http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Campaign Against Long Cars (CALC) - and wide en Sat, 07 Nov 2026 00:29:59 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-386321 Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:35:39 +0000 gembo 386321@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The other afternoon i was descending out of the Regional Park above Bonaly at school chucking out time [N.B. i think one or both of the roads out of the park might be closed next Tuesday - 03/11/26 for a few days]</p> <p>As I came to the bottom car park just south of the bypass A minibus was leaving the car park in front of me. Oh here we go I thought to myself. Traffic chaos will ensue. It did.</p> <p>Dont be fooled into thinking this was the fault of the minibus as although it was a HIGH vehicle its footprint in terms of area was actually smaller than the Torphin Tractors and Colinton Combineharvesters being driven up to the school by mummy and daddy to pick up their weans. What mentality is it that possesses people when buying a car that makes them buy one that is wider than the road? And bigger than a minibus? Why would you not want a small car for nipping around the city? Why would you need an SUV if you live in the city? Ok, I guess I am asking the wrong people. What a mad world we live in. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-386079 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:18:32 +0000 gembo 386079@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I call this new Jag The Bloater, after the superb book of the same name by Rosemary Tonks. The book is about Delia Derbyshire trying to simulate a heartbeat electronically at the BBC.</p> <p>people who buy these tanks are mental </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-386072 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:33:49 +0000 MediumDave 386072@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Regarding statements, the phrase "my car is raising a lot of questions already answered by my car" springs to mind. Hideous. </p> <p>The weight is crazy as well (2.7tons). The same as a trimmed out New Defender (also hideous). </p> <p>Presumably there's enough rappers and techbros around to shift a fair few... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-386071 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:10:09 +0000 mcairney 386071@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's a monster! Also the way that it manages to be simultaneously amazingly large and cramped inside is a true engineering feat. It certainly makes a statment though I'm not sure what the statement is... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-386069 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 07:35:18 +0000 chdot 386069@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Latest model is launching in New York to target rich US buyers – and is more than 5.2 metres long and 2 metres wide </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/07/jaguar-launch-type-01-electric-vehicle" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/07/jaguar-launch-type-01-electric-vehicle</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385726 Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:24:57 +0000 gembo 385726@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Bloated, slow and bulbous. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385723 Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:26:17 +0000 mcairney 385723@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I saw one of those Ineos Grenadier tactical military machines driving along my (not particularly wide, traffic calmed) street the other day. The sad thing is that it didn't stand out compared to the standard-issue Land Rover Defenders, Range Rovers, Ford pickups etc you normally see. Carflation indeed. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385668 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:19:32 +0000 gembo 385668@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>As I said elsewhere people can’t be concerned about potholes as they are driving tanks on the roads. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385657 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:31:15 +0000 chdot 385657@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Then the potholes, and this is the bit nobody campaigning about them wants to hear. They are not a funding problem. They are a weight problem. Double a vehicle’s weight and you multiply the damage to the surface by about sixteen: a two-tonne SUV wrecks the road sixteen times faster than a one-tonne hatchback, and a bike does essentially none.</p> <p>Scotland now carries a £2.6 billion repair backlog. If potholes are your biggest worry, taking heavy cars off the road should be your number one cause.</p> <p>With a GDP per capita higher than London, Edinburgh is a wealthy city with a deep poverty problem. A boy born in 2026 in one of its most deprived areas - from Bingham to Wester Hailes - can expect to die 12 years earlier than one born in the least deprived.</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/even-the-worlds-worst-cycle-lane" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/even-the-worlds-worst-cycle-lane</a></p> <p>(Above section ‘subscribers only’) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385595 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 19:29:21 +0000 gembo 385595@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Bath is gridlocked so tax the Long. I say. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385587 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:15:10 +0000 chdot 385587@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>New parking measures, including charges based on vehicle size, will come into force in Bath on Tuesday. </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyz567324ro" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyz567324ro</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385444 Sun, 16 Aug 2026 16:13:11 +0000 Greenroofer 385444@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>In that Inverness today, where the multistorey carpark has been reset to allow obese cars to fit. Essentially they have redrawn the space between each set of pillars so that whereas it used to have three spaces, it now just has two.</p> <p>I think they have also reworked the circulation routes to accommodate the reduced turning circle of these obese cars.</p> <p>It one space there was an old Volvo 740 (I think) estate. That used to be a big luxury car when I was younger. The new wider spaces dwarfed it... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385434 Sat, 15 Aug 2026 10:52:51 +0000 chdot 385434@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/15/suv-normal-family-cars-roads-supersized-consumer-choice" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/15/suv-normal-family-cars-roads-supersized-consumer-choice</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-385084 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 08:21:49 +0000 chdot 385084@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/12/britain-car-suv-big-large-vehicle-road-pedestrians?" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/12/britain-car-suv-big-large-vehicle-road-pedestrians?</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-383468 Sun, 15 Mar 2026 10:08:12 +0000 gembo 383468@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have seen a couple and good to have this info. THey sponsor an AUstralian Cyling team i think? Jaecoo Alula</p> <p>All SUV’s by their nature of being too big for the streets are badly driven - they take up a lane and a half, they cant get between parked cars, they are very selfish cars. I cannot understand why their owners buy them given global warming, Iran War oil prices etc. