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Irish car bonnets are getting taller every year, risking children's and pedestrians' lives - study

Car manufactures have been accused of an SUV ‘arms race’ that’s making roads less safe.

IRISH CAR BONNETS are growing taller by half a centimetre each year, with some SUVs so high that a four-year-old child standing directly in front is invisible to the driver.

Once associated with farming, but now a mainstream choice for commuting and school runs, SUVs are putting pedestrians and cyclists at greater risk in the event of a collision, a new report warns.

Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels-based NGO, has conducted the first analysis of European bonnet heights, revealing the upward trend. It called today for legislation to cap bonnet heights.

Over a quarter of Irish cars sold last year had car bonnets of 90cm or taller, T&E told The Journal.

When bonnet heights rise from 80cm to 90cm, the risk of death in a collision increases by 27% for vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and scooter riders.

That’s according to a major study by Belgian researchers in 2023 which also found drivers of regular cars are at greater risk of serious injury in collisions with vehicles with high bonnets.

image (6) Irish bonnet heights are rising by half a centimetre a year, in line with the EU trend. T&E, EEA, Dataforce, GlobalData, Euro NCAP T&E, EEA, Dataforce, GlobalData, Euro NCAP

T&E also commissioned research from Loughborough University in the UK on the visibility of children standing in a central position to the front of vehicles with different bonnet heights.

An average-height driver behind the wheel of a Land Rover Defender – a model that has been heavily marketed in Ireland – cannot see an average-height 4.5-year-old child directly in front of them, making pulling out of a driveway or parking space particularly risky.

By contrast, the driver of a small family car such as a Volkswagen Golf would be able to see a child of this height, 1.1m, at the same proximity.

Newer cars are likely to have automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems, but these may not activate in certain weather and light conditions, T&E said, adding that a vehicle with a lower bonnet and AEB will “always be safer” than one with a higher bonnet and the same system.

unnamed Vehicle blind spot analysis for drivers of average height for European adults, conducted by Summerskill / Loughborough University SDCA for T&E.

At 115cm high, the Land Rover Defender is one of seven Jaguar Land Rover models with bonnets taller than 1m, with three models from Jeep also in this category.

Almost 900 of these extra tall SUVs were registered in Ireland last year, an increase of more than 30% on new sales in 2023, data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry shows.

Three of the four bestselling new car models in Ireland last year were so-called crossover or compact SUVs. The top-selling Hyundai Tucson has a bonnet 89cm high, as does the Kia Sportage, while the Toyota RAV4′s bonnet is higher again at 93cm.

Arms race

James Nix, vehicles policy manger at T&E and author of the report, said higher fronted vehicles push the burden of risk and of reduced safety from those drivers to all other road users.

This stops parents from letting children walk or cycle and leads to a vicious cycle of families making more journeys by car.

Over half of primary school and over 40% of secondary school children in Ireland travel to school by car, census data shows.

Nix likened ever higher bonnets to an “arms race” by car manufacturers that is harming public space and the public good.

Marketing of SUVs creates a vicious cycle whereby other drivers may feel they need a bigger vehicle too to feel safe on the road.

Ian Lumley of environmental NGO An Taisce said bulkier vehicles were also bad for the climate, requiring more fuel.

More dangerous collisions

T&E noted research indicating that whereas low bonnets tend to hit pedestrians’ legs, giving them a greater chance of falling towards the vehicle or being deflected to the side, higher bonnets strike adult pedestrians above the centre of gravity, increasing the likelihood that they will be knocked forward and down and be driven over.

Higher bonnets are also more likely to strike adults’ vital organs.

unnamed (2) Graphic showing how pedestrians can fall when hit at speeds of up to 50km/hr common in urban areas. Ptak (2019) / T&E Ptak (2019) / T&E / T&E

T&E argues that without policy change, the current trend of increasing bonnet height will mean a significant proportion of all cars will have bonnets higher than 90cm in the coming years.

Neither national nor EU laws regulate bonnet height. T&E is now calling on the European Commission to impose a cap of 85cm.

T&E says this height would give some protection to 95% of adult female pedestrians involved in crashes, as they would be struck below their centre of gravity, increasing their risk of survival.

