Anxiety behind the rising popularity of the SUV

I am consistently mystified with the huge rise in popularity of these huge SUV vehicles. Many of them are electric vehicles but not all of them. The common denominator is their abnormally huge size. This must make them very hard to manoeuvre in tight places. I'd hate to drive one where I live. A nightmare.

On British roads they can become a handful. They will be nearly impossible to park in some parking facilities. They are simply unsuitable for many British urban road network environments. And yet the British consistently make them a very popular vehicle. 

I've been scratching my head as to why. I can only come to the conclusion that many British people are anxious about the deep-rooted problems that currently exist in British society with many public services broken or failing. Many people are anxious about world problems as well such as the possibility of a worldwide conflict.

Sitting in a big, powerful vehicle helps to assuage that anxiety giving the impression that they have control things. That they can dominate other road users. This I think is a psychological problem. There is no logical, practical reason why people should prefer large SUV vehicles. It has to be an emotional problem which these purchasers have yet to realise. Ironically the difficulty in driving these cars might make the driver anxious! 😢

Most car purchases are made on emotional issues. Many people don't buy a car because they are practical. They buy a car because they like the look of it but then of course when they have to drive it down a tight road in London or in the suburbs of London with cars parked either side and a bus coming in the other direction, they realise that they might have made the wrong choice.

There must be many instances of conflict between wives and husbands when deciding to purchase a new vehicle. Is it that the men want a super-large SUV and the wife wants a small more practical vehicle because they are more manoeuvrable? Without wishing to be in any way sexist, I suspect that many women find it very hard to drive these large vehicles. 

I was at a dealership the other day when I bumped into a middle-aged married couple. They came to the dealership in a large SUV and I got talking to the wife and she said that the family car was too wide for her. She wanted a smaller car but her husband had convinced her to buy it. She longingly looked at a small compact new car for sale in the showroom. I think this little encounter tells a story which is unfolding across the country.

And, you won't be able to park one of the huge SUV vehicles in a John Lewis car park with all that concrete. If you park in the Kingston upon Thames John Lewis car park you will notice a huge number of scratches on the concrete pillars and walls. Every one of those scratches represents thousands of pounds of body repair work! 

And I suspect that all of them are caused by drivers being unable to navigate their huge SUVs around a very tight space. These vehicles are impractical and it's time people put aside their emotional issues and became far more logical and sensible in their choices.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

POINTLESS UK EV grant of £3,750

This UK Labour government is as pointless and as misguided as the EV grant that they've introduced of £3,750 for brand-new electric vehicles.

It has to be a new vehicle. I'll tell you why it's a pointless grant and quite hopelessly misconceived. Take a EV that apparently holds value quite well: the Ford Puma GEN-E. Brand-new it costs £29,995 (as at today).

After the first year it'll be worth about £7000 less than that at about £23,000. So the purchaser loses about £7000 after 12 months, a point in the car's life at which the car is almost new. It's as good as new.

So if the buyer buys a nearly new i.e. one year old Ford Puma GEN-E car they will pay £23,000 for it and thereby save themselves £7000. But if they buy new one they will save themselves £3750 under the UK government grant.

It's pretty obvious that the wise choice is to buy a one year old version of this car because you save about twice as much money then you would if you bought a new one.

Other cars will depreciate faster. Many electric vehicles depreciate very rapidly actually, more so than the car mentioned in this article. And therefore the losses will be greater. As soon as the car is driven out of the showroom the buyer loses around £10,000 on many high-end EVs. They're paying £10,000 for the pleasure of smelling a new car!

This government's EV grant scheme is hopeless. It is hopelessly misconceived and is just a PR exercise. Anybody with a bit of common sense will not go down the route of seeking that grant.

In practice, the smart money is almost always a nearly new cars. You might like the dealer perks and the brand-new experience and you might like the maximum warranty but nowadays many cars have very long warranties up to 7 years and therefore taking one year off is neither here nor there.