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-383464 Sat, 14 Mar 2026 22:45:44 +0000 acsimpson 383464@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I haven't noticed many but my anecdata suggests they are also badly driven. I was aggressively overtaken by a driver using one one on Maybury road while I was driving in a line of cars all doing the sort limit. To achieve this the driver used the central reservation. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-383460 Sat, 14 Mar 2026 10:25:45 +0000 ejstubbs 383460@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Neddie: <em>We actually need to ban them outright - especially the ones with high/sharp bonnet profiles, that are more likely to throw a child under the wheels, and/or blunt trauma to the torso/head instead of the legs.</em></p> <p>I'm seeing more and more Jaecoo cars around, I assume because they're cheap* Chinese imports. Every single one of their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaecoo#Current_models">current models</a> is an SUV, and they all have a 'battering ram' front end. They give the impression of having been deliberately designed to look aggressive. They certainly give me the willies every time I see one.</p> <p>Bull bars were banned several years ago but these designs seem to have something much worse, as you described: shockingly poor visibility of anything below the excessively high and flat bonnet, and no consideration given to the severity of outcome of an impact to anyone not encased in another steel box. I'm surprised that they manage to comply with <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:035:0001:0031:EN:PDF">Regulation 78/2009/EC</a> - and if they do, then maybe the regulation needs revising (again). I can't but think that they would score poorly in the <a href="https://www.euroncap.com/en/car-safety/the-ratings-explained/vulnerable-road-user-vru-protection/">Euro NCAP ratings for vulnerable road user protection</a> as well (though those aren't mandatory).</p> <p><em>* Even though the electric ones don't qualify for the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-vehicle-grants/cars">government's plug-in vehicle discounts</a>.</em> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-383459 Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:45:58 +0000 chdot 383459@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/13/sadiq-khan-may-give-up-armoured-car-clampdown-suvs-london" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/13/sadiq-khan-may-give-up-armoured-car-clampdown-suvs-london</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-383453 Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:48:34 +0000 neddie 383453@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>We shouldn't simply enable rich people to have the exclusive preserve of SUVs</p> <p>We actually need to ban them outright - especially the ones with high/sharp bonnet profiles, that are more likely to throw a child under the wheels, and/or blunt trauma to the torso/head instead of the legs </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-383448 Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:29:59 +0000 chdot 383448@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/13/suv-drivers-could-face-extra-charges-for-driving-in-london" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/13/suv-drivers-could-face-extra-charges-for-driving-in-london</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=3#post-382561 Thu, 25 Dec 2025 09:55:49 +0000 gembo 382561@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>You are Fair Game if you step onto a Zebra Crossing in London.also merry xmas </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-382559 Wed, 24 Dec 2025 18:28:36 +0000 chdot 382559@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>The challenge, she says, is getting to them. The large parks near her home are “extremely dangerous” to access, with a lack of pedestrian crossings and vehicles that speed through without looking. An increase in car width of 2cm a year due to the SUV boom – “absolutely mind-boggling” – adds to the risk that people face when they walk or bike.</p> <p>“It should not be like this in a civilised country like the UK,” says de Nazelle, adding that her husband hates to see her or their children get on their bikes. “I have cycled all my life and will cycle no matter what. But now that I have children, I am acutely aware of the hazards and dangers.”</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2025/dec/24/four-experts-on-europe-most-livable-capitals" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2025/dec/24/four-experts-on-europe-most-livable-capitals</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-382374 Tue, 09 Dec 2025 07:54:05 +0000 chdot 382374@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Trump Wants to Build and Sell Kei Cars in America, but Don't Hold Your Breath</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a69648141/trump-kei-cars-america-roadblocks/" rel="nofollow">https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a69648141/trump-kei-cars-america-roadblocks/</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-380116 Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:20:24 +0000 gembo 380116@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Good idea. Prof Walker is after examples of Motornormativity. The whole idea of SUVs is one.<br /> More specifically, I am very pissed off about Car Transporters to be found right around Waverley Court, </p> <p>I dont even know who to object to. What the feck are they doing in the town centre Just unload on outskirts? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-380100 Thu, 26 Jun 2025 06:35:04 +0000 chdot 380100@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.curbed.com/2023/06/new-york-suv-trucks-weight-based-fee.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.curbed.com/2023/06/new-york-suv-trucks-weight-based-fee.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-379547 Mon, 05 May 2025 12:20:32 +0000 chdot 379547@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-44-cent-more-likely-be-killed-suvs-313839" rel="nofollow">https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-44-cent-more-likely-be-killed-suvs-313839</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-379194 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 17:28:06 +0000 gembo 379194@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Motor normativity wins </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-379177 Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:44:31 +0000 chdot 379177@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/04/more-than-1m-cars-sold-in-uk-each-year-too-big-to-fit-typical-parking-space" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/04/more-than-1m-cars-sold-in-uk-each-year-too-big-to-fit-typical-parking-space</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-367498 Tue, 11 Apr 2023 20:34:35 +0000 gembo 367498@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Campaign Against Wide Cars won today in little hamlet just north of Firbank which is a little hamlet five miles south of Tebay on the M6. Cumbria. A Landrover Discovery driver had decided to try a very normal road in Terms of normal cars and cyclists and pedestrians off a slightly wider twin tracked road.</p> <p>Much to my extreme chagrin as I was walking up to the smaller hamlet north of the small hamlet of Firbank I was able to spot that the Landrover Discovery driver had got himself stuck on the bridge that was signposted Weak Bridge. Turned out his car was too wide for the road. what a shame. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19496&page=2#post-364499 Sun, 30 Oct 2022 16:07:50 +0000 gembo 364499@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Spotted a BMW Iseta driving through Newington, in red and white. Three wheels.</p> <p>Have advanced Proptype of The Crusher that narrows cars to two metres though driver and passenger need to sit very still and close Or There will be blood. </p>