Higher taxes on bigger cars

The NGO is also calling on the EU to introduce child visibility tests for vehicles to reduce blind spots, and for the dimensions of cars to be included on vehicle registration certificates to inform consumer choice.

T&E also urged national governments to put higher vehicle and road taxes, as well as parking charges, on bigger cars.

Between 2012 and 2024, average bonnet height for newly sold cars in Ireland rose from 77.52cm to 83.67cm. (They’re getting fatter too.)

Jaguar Land Rover and Stellantis, manufacturer of RAM and Jeep cars, have been approached for comment.

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134 Comments
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    Mute bruce banner
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:44 PM

    If one is on the inside lane beside you on a rounabout you can’t see if the way is clear or not. A nuisance.

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    Mute Joe Mccarthy
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:50 PM

    @bruce banner: Ban tractors and trucks and vans and everything else that’s higher than your car too to avoid being a nuisance to you.

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:56 PM

    @Joe Mccarthy: Trucks and vans actually serve a purpose. These are needlessly dangerous vanity mobiles.

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    Mute conor bradley
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:57 PM

    @Joe Mccarthy: I think the main point of the whole article was that it used to be high bonnet things were mostly work vehicles (so not as many around/ people more used to driving big yokes) now it’s everyone driving them. No one has a problem with work vehicles. The problem is some dope driving a spotless Ford Raptor to their job at the bank.

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    Mute Áine F
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:57 PM

    @Joe Mccarthy: Are tractors trucks and vans standard personal vehicles? Are the roads full of mostly tractors, trucks and vans?

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:01 PM

    @Stype Mann: So it’s ok by you for Trucks and Vans to hit pedestrians or children, because you deem them useful.. how morally superior of you.

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    Mute Jason Walsh
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:03 PM

    @bruce banner: well if they aren’t moving the way ain’t clear, that’s pretty obvious

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    Mute Nemethon
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:04 PM

    @Joe Mccarthy: no just common sense and bit of cop on ban SUV,s for domestic use perhaps. There’s no reason someone should have an SUV for domestic use the only reason I can see someone owning an SUV Ford Ranger for domestic use is to show off the size of your bank balance or Debt sheet. I can understand a farmer owning such a vehicle and I can’t understand a tradie having to have one but obviously there’s a need and a want.

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:06 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: Rangerovers are not called Chelsea Tractors for nothing. If everyone started driving tractors to work, we’d also have a problem. But we somehow normalised the practice of driving dangerous utility vehicles to jobs that don’t require them. Time to stop this.

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    Mute Geraldine Donoghue
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:16 PM

    @Joe Mccarthy: Trucks and vans are a necessity for work. Large SUV’s are not.

    29
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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:18 PM

    @Name: Well if that’s the way, I don’t like expensive cars, let’s ban expensive Mercedes. jags, BMWs, porches etc. there is absolutely no need for them either. Actually I’ll go further, let’s ban all cars from the road altogether because I drive a Motorcycle!

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    Mute Jason Walsh
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:21 PM

    @Nemethon: Maybe learn what an SUV is, Ford Ranger is a pickup truck. SUV is Hyundai Tucson, Audi Q8, Volvo XC90, etc. Many EVs are either SUV or CUV style to fit in batteries and keep boot space. Pickups unless an actual work vehicle have no justification for the average Joe. SUVs and CUVs do have have justification due to family and pets. What do you drive out of interest.

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:30 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: keep the pointless non-sequiturs coming, my friend.

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    Mute Patrick MC Dermott
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:42 PM

    @bruce banner: Another attempt to remove responsibility from the driver. My dad’s Ford Prefect had a very high bonnet. Never harmed anyone. It’s carelessness and speed that kills, not the height of a bonnet

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    Mute Mary BINTon
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:20 PM

    @Henry Murphy: Fintan Pox, Buster, Basil, Linton, Rian O’ C and Doe hate it when your behind the wheel dear bruv, you are always driving up the ass of the vehicle in front of you and have cost our family a fortune, half of us are confined to a wheelchair because of you.

