The time may be overdue for our politicians (as a representative democracy nation) to have a look at restricting dangerous vehicle use here in New Zealand.
These massive noisy, antisocial and often high-powered machines are huge consumers of imported oil-based materials and fuels - and cause thousands of injuries and avoidable deaths to our innocent citizens and children every year.
Powerful commercial interests and influential lobbyists such as the New Zealand Automobile Association have prevented meaningful debate and the introduction of new controls on this avoidable accident & death toll of our island nations roads.
How long must we ignore the need to stop this toll on our innocent families so that corporate entities can maintain their massive profits - earned from vehicle sales, petrol consumption, and easy revenues from insurance policies?
Let us be clear - 'SUV's such as 4WD "Landcruisers', Hilux, Landrovers, Jeeps, Safaris, etc - as a class of ASSAULT VEHICLES must be removed from our roads as they serve no useful function other than to threaten other legitimate travellers by their obstructive bulk and power.
Their military style off-road traction abilities serve only to allow their users to avoid controls by legitimate road traffic authorities - by rough riding through our otherwise pristine countryside (where they endanger our rare native wildlife and snails.).
New age restrictions are needed with a minimum age of 25 for starting driver training for males and 21 for female potential license holders.
- Further more - high powered race-style machines such as the Mazda MX5, Porche, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes, etc serve no useful purpose and are capable of killing many innocent victims in one single crash.
Users of such 'Miltary Style Assault Vehicles' can easily have their transport needs satisfied by other means such as bicycles, walking, step-through electric scooters, and public transport - including buses, trains, and taxi shuttle services.
Any move towards these preferred modes of transport will also yield savings in fuel use and help limit our carbon footprint.
There is no need for a total ban on all privately held individual motor transport - all that is needed is new legislation to severely restrict the ownership and use of any vehicles with the following features:
High Capacity Fuel Tanks.
Automatic Transmissions.
Spoilers.
Hood Scoops
Audible Noisy Exhausts
Any performance enhancement such as turbo-charging or supercharged motors.
Any engine having more than four cylinders (five, six, eight, or more).
High Power Engines - capable of exceeding Statutory Speed limits.
"Mag-Alloy" Performance Wheels.
'Go-Faster' Speed Stripes and embellishments.
GPS Navigation Systems (what is wrong with paper maps?)
High or Low seating capacity - the standard two plus two seating arrangement serves well and any variation merely increases dangerous misuse.
- Anyone wearing a hat (including reversed baseball caps) while behind the wheel.
We are not talking about car crushing, or car confiscation here - merely essential controls to end a libertarian era of 'First Ship' feral driving - and the tragic crashes on our 'Kiwi' roads.
Pedestrian Organisation Of Foot Free & Ecologicaly Responsible Cyclists.
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