Bigger cars take up more room, and in cities where space is at a premium this is recognised as a problem. Polling last year showed 40% of people in the UK had a negative view of 4x4-type vehicles, while just 21% had a positive one. Negative views are even more pronounced in London, while the Midlands – historic heart of the UK motor industry – has a more positive attitude to big vehicles than anywhere else. Since 2001, new cars in the UK and Europe have grown 1cm wider every two years. Last year the average width passed 180cm, too big to fit comfortably in some parking spaces. Campaigners warn that unless regulators step in, cars could keep growing to match trucks and buses.
Taking space away from other road users is not the only problem with these supersized vehicles. Because they are bigger, heavier and higher off the ground, SUVs pose greater risks than other cars to anyone unlucky enough to collide with them. One study found that children are eight times more likely to die after being struck by one.
They are also associated with increased air pollution, in part due to additional wear and tear of tyres and road surfaces. As well as particulate matter, which is mainly harmful in cities where it causes respiratory illness, the trend towards bigger cars is responsible for higher greenhouse gas emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, the world’s 330m SUVs between them emitted 1bn tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022. Even the growing market for electric SUVs risks becoming part of the problem, since calculations of environmental impact include materials and energy used in manufacture, as well as minerals for batteries. While electric vehicles will always be preferable to exact equivalents powered by petrol or diesel, the size of some is cancelling out the benefits of what is meant to be a transition to a greener lifestyle.
It is more than 20 years since the Green party’s Siân Berry founded an anti-SUV campaign. Alliance Against Urban 4x4s placed 100,000 spoof parking tickets on vehicle windscreens. More recently the Tyre Extinguishers have taken to letting down tyres using lentils. Activism aside, however, the UK has seen little action on the issue, while in cities including Paris and Lyon, mayors are making the urban environment less hospitable to giant vehicles. In Paris residents vote on 4 February in a referendum on making their owners pay more for parking.
European rules on vehicle weights and dimensions are due to be reviewed, with some calling for width restrictions. Given the weakening of British environmental regulation that has already taken place, there are grounds for concern about whether the UK would agree to any tightening. Labour should pre-emptively announce that it will impose stricter limits if elected. Advertisers should also face increased pressure. One SUV advertisement has already been banned for disregarding nature. Pushing bigger cars as a lifestyle choice is irresponsible unless one is speaking to specific social needs.
The politics of driving can be treacherous. It pits individual freedom and convenience against longer-term benefits to the environment. If not handled skilfully it can set city dwellers, with their subsidised public transportation systems, against poorer inhabitants of smaller towns and rural areas. This means policies must be thoughtful, well evidenced and clearly communicated. But no one should be scared to point out that the current fashion for huge cars is dangerous.