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    Mute Dylan Cotter
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:58 PM

    @Joe Mccarthy: well his name is Mr Banner in fairness

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:09 PM

    @Stype Mann: Nor are large cars and SUVs. A lot of people need them!

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:11 PM

    @conor bradley: From where did they drive the Raptor? Some people need large vehicles outside of their commute!

    51
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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:14 PM

    @Name: Range Rovers are a luxury car brand, that is why they were in Chelsea a lot, for the weekend in the country house!
    People need these vehicles for various reasons. You dont and cannot know the reasons WHY people own them.

    52
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    Mute Nemethon
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    Jun 11th 2025, 9:09 PM

    @Jason Walsh: no need to be pedantic my friend I know what’s what either way no need for big ignorant vehicles on the roads

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    Mute Mic JHintl
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    Jun 11th 2025, 10:23 PM

    @Henry Murphy: well then you have been duped. SUVs are not safer. In actuality they are far more dangerous in a roll over situation.

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    Mute John Moylan
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    Jun 12th 2025, 11:38 AM

    @Joe Mccarthy: let’s ban people under 5ft too.

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    Mute Scott Nolan
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    Jun 12th 2025, 12:35 PM

    @bruce banner:
    Surely you mean the outside lane

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    Mute liam ward
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:04 PM

    And still no report from the journal that cyclists are a law onto themselves with no intervention from the guards with the way they abuse our footpaths with cycle lanes provided

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    Mute S banter
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:11 PM

    @liam ward: cant catch them unless you run over them

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    Mute Meh Meh
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:52 PM

    Proximity immobilisation. Suvs are fitted with proximity sensors. Code the firmware that the vehicle cannot move forwards or backwards if it spots a wee person in range of the sensors. Not rocket science, but I’ll accept a cash alternative to my Nobel prize now thanks.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:56 PM

    @Meh Meh: My wife’s SUV does that, and cameras activate including the one that shows the car from above. Annoying in tight traffic but the technology is already being used.

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    Mute Dramafree 2023
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:56 PM

    @Meh Meh: I dont know about all cars but i know mine slams on the breaks if it thinks i am about to hit something. I am sure some would find that annoying but if it stops accidents and injuries it should be in all cars.

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    Mute Me Me
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:03 PM

    @Paul O’Mahoney: A camera that shows the car from above????

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    Mute Dramafree 2023
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:05 PM
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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:09 PM

    @Me Me: Yes and stays on when in tight spaces.

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:11 PM

    @Meh Meh: or just ban oversized cars? Makes more sense than some tech solution. Would also help environment, public space, etc

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:22 PM

    @Name: Ours is a hybrid so that ticks the environment box. Great yoke altogether.

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    Mute Me Me
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:30 PM

    @Dramafree 2023: That doesn’t show the car from above!! It is an amalgam of a number of side views.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:38 PM

    @Me Me: It does honestly I was amazed when I first saw it .I would say the view is from 20ft maybe but you can see the whole car and about 3 ft around it in all directions. There’s a 12 inch screen that splits with the overhead view in the center and separate camera views. Including front from the very bottom of the front end about 12inches off the ground. Spacex don’t have as many I’d say.

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    Mute Dramafree 2023
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:38 PM

    @Me Me: I did not say it did… but that is what the other contributor is referring to. The tech is there, the solutions are available. I am unsure why people want to ban bigger cars rather than make all cars safer, I know locally the suv’s are not the problem but must be a major issue elsewhere.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:01 PM

    @Dramafree 2023: Obviously it’s a major problem in co. Begrudgery.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:27 PM

    @Name: Ban oversized cars then? A seven seater, which some people need!

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    Mute Caroline D
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:06 PM

    There’s more cameras and sensors on my SUV than a spaceship. Comes to a full stop as soon as anything in its vision that could be a collision. Happened once when a motorbike jolted out in front of me in traffic, so yes some are bigger but new technology counter acts what they are saying above. Of course drivers need to be aware at all times, that’s a given.

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    Mute SOCOMJON
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:02 PM

    @Caroline D: You’re probably typing this as you drive lol

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jun 12th 2025, 5:02 PM

    @SOCOMJON: you’re typing that wiggle waiting for a bus with no bus shelter in the pi**ing rain lol

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    Mute Greg Dalton
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:58 PM

    Teach them all the Green Cross Code!
    I don’t drive an SUV, just a normal height saloon car!

