SUV drivers could face extra charges for driving in London
TfL are also poised to increase 20mph zones and cut speed limits on the capital’s fastest roads later this year
Owners of SUVs could face charges to drive in London, after the mayor and transport authorities said they were reviewing the increased danger posed by larger, heavier cars.
Proposals to clamp down on the biggest vehicles could come later this year, with Transport for London (TfL) also poised to increase 20mph zones and cut the speed limits on its fastest roads from 50mph to 40mph to tackle road deaths.
A report published on Wednesday highlighted the danger SUVs posed to other road users and pedestrians, with children at particular risk of fatal injuries from collisions.
While safety concerns around SUVs are highlighted in the Vision Zero report – an update to London’s plan to eliminate fatal road accidents – TfL is also conscious of the wider impact of the vehicles.
The plan said TfL would continue “developing a robust evidence base on the risk posed by oversized cars and using our powers to address their safety, congestion and environmental impacts”.
Previous research has shown adults walking or cycling are 14% more likely to die in a collision when the car involved is an SUV; children are 77% more likely. For children under 9, the risk of fatality is three times higher if struck by an SUV compared with a smaller car. The size and structure of the oversized cars means pedestrians are more likely to be hit in critical organs or at head height and thrown into traffic rather than land on the bonnet of a car if struck.
Sales of SUVs have rocketed in the UK compared with other European countries, many of which levy significantly higher taxes on larger, heavier vehicles. According to a recent study by Transport & Environment, more than half of cars now sold in the UK are too big for a standard street parking space.
Cardiff recently became the first UK city to vote to implement additional parking charges for SUVs, proposing costlier permits to offset their additional footprint, road damage and emissions.
A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, said TfL needed to consider the impact of SUVs on other road users, adding: “There is growing evidence about the safety risks of large SUVs, which are becoming more common on London’s roads. It’s a startling figure that SUVs are 77% more likely to kill a child if involved in a collision.
“The mayor has asked TfL to undertake detailed analysis of the safety risks posed by large SUVs and their wider impact on London’s roads. This could then inform any future policy proposals in London or recommendations to government or the sector.”
The Guardian revealed last week that senior Labour politicians across London had raised concerns with government that the party was facing a “political earthquake” in the capital in the May elections as support for the Greens surges.
“The government needs to demonstrate that they’re not taking liberal, progressive voters in the capital for granted,” a senior London Labour figure said.
Campaigners welcomed the focus on SUVs from the mayor and TfL. Oliver Lord, the UK head of Clean Cities, said: “Cars are getting bigger every year, but London’s streets aren’t. Supersized SUVs take up more space and threaten children’s lives, who shouldn’t have to dodge two-tonne battering rams just to cross the road.
“Cities across Europe are acting against car-spreading. We need fairer parking tariffs based on the weight of the car. It’s only fair that those with unnecessarily large SUVs pay more for the extra space and danger they bring.”
The mayor and TfL’s action plan, meanwhile, aims to make 20mph the default maximum speed across London, converting another 35 miles of 30mph roads by 2030, although many roads remain under local boroughs’ control. TfL said it would also cut the default speed limit on bigger strategic roads it controls, which include the North Circular, from 50mph to 40mph by 2035.
Road deaths and serious injuries have fallen by almost a quarter in a decade, with London recording the fewest serious casualties in a year in 2024, barring the pandemic years of 2020-21. TfL said the statistics showed the capital’s streets had become safer more quickly than the rest of the country, with half the road accident toll of Greater Manchester.
Jason Killens, the chief executive of London ambulance service, said: “It’s often the vulnerable who are most at risk on the roads – the young and old who are seriously hurt or killed. These incidents are particularly tragic because so many are preventable.”