Industry experts are calling for urgent policy action to curb the sale of sports utility vehicles, pointing to the mounting evidence of their dangers to pedestrians, cyclists and the environment.
Writing in the BMJ, a quartet of transport and medical experts have asked health professionals to ‘raise their voices in supporting the health and environmental case for policy action.’
One of the four transport and medical experts calling for action is Cleo Kennington, a consultant in emergency general surgery and major trauma. Cleo was an on-call consultant surgeon for two incidents in London where SUVs were unintentionally driven into groups of young children and witnessed the disproportionate number of severe head and facial injuries.
SUVs now account for 63% of new car sales in the UK, up from just 12% in 2010. This surge in popularity comes with serious safety consequences. A recent systematic review found that pedestrians and cyclists struck by SUVs are 44% more likely to die compared to collisions with standard cars.
For children, there is an 82% increase in fatality likelihood.
The vehicles’ design is largely to blame. Taller, squarer bonnets cause more severe injuries, striking adults at pelvis height and children often at head level. When hit by an SUV, pedestrians are more likely to be flung forward and potentially run over, rather than carried onto the bonnet as with conventional cars.
Vehicle manufacturers continue to increase bonnet heights by approximately 0.5 cm annually, despite evidence that heights above 75 cm significantly increase collision lethality. Average bonnet height among new European car sales has risen from 77 cm in 2010 to 84 cm in 2024. The expanding width of vehicles also reduces space for cyclists to maneuver safely.
Beyond immediate safety concerns, SUVs undermine climate and air quality goals. SUV versions of regular cars emit substantially more carbon – Volkswagen’s T-Roc SUV produces 11% more CO2 than the Golf it’s based on. Heavier vehicles also generate more PM pollution from tyre and road wear.
Experts are advocating for policy interventions at multiple levels. Paris has implemented higher parking fees for SUVs, reportedly achieving a significant reduction in such vehicles on streets. Several French and German cities have adopted weight or size-based parking charges. Last month Cardiff Council joined them by announcing that residential parking permits for SUVs are to cost more that those for ‘regular’ cars.
The UK currently imposes some of Europe’s lowest taxes on large cars. A BMW X5 faces an acquisition tax of £3,200 in Britain versus £66,000 in France – contributing to SUV sales being four times higher in the UK.
Proposed solutions include reforming vehicle excise duty, mandating dimensional data on registration certificates, and introducing ‘child visibility tests’ in safety rating programmes to encourage lower bonnet designs.
Health professionals are being urged to advocate publicly for these reforms, leveraging their influence to support policy changes that could save lives and protect the environment.
In related news:
Campaigners in Scotland and Wales push back against SUV surge
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