    91
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    Mute Ian Croft
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:14 PM

    Getting an ad for a defender SUV on this article

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    Mute Tom Carroll
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:17 PM

    Ban e scooters.

    92
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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:56 PM

    All for protecting children, but you would think by these reports that these cars are deliberately hitting children and pedestrians. Of course there are unfortunate accidents but pedestrians and children shouldn’t be in same space. Trucks, vans, jeeps coaches and buses are all much higher etc and would do more damage if they hit a pedestrian or child.

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:05 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: These are generally driven by people with special licences. These idiotic vehicles on the other hand are driven by a posh mammy who’s afraid of a few leaves on her driveway. No one intentionally hits a child but when you’re driving a car so high off the ground you can’t actually see pedestrians, your risk of doing so increases.

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:09 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: “pedestrians and children shouldn’t be in same space”. Good point, time to ban cars from urban environments.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:57 PM

    @Stype Mann: B O L L O C K S!!!

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    Mute Allo Allo
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:15 PM

    @Stype Mann: not true, SUV ‘S for the purpose of accident statistics are classed with work vans and small trucks so all the workmen and contractors running amok on the roads skew the SUV statistics.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:25 PM

    @Name: Ban cars, no we are getting to your real beliefs!

    53
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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:26 PM

    @Stype Mann: Except as you will have read in the comments. the cars are designed with tech to stop that!

    52
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    Mute Greg Dalton
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:56 PM

    Teach them the Green Cross Code! And I don’t drive an SUV.

    85
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    Mute Dave Grant
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:01 PM

    Nearly impossible to the the RAM TRX shown in the diagram, we’re not in the USA.

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    Mute Barry Baz
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:11 PM

    I blame the cyclists

    93
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    Mute SOCOMJON
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:02 PM

    @Barry Baz: 100% Baz

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    Mute Evan Wakefield
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:54 PM

    General size of new cars is ridiculous, along with indicators that are often not obvious or hard to see, Volkswagen and Audi being some of the worst offenders of that and headlights that blind other motorists.
    All the talk of road safety with the onus on the motorist, but why aren’t the manufacturers made choose safety over aesthetics.

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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:01 PM

    @Evan Wakefield: Investigations found that the excessive accident numbers were connected to the personality types who drive bulky cars.

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:06 PM

    @thomas molloy: investigations found that Trump and genocide supporting personality types like yourself, are horrible people with mental issues.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:24 PM

    @Evan Wakefield: VAG vehicles probably hav one of the best lighting / signalling packages on the market, Safety taken Very Seriously with Superb Aesthetics included. Proximity & Radar sensors that over rule the driver in many ways…. Anyone that have these systems installed can probably verify they work, Especially when the occasional F u c k w i t steps into the road,like a zombie, disconnected from reality on their feckin’ phones, then Bam, car jams on & tries to throw the driver thru the windscreen… That’s when i want to get out & kick them deep in the hole!!!!!! As for the aesthetics you mention, most vehicles are now plastic & light aluminium front end for that purpose. Front end is designed to crumple up, even with light to moderate impact which in turn Hikes insurance claims!!

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    Mute Mary BINTon
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:37 PM

    @Henry Murphy: Bruv, grab yourself a chair. We all had to have a chat with the doc about your mental delusions. You know you have something wrong, so at least we’ll discover its name. Sometimes you think you are Fintan, Basil, Buster, Mary Linton, Rian O’C or John Doe and we’ve witnessed you chatting to the mirror in different voices. Sometimes you have to be hard on your bruv and that’s where I’m coming from.

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:09 PM

    You’ve a better chance of surviving being run over by a suv than a car. The greater ground clearance reduces the mush effect.

    72
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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:03 PM

    SUVs have little purpose other than inflating the driver’s ego or sense of safety (in both cases it has the opposite of the desired effect). We were driving around grand in normal sized vehicles for decades until we decided to copy the Americans. Time to reverse that trend.