To be fair, the grant is not absolutely useless. It does reduce the entry price for new buyers and some people really like to be new-car buyers. But in real cash terms, it's benefit is offset by the rapid drop in value of all new cars.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Hybrid cars linked to a higher risk of a deadly crash according to The Times

Hybrid cars are linked to a higher risk of a deadly crash in the UK according to The Times. This has nothing to do with cats directly obviously! Unless the driver is a dear old lady who had a cat! Yes, as I say what affects us, affects cats directly or indirectly.

Old driver of a Yaris from the Yaris World Forum!! Point made.

But I think I have something to say on this matter. It concerns the UK. According to statistics from the Department Of Transport 122 people died in fatal collisions involving hybrid cars during 2024 compared with 777 deaths in crashes involving petrol-only vehicles.

The author of the article, Andrew Ellson (Consumer Affairs Correspondent), mulls over the possibilities as to why there is this large disparity between hybrid cars and petrol cars in terms of deaths.

In terms of pure statistics, hybrid cars are involved in approximately three times as many fatal accidents as petrol cars.

Overall the data shows that there was one death every 8,000 hybrid cars on the roads last year compared with one death every 20,000 diesel vehicles and one death for every 25,000 petrol engines.

The statistics from The Mail On Sunday have alarmed road safety experts. They want an enquiry as to the reasons for this disparity. It may be because hybrid vehicles are more prone to fires than petrol vehicles which I find unbelievable and a red herring.

It may be because hybrids could be harder to drive which is also unbelievable and certainly isn't the reason in my view.

The also speculate as to the complexity of hybrids being more prone to fire problems and these problems to be harder to deal with by firefighters. Once again I find it unbelievable as well.

I am thinking about the Toyota Yaris hybrid while writing this. It's a very popular hybrid vehicle. A small vehicle and very popular with elderly people. Old people like the vehicle because it is highly reliable, has excellent miles per gallon and is very controllable. Plus it is easy to park.

If you see a Toyota Yaris hybrid on the road you will almost certainly see an elderly person driving it, normally a woman.

I would suggest quite strongly that the reason why there are more deaths from hybrid cars is because elderly and very elderly people are driving them. They've lost their driving skills. They have lost their eyesight perhaps. There are more prone to accidents. Many people should no longer be driving on the roads, particularly elderly people because they have lost their ability to drive capably. This is often because of eyesight problems or perhaps coordination problems. They don't want to give up their car. Understandable but they have an obligation to report deficiencies to the DVLA.

I would suggest that it is far more likely the reason why hybrid cars are involved in fatalities more than petrol cars because of the demographics of the drivers concerned. The Times did not mention this obvious possibility which I think it much more plausible than the ones suggested by Andrew Ellson.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

How do I secure my pet in the car?

Securing your pet in the car is crucial for their safety, your safety, and it’s also a legal requirement. Here are some methods to ensure your pet is safely restrained during car travel:

• Pet Seat Belts: These can prevent your pet from moving around and causing distractions.
• Harnesses: A good harness can keep your pet secure while allowing some movement.
• Crates and Carriers: Ideal for smaller pets, these can be secured to the car to prevent movement.
• Boot/Luggage Guards: These are more for protecting passengers but won’t protect your pet in an accident.

It’s important to note that unlike human safety devices, pet safety products are not legally required to be crash-tested. However, some products have been certified by the Centre for Pet Safety, such as the SleepyPod Clickit Support Harness and the Gunner Kennel.

Cat in a harness attached to a seat belt anchor. Image: Zooplus.

Remember, at 30mph, an unrestrained 20kg dog can be thrown forward with a force equivalent to the weight of a small moose, posing a serious risk to everyone in the vehicle. Always ensure your pet is suitably restrained whenever you’re driving.

It is a legal requirement in the UK to restrain pets in a vehicle. According to the Highway Code, drivers must ensure that dogs and other animals are suitably restrained in a car. Failure to do so can be considered careless driving, which carries a fine of up to £5,000. Not properly restraining your pet can also invalidate your car insurance and pet insurance, and in the event of an accident, it could be counted as dangerous driving. Always make sure your pet is safely secured whenever you’re traveling with them in a vehicle.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.