Tell me if you've seen this : people in large SUVs, pickups or 4x4s that swerve around potholes and slow to a crawl when turning corner or going up ramps into their driveways or petrol stations. Or this : a V8-badged car doing 25mph in a 40 zone.
It strikes me that a lot of people seem to buy vehicles that are either completely unsuited to them, or they don't understand what their own vehicle's capabilities are. Here in the US there's a very strong stereotype surrounding 'old' car brands and the age of the driver. If you're following a V8 Cadillac-anything, the minimum age of the driver is 70 and the maximum speed is 30mph (although this does go up to 45 when on the motorway). That vehicle could have a single-cylinder engine and it would still be overpowered for how it's used.
The same is true for many people with 4x4's or lifted trucks, pickups or any other vehicle with off-road capability. They really don't need to slow down to walking-pace for corners, or swerve for cracks in the road, or traverse ramps at glacial speeds. I've seen SUVs steer to avoid perfectly flat manhole covers....
The ultimate demonstration of idiocy in this department happened a couple of weeks ago when the truck in front of me braked and swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a cloud of cherry blossom petals that had been dislodged from a tree in a strong gust of wind....