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    Mute J Ven
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:09 PM

    @Name: I smell jealousy, that’s it, “Name”. Say it like it is, pure jealousy. There are two kinds of people in this world: those who travel by SUVs and those who could, if they would.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:10 PM

    @Name: They are great…..

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:13 PM

    @J Ven: I smell an oversized ego. They’re easy to spot when I’m happily passing them while they sit in traffic: they drive an expensive SUV.

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    Mute J Ven
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:19 PM

    @Name: Not really an oversized ego, I’m tall, more of a pretty younger girlfriend sitting next to me, yes, I have a big ego, and she loves it. You know what’s the difference? When I took the bus, I wasn’t a jellyman like you are. I went to college, on my own, no mom and daddy to pay for it. This isn’t the USA, going to college is possible, plumbers, carpenters, they can all afford one, but something is needed that you seem to lack: discipline.

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:31 PM

    @J Ven: haha, clearly touched a nerve there. How predictable.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:45 PM

    @J Ven: Well said imagine driving around looking at people driving nice cars .

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    Mute J Ven
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:47 PM

    @Name: What nerve? Besides being a jealous man, are you not able to read too? I am happy, accomplished, I got my dream job, my children and my lady, the SUV is just a material thing, the nerve seems to be touched on your side, haters will hate. You’re not in Somalia, if you set your mind with a clear plan, you can have an SUV. We’re not talking about a private plane, just a bigger car. But it’s OK, Perhaps you need therapy to find the source of your sadness. I am happy, but I can’t help you unless you admit that you need help.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:58 PM

    @J Ven: Love it.

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    Mute Brian
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:02 PM

    @J Ven: I can well afford an SUV.. In fact the car i drive cost more than most SUVs on the road. I choose not to buy an SUV because I’m not a d**knead. People never learned to drive in SUVs and most people driving these things have no idea of their road position.. they’re off up in the la la land. And don’t get me started with on street parking and parking spaces … our road system is designed for these yolks. Jealousy.. pfft. It’s clowns like you are the problem.

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    Mute Áine F
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:43 PM

    @J Ven: No one’s jealous of your obese yankmobile

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:00 PM

    @Áine F: Ours is Germany

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    Mute S banter
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:08 PM

    @Name: damn straight

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    Mute S banter
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:10 PM

    @J Ven: they shouldn’t, unless they live in an area where it’s required. SUVs in Ireland is a massive ‘tiny p’ flex. Or women who have no life.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:18 PM

    @Name: Maybe for you they have little purpose but they do for very many people!

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:21 PM

    @Brian: So you think driving an SUV is about money, well that is one major mistake!

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:23 PM

    @S banter: What would the rules be for that unique and impossible to actually enforce idea!

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    Mute Jason Walsh
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:06 PM

    What are most of those high bumpers filled with on new cars, safety technology that’ll detect a hazard and stop the vehicle. My car will flat out not move if there is a pedestrian in front or behind, adult or child.

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    Mute miss lojo
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:52 PM

    We have a primary school in our estate. Parents and teachers park anywhere they can. Dlrcoco dont care about the safety of the estate no matter how many times it brought up to them. Meanwhile parents do pick up and drop off huge in these huge cars. We see near misses every day. The cars park where ever they can fit and we have had neighbour waiting for ambulance and a firebrigade that can’t access the road because of the cars and specifically the SIZE of the cars and how they are parked.

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:02 PM

    @miss lojo: Sounds like an issue with your road. It seems there needs to be a double yellow line out down instead of cars being made narrower. What cars in particular are you talking about? A standard BMW 5 series is 2.15m wide. A pick-up like a wildtrak is 2.2m wide. Even a half a car like a BMW 3 series is 1.9m wide. They are all very similar. I have no issues in my estate, because the road is actually a suitable size. Unlike the road in your comment.

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    Mute SOCOMJON
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:00 PM

    @Joe Willis: You sound like a city planner Joe, without seeing the said road you’re able figure it’s not the width of the several cars you mentioned but it’s actually the road, which also needs yellow lines which assume it doesn’t have, not that this would make one iota of difference as nobody cares about anyone else but themselves

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:30 PM

    @SOCOMJON: you’re right in saying that nobody cares about anyone but themselves. Maybe outside the urban areas they do, but in Dublin and other large towns, forget about it.

