Should 4×4 vehicles be banned from the roads?
No they should not. A survey of the cradle to grave impact that cars have on the environment actually put the Jeep Wrangler at the top of the list for best cars for the environment and put the Toyota Prius somewhere like seventh from the bottom as the batteries cause more harm during their manufacture than the Jeep does in its entire life. I drive a part time 4X4 (Jeep Liberty/Cherokee diesel) and this is far less damaging to the environment than some other cars that you greenies think are much better. If we are going to talk about environmental damage leave cars and their drivers alone, target intensive farming methods and the activities of the plastics industry there you will find the real culprits.
4×4’s have been braded as bad for many reasons. But all forms of waste could be considered bad. In the UK people throw away 50% of their food as its gone out of date. That cost energy to grow, package and ship and is a waste of money also. People use plastic shopping bags once and then throw them away. If I drove all year in a 4×4 but never flew in a plane maybe I would use less energy than someone who had no car but took two holidays a year. Branding one thing as bad over simplifies thing. They probably do more damage to a predestrian in an accident than normal cars as the bumper is close to chest level, but there again so does a truck.
