once you get rid of 4wds, who next? Personally I find people who drive WRXs, Skyline GTRs, falcon XR6s, Commodore SS’s, Porsches, and a list of other sports cars to be aggressive, shit drivers with no concern for other road users. Maybe they are just less visible so don’t attract the kind of manic hatred 4wds do. Perhaps it’s like motorcyclists, especially sports bike riders – yes, quite a few do ride like they have no interest in living, but that doesn’t mean that all of us do.

I hope the message that everyone gets is that we can all be arsehole drivers if we want to be – as a rider of motorbikes and pushies you certainly see a hell of a lot of idiots. They don’t need a 4WD to take you out, just to be talking on the phone (even with an earpiece / hands-free kit), changing CDs, doing their make-up, shaving, belting the kids, speeding because you are running late, or just generally being distracted. Most drivers drive with minimal care and respect to anyone other than themselves – a little concentration and courtesy makes everyone safer.

While I’m ranting on about cars, why are german cars allowed to be imported to Australia without even basic safety equipment such as indicators and mirrors? Or is there another explanation for why these things are never used?