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    Mute jn
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:35 PM

    fffg donot care tractors speeding at 60 through towns never see gusrds around

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    Mute Irish Man Narrates
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:18 PM

    Fix the potholed rumble axel breaker roads outside the city first.

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    Mute Julio's Evil Twin
    Favourite Julio's Evil Twin
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:33 PM

    The jelly is so sweet & strong on this article.. lol
    My classic jeep is exempt from those aluminum A-Bars, I’ve the original steel cage on the front of mine, which circles the lights & indicators, ain’t no green with envy lidl car park scratches from ye 1lt tin cans on my beast..
    V8 – 5lt.. ex-army classic.. cheap tax too…
    Suck it up. Learn to drive, don’t let the rage consume you.. toodles hahahaha

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    Mute Áine F
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:45 PM

    @Julio’s Evil Twin: “My mammy said they’re just jealous!”

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    Mute SOCOMJON
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:04 PM

    @Julio’s Evil Twin: 5 litre V8, at least the tax is cheap lol

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    Mute Julio's Evil Twin
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:21 PM

    @SOCOMJON: classic… €57 per year… ;)

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:55 PM

    These cars are ridiculously dangerous and only exist because they’re subject to lower safety standards and tax bands in the US. You can track sales of these cars onto a spike in road deaths in America, especially a horrific increase in numbers of children being run over by their own parents. Should never have been allowed in this country. Too big for the roads here. Worst of all, they’re routinely bought by people because they want “to feel safe” when driving ie they are nervous/poor drivers. Put the worst drivers behind the most dangerous vehicles on the road, what could go wrong?

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:59 PM

    @Stype Mann: So ban Trucks, Coaches and Buses which are much bigger and by your logic even more ‘too big’ for the road

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:03 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: Those require special licences to drive and rightly so. SUVs are truck sized but subject to car licensing. It’s a nonsense. They are regularly bought by the worst drivers on the road who are desperate to feel “safe” and putting everyone else on the road in danger.

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:09 PM

    @Stype Mann: Almost all car drivers in this country whether in an SUV or not are terrible drivers period. When you make claims that SuV’s are Truck sized you lose any credibility in your argument. Good day sir.

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:10 PM

    @Stype Mann: If anyone wants further info on why this change in law is not just needed but long overdue, watch the video “These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us” on YouTube. Very long but well-researched and informative. You can’t watch that and still think there’s a place on the road for these things.

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:20 PM

    @Stype Mann: ‘You tube’ lol.. what next Twitter?? I say let’s ban all cars from the road altogether because I drive a Motorbike!

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    Mute Geraldine Donoghue
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:20 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: Oh dear Rian you’re showing your ignorance with these comments.

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    Mute offside again
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:36 PM

    @Stype Mann: I remember it been said back in the day that Volvo drivers were the worst because they felt ‘safe’ and ‘secure’. The rest of us drove around in cars that turned into an accordian in the event of a collision.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:52 PM

    @Stype Mann: ah here, will ya stop sniffing your own underwear & come out of your moms basement…. Yes, there should be at least a minimum height limit to stop little aul wans with scrunched up faces & a fag stuck dead centre of the mouth that can barely see over the wheel….. & also an IQ test?….BUT, ” Horrific Increase” of Parents driving over their own kids… Jasus….Get A Grip!!! I bet you’d love one though, live a little, spend a lot ;-)

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:09 PM

    @Stype Mann:A 16 year old who has never stepped foot inside a car in their life is allowed to drive a 12 tonne tractor and pull 8 tonne behind them. All they need to do is do a theory test. Should we ban tractors since they are death machines?

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:08 PM

    @Joe Willis: That should definitely be stopped. It’s absolutely insane. Made sense when tractors were little yokes like the Massey 168. The things being driven now are more like an M1 Abrams. Tractors don’t need to be banned but the licencing around them should definitely be brought into this century.

