Should 4WDs be banned from cities?

The question isn’t still bounces up from time to time. The questioners usually make their usual statements about ‘threatening driving’, ‘blocking vision of others’, ‘hazardous to pedestrians’ and so on. The phrase, “big, bad 4WDs” is still being bandied around all too often.

One reason the 4WD question isn’t heard much these days is that almost 30 per cent of Australian buyers are now driving 4WDs, or all-wheel drives as most should more accurately be known. In fact, while many look like 4WDs, an ever increasing number are actually 2WDs.

It’s not the big bad 4WDs that are selling in ever increasing numbers, small and compact vehicles make up the bulk of the new registrations. Sales of large truck-type 4WDs are either stagnating or rising very slowly. And many of the sales of the big ones are in the country, where they are all but essential to people living there.

Big 4WDs that do sell in the city, or to be more accurate, in the suburbs, are generally being used as people movers. Their ability to carry up to eight people being appreciated by families with lots of children, or split-by-divorce families doing the weekend-kid-swapping bit. Or simply by people with plenty of friends.

It can certainly be argued that those who want a people mover should buy one, not a large 4WD. Many who do buy a 4WD have a dream of venturing off-road one day, but they seldom do. Perhaps these people should think again about their choice of vehicle next time around. But who are we to kill their dreams?

Some of the bigger 4WDs are becoming quite sophisticated in their makeup, being almost car-like in the way they handle. However their increased height means they are less safe, particularly when cornering or swerving, than cars. Driven correctly this isn’t usually a problem, but bad driving can cause serious crashes.

Australian buyers want 4WDs and are voting with their wallets to get them. No, not just Australian buyers, we are looking at a worldwide trend here. Car makers who don’t supply them do so at their own peril.

There's also a responsibility on the consumer to make sure they can’t get by without some other sort of vehicle. And to drive the 4WD in an appropriate manner, either on road or off.