Yes, in the past I have indeed pointed out that people who own big 4WDs are troglodytes and buffoons and whackers. I should point out, though, that I didn't have in mind the owners of Toyota LandCruisers specifically. Yes, I have described as parasites people who use more than their fair share of the world's finite resources by driving big 4WDs. And it is true that I submitted to a state transport ministers' review of 4WD rules that 4WDers require a truck licence, that bullbars be banned, that 4WDers have a zero blood-alcohol limit, that 4WDs be barred from ever using the right lane, that 4WDs be banned from urban areas, that anyone who's been involved in an accident be barred from driving a 4WD, that 4WDs have a video camera on the dash and a plasma television screen on the back to show car drivers the road ahead, and that 4WDers say sorry.
But the people I did have in mind at these times were the dribbling, spittle-spraying, red-faced, beer-bellied owners of Rottweilers or similar savage breeds who also own a 4WD as an urban weapon.
I didn't have in mind 4WD owners like my wife. You see, this week she bought a Toyota LandCruiser, and she owns a poodle. And her LandCruiser is gas-powered so it's more environmentally friendly than the fragile little buzz boxes whose wimpy owners like to badmouth 4WDers. And she's not going to be an ecological vandal by bashing about the bush.
Nor is my wife's LandCruiser is an urban assault vehicle. She's bought it for a sensible purpose, to tow a caravan, and I suppose, too, she has in mind that people in fragile buzz boxes are four times more likely to be killed in a collision with a real 4WD than they are in a collision with another fragile buzz box. Increasing her and her family members' chances of surviving an accident is entirely laudable. The more metal the better.
Isn't it time we allowed sensible, environmentally sensitive 4WDers back from cultural exile?
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