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:16 PM

    @Rico: From 1989 to 1998, there were 15 deaths of children being run over by SUVs. From 1999 to 2008, it multiplied by over 20, with 304 cases. In the years 2009 to 2018, it went up again to 575. The most common place for these children to be run over was in the driveway of their own home.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:30 PM

    @Stype Mann: US car regulations and EU regulations are completely different. Most of these cars are nowhere near as big as a US vehicle.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 11th 2025, 11:26 PM

    @Stype Mann: All of your Daft Data seems to be U.S Based…The land of Exageration, The land of Looking @ your own Sibling & thinking, hymm, I May Have A Chance Here….. This is Europe, This Specific Article is Ireland, Try & quote Legitamite figures here without your Petty Rants….Anyway, Most people have their kids play in the Back Garden, Not the driveway…. Unless the State provided you with your home, Which could explain your Bitterness towards people that can afford themselves a little bit of luxury which they more than likely Earned….Rather than Scabbed off the State…..

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    Mute Alan
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    Jun 11th 2025, 7:26 PM

    All kids and pedestrians need to be taller.
    Problem solved.

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    Mute DC
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    Jun 11th 2025, 6:29 PM

    Who comes up.with this rubbish I bet more children have died hit by cars than SUVs

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    Mute J Ven
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:02 PM

    Tell me you’re a sore loser who blames everything in everyone else without telling me you’re a loser. Picking on SUVs. If I can’t have one, then no one else can. Try banning pretty ladies while we’re at it, because no matter what, you won’t get that either, why? Because of the point above.

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    Mute Anne WG
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:11 PM

    @J Ven: aside from the likes of Lucrezia, pretty ladies don’t tend to be dangerous

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    Mute Name
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:15 PM

    @J Ven: are you Andrew Tate?

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    Mute Dave F Sov
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:02 PM

    This is hilarious

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    Mute Anne WG
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:00 PM

    I’m 5.10 and still feel rather small when walking behind or in front of these. I also really don’t see the point of them, has the average driver and their family grow so fat and tall that they need these monsters? I used to fit two car seats, a buggy and a child bike in a Fiat Punto, I still have a smallish car despite ferrying two tall teenagers. In the country where roads are so narrow you almost have to park on the ditch to let other drivers pass, I really can’t see how these cars can fit. And let’s not even talk about car parks.

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jun 13th 2025, 11:48 PM

    @Anne WG: woman driver

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    Mute Coldfilter Coldfilter
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:55 PM

    More left-wing liberal nonsense and another projection of the Nanny state now picking on SUV’s.All of these government funded NGO’s ever come up with is spurious studies that all require tax rise to solve.Always identifying a problem that does not exist to justify their existence.Trucks and lorries have high bonnets too,so do we increase taxes on them too or ban them?

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    Mute Áine F
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    Jun 11th 2025, 3:58 PM

    @Coldfilter Coldfilter: You’re more than welcome to move over to that kip across the Atlantic and drive your SUV around the roads that were actually designed for them over there.

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    Mute Stype Mann
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:00 PM

    @Coldfilter Coldfilter: This problem definitely does exist. It’s been created by a ridiculous loophole in the US that incentivises people to buy these ridiculously dangerous cars. They give their drivers less control, less field of vision, less protection in the event of a crash, and make mincemeat of anything they hit. A Focus, Golf or Punto being hit by one of these things is toast, and a pedestrian, instead of being hit onto the bonnet, is mangled under the wheels. They are yank mobiles, and should stay over there.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:56 PM

    @Stype Mann: Yank Mobiles….. My GERMAN vehicle is Fantastic, Punto’s shouldn’t be on the road anyway, They are the Rat of the car population… Take one for a test drive & i bet your face will resemble your profile pic :-)

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    Mute Peter Cummins
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:06 PM

    Great idea. In a generation, the cars have gotten so big. Used to be if ya got hit, ya go up on the bonnet. These new SUVs kill ya when they hit ya. Defo a case for a ban.

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    Mute Paul O'Mahoney
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:05 PM

    @Peter Cummins: Don’t cars do the same?

