London’s road hogs could soon face having to pay extra charges for driving in the capital and taking up extra space on our roads and in residential parking bays.
Road hog: having 4×4 capability is essential for driving in the suburbs
Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has today re-launched his Vision Zero policy, which aims to reduce serious and fatal injuries on the city’s streets to zero by 2041.
And as part of the exercise, he has asked Transport for London to investigate the risk posed to pedestrians and cyclists by larger cars and SUVs – “sports utility vehicles”.
“Chelsea Tractors” are especially popular in London, where having 4×4 capability is essential for a drive to Waitrose… SUVs account for about 60% of new car sales in Britain.
They also hog parking spaces, on our roads and in car parks, taking up extra space which often makes it almost impossible for those driving regular-sized cars to be able to park safely in adjoining bays.
SUVs can occupy up to 9/10ths of a typical 4.8metre x 2.4m car park parking bay. While a standard hatchback might fit comfortably, an SUV leaves less than 20cm of clearance – increasing the risk of “door-ding” damage.
Parking bay sizes were established around 50 years ago, when vehicles were generally much more compact. Cars have now grown to a point where, according to motoring organisation the RAC, “many vehicles are now too large to fit in standard parking spaces”.
The RAC says, “From SUVs, to larger family vehicles, today’s models take up more room than their predecessors – creating challenges to park both on the street and in car parks.”
And these bigger and heavier vehicles are also especially deadly when in collisions with pedestrians and cyclists.
Research in London has found that cyclists and pedestrians who are hit by “supersized” cars are 44% more likely to be killed than if they were run over by a conventional car.
Deadly toll: TfL figures show that injuries and fatalities from RTAs are declining, but not quickly enough to achieve Vision Zero’s 2041 target
The risk is even greater for children: they are 82% more likely to suffer fatal injuries in a SUV collision than one involving a car. In children under 10, the risk of death ss 130% higher.
“Without action to address oversized and heavier vehicles, more people will be seriously injured or killed,” the Vision Zero document published today states.
There have been an average of 100 road deaths a year for every year since the start of 2022 and more than 3,000 serious injuries a year.
The action plan admits the “challenge is vast and growing” and adds: “The number of people killed or seriously injured every day is unacceptable.”
There are more than 23 million road journeys in London on a typical day.
According to a report in the Standard, “TfL admits that if nothing more is done, then the number of deaths and serious injuries will increase.
“This is because of the growth in London’s population and in traffic levels, the increase in cycling, the fact that cars are getting ‘bigger and heavier’ and ‘worsening trends in [driver] behaviour on the roads’.”
TfL already has road charging technology in place throughout the capital, for the congestion zone in central London and ULEZ. TfL is expected to conduct its own studies to establish what course of action to take regarding SUV road use.
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I hate these embarrassing, inappropriately-named Sports Utility Vehicles, but I understand Mayor Khan is driven around in a Range Rover. It’s provided by the Met and exempt from the ULEZ charge. It is a 2020 Range Rover Sentinel armoured with bulletproof glass, spike-proof tyres, under-floor blast protection, and a five-litre engine, capable of withstanding high-velocity rounds and up to 15kg of TNT explosives.
Sounds really cool to be honest.
Looks like you’re on the wrong site Ben – IC is aimed at hip millennials with a strong social and environmental conscience
Well he has to protect himself from the racists and nutjobs in Deform, doesn’t he Chris?!
Lets face facts it is suv’s that hog the roads when driving around normal streets the other problem is little people driving behind the steering wheel who can’t see over the bonnet its a status symbol not a car its a tank on wheels they all ways seem to drive your side of the road and leave you no space.
This sounds like a perfectly reasonable variation on “polluter pays”, so the more unnecessarily obnoxious the vehicle the more you have to pay !?!
Brilliant! obnoxious, dangerous and completely unnecessary in urban areas. Glad to see them being more penalised
As a driver of a medium size SUV you may wonder why when I am unlikely to ever go off road, the explanation is simple, I need a car that copes well with, speed bumps, speed cushions, raised junction tables, raised or sunken manholes, badly restored or deteriorating utility trenches, and lastly everybody’s arch enemy the pot hole . All of which in London we have in abundance of. Also I need a car that wont have its suspension or wheels broken by the aforementioned hazards, I like the added ride height which makes spotting the hazards and people easier and the electronic wizardry which spots the loony e scooter rider or pedestrian zooming off the pavement and applies the brakes quicker than humans can react. So all in all I would say its horses for courses. As far as Khans endless search for something else to tax goes this wont be the end.
Always someone else’s fault.