To think levying additional charges on SUV owners in London is a bad idea?

[FirmNavyCat]

Saw this article in the Guardian yesterday and it's been prominent in my mind since I read it. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/13/suv-drivers-could-face-extra-charges-for-driving-in-london

Sadiq Khan is talking about levying further charges to SUV drivers due to the evidence that they pose a significantly increased risk of fatal injury to pedestrians in collisions, particularly children. While on the face of it this seems like a noble cause, my belief is that policymakers should be focused on beefing up existing laws. Speed limits should be reduced on roads that have the highest number of fatalities, and drivers who cause injury or death should face tougher sentencing by the courts. I know SUVs are popular on MN (and are popular with mums in urban areas generally). They feel so much safer to drive compared to smaller cars. Also, should the worst happen and you are involved in a collision, I would very strongly prefer to be in an SUV than a smaller car. I'd want my loved ones to be in an SUV as well if I had to choose.

again, it was you that made this claim, I asked you to back up your statement and since then you want me to prove your statement is incorrect for you, you’ve asked me twice to do this.

im well aware of the stats for GB, you put them up but you didn’t put them up for London - as I don’t believe you have the evidence to back up your original claim

thus you keep wanting me to find the evidence as you don’t have it

Just to add to this point, a lot of deaths / serious injuries from collisions are preventable if Vision Zero policies are adopted - Helsinki & Oslo have had no pedestrian deaths in some years. Taxing SUVs is part of Sir Sadiq Khan adopting Vision Zero policies.

Yes 25 cm difference in width is actually a huge amount in London. Roads with 2 parked cars and 2 cars going down the road. If all of them are larger that is an entire metre. That is the often the difference between traffic flowing and 2 cars being not being able to pass each other easily so having to have cars pull in.

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Compared to the UK as a whole, over the past 5 years, HGVs killed a disproportionately high number of pedestrians in London, but still rather fewer than cars. The situation is improving, too. For the year ending 30/10/25, HGVs and buses together killed 13 pedestrians, around a third of the number killed by cars, which was 35.

There have also been changes to to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The cabs of bin lorries are now mostly window to improve visibility and lots of HGVs have bars under the trailer to stop cyclists going under. Plus I’m sure there’s now time restrictions on moving stuff? There was a horrible spate of cyclist deaths in London maybe ten years ago where a fair few were construction vehicles . You can’t ban lorries but you can restrict and make them safer. And if taxing the SUVs reduces their popularity that’s a big help

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/oct/07/a-deadly-problem-should-we-ban-suvs-from-our-cities

Thank you for backing up your statement that car drivers kill more people in London than HGV and buses.

You’re welcome. Thank you for acknowledging you were mistaken.

Out of a population of nearly 70 million?

I ask again should we not be allowed to have our Kia Sportage?

I'll ask have you ever had a loved one killed by a driver? Injured badly by a driver?

Voting closed, but I agree with the 90%

If it were up to me I would not allow you to have a Kia Sportage, for all the reasons outlined on this thread and the many articles for which posters have kindly provided links.

However, it's not up to me, hasn't ever been, and you've already acquired one. Punishing you for that by retrospectively hammering you through the tax system wouldn't be fair or particularly effective in dealing with the selfish, antisocial choices you've already made. However, that is not to say that future vehicles which cannot meet more thoughtful evidence-based regulatory standards on blind spots, pedestrian impact, weight, and size shouldn't be taxed so heavily that no sane person would consider one over a less obnoxious alternative.

There are other vehicles on the market which are much safer for you and everyone else around you, which will offer the same or better space and practicality at lower purchase and running costs, with a smaller environmental impact.

Out of a population of nearly 70 million?

One death or injury is too many.

To my recollection no.

Then you'd have to ban cars or motor vehicles entirely.

You can stop drowning deaths (which I agree are absolutely horrific) by banning swimming pools and not letting people go to the beach.

That’s unrealistic. However, despite your preferences, designing cars to cause less damage to pedestrians in the event of a collision is realistic.

Errrr, no

Again I say what is so bad about my Sportage?

Are crossover SUVs okay but not let's say an Audi Q7 or a land rover? What specific type of SUV should be penalised?

Apart from being spectacularly ugly and unnecessarily big?

Its bigger than a standard hatchback car. Not by much but still bigger so if we were all to swap out standard hatchbacks (that also seat 5 people) can you see the problem.

If a Kia Sportage is what you require for yourself/family then a standard hatchback such as a Golf, will also fit your needs

Is this thread against all SUV, even crossover SUVs (including the Sportage). Or is it against the land/range rover style massive vehicles as well?

Or by educating people as to the risks. However, water generally only poses a threat to the person taking the action. Driving poses a threat to other people.

The HGV and bus comparison is interesting, and brings up an interesting point: if we're comparing those to SUV-caused injuries and deaths, then let's make it an apples-to-apples comparison...HGVs and buses require a more stringent licence which needs an increased level of training.

So...why not require an enhanced licence to drive them? Make the threshold for licences "Is a small child visible to the driver in both directions of travel?".

People who really want an SUV are still free to get that licence as long as they're willing to undergo the additional safety training. Alternatively, manufacturers will have to implement additional measures to increase the safety and visibility around the vehicles.

All of them. Who needs a Land Rover in a city? We live rurally and don’t need one.

Honestly got me it isn’t a specific SuV issue per se

my view is that the optimum maximum size car for London should be decided. It’s probably the size of a large hatchback.

anything that deviates from that in terms of weight, width, length and height should be penalised. SUV’s will suffer the most as they will likely deviate on every single one of those metrics.