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 11th 2025, 11:52 PM

    @Peter Cummins: my Aventador will definately split you in two @ speed, my Sq7 might bend you a bit……. But you’ll live….;–)

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    Mute Ciaran Enright
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:10 PM

    This nonsense ” Sports Utility Vehicle” came from America where the manufacturers saw an opportunity to increase margins over people carriers. The majority of collisions over there are from these SUV’s. Bring back estates.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 12th 2025, 12:15 AM

    @Ciaran Enright: I have an SUV….. Estate, Feckin Marvelous, 7 adults no problem, like you said, Majority of Collisions Over There….. You’re point being???? Oh yeah, A Little Bit Of Food For Thought, Most of the Horrible SUV’S you Grumble about are European & Further East…… You up for a quick game of knowledge??
    1 Where are Hyundai from?
    Where are Kia from??
    Mercedes?
    Audi?
    VW?
    Porsche?
    Seat?
    BYD?
    Mitsubishi?
    Might be time to get mommy to make you a hot coco & head up to her box room to be tucked in for a good nights sleep……Sleep Well Precious…….

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    Mute brendan C5
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:10 PM

    I was driving my dad’s 2007 Toyota auris a size up from the Yaris and we pulled behind a ford Anglia at the traffic lights, he remembers he had one of them in 1976 I remembered it to I thought it was a big car at the time he couldn’t believe how wide cars had gotten, the Toyota auris was nearly twice its width you would be shoulder to shoulder in it judging by the guy driving it. the ford Anglia leads to the ford focus of today.

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    Mute Rico
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    Jun 12th 2025, 12:03 AM

    @brendan C5: would you ever Feckoff….. The Auris is about 12 inches wider than an Anglia, ( Nowhere Near Twice The Size…)They’re Both Jockstraps on wheels when you’re 6’6″…….Remember, in 1976 Your Arse was no more bigger than a Shirt Button…….Nice to see Daddy still provides your transportation circa 39 years later:-)

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    Mute Ronan Mc
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    Jun 11th 2025, 4:43 PM

    Watch Vroom Doom on YouTube about the psychology of the rise in popularity of the SUV. Very interesting video.
    People are buying what is being marketed to them. Heavy advertising of cross overs and SUV’s by the manufacturers. They provide the biggest margin to manufacturers so that’s what they push. Traditional small cars are disappearing from the market because of this. Ford no longer makes the Fiesta for example.

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    Mute RC247
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    Jun 12th 2025, 6:38 AM

    @Ronan Mc: SUVs are better in every respect. I think that’s why they are popular. They’re, safe, comfortable, practical, flexible.

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    Mute David Sorensen
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    Jun 11th 2025, 7:31 PM

    Maybe before drastic measures on subs, look at all the cars that have modified the driver’s seat to the point where they can barely see above the steering wheel.

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    Mute Nemethon
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    Jun 11th 2025, 9:12 PM

    The minister for transport needs to deal with the proliferation of SUVS on our roads another idea for the Minister is get rid of boy racer cars. I can’t understand what’s the fascination with boys and girls driving cars that sound like tractors with dump valves etc.

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:35 PM

    As a gentleman who enjoys a morning stroll,I will always tip my hat to a pretty lady. If the good woman reciprocates by raising her bonnet,I will gladly receive such a mannerly gesture,and continue my perambulation with an added pep in my step. Only a cad or a ragamuffin would rebuff this behaviour in modern day society.

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    Mute Shane Gallagher
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    Jun 11th 2025, 5:22 PM

    But I need my extravagant XL Range Rover. I enjoy looking at the peasants from my high pedestal.

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    Mute S banter
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    Jun 11th 2025, 8:07 PM

    Who tf needs an SUV in Ireland, seriously. Parking spaces dont accommodate them as they’re useless here. Just lack of brains and want of balls. Get a teeny Sportscar yo show off ffs.

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    Mute brian pope
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    Jun 11th 2025, 10:20 PM

    A special additional theory test and driving test should be a prerequisite to driving vehicles like these, just the same as truck drivers must pass to ensure safety.

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    Mute RC247
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    Jun 12th 2025, 6:35 AM

    Nonsense, all these cars have sensors, cameras and proximity warnings now, so you don’t need to see if something is directly in front or behind you when stationary. The higher vantage point gives far better visibility at all other times…..

    1
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