London Assembly Members Tell Mayor To Oppose Car Bloat

Forbes

a day ago

Old Mini next to new Mini.
A majority of Members of the London Assembly—the 25-member elected body that scrutinizes the work of the London Mayor—voted on June 5 to oppose 'carspreading,' the phenonomen of automobiles becoming wider, heavier and taller.
This car bloat, also known as 'autobesity,' damages London's roads, said the London Assembly motion, causing congestion, and putting pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers at greater risk of death and serious injury.
Cars are getting bigger by an average of 1 centimeter every two years, with many new cars now too large for U.K. minimum parking spaces.
Elly Baker AM, who proposed the motion, said:
'London's streets weren't designed for larger vehicles like SUVs, which now make up a third of all cars on the road. Their greater size, weight, and higher [hoods] put vulnerable road users at greater risk, reduce available parking spaces, and cause more wear and tear on our roads.'
She added: 'It's time we took sensible steps to manage the impact of oversized cars and ensure our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone.'
The vote was won by 14 votes against eight. The motion states that the 'consequences of surging vehicle size undermine goals for road safety, air quality and put outsized pressure on public finances.'
The Assembly now calls on the Mayor to write to the Department for Transport asking that they update vehicle regulations to introduce tighter limits on passenger vehicle size and hood height. The Mayor is further urged to write to HM Treasury asking for a progressive tax on passenger vehicle weight via Vehicle Excise Duty.
The Assembly is also calling for London Councils to explore the feasibility of boroughs charging higher parking charges to SUVs to account for pressure they put on road space and local parking spaces.
In a referendum last year, the citizens of Paris voted to triple parking fees for SUVs.
Today's BMW-built Mini is much wider than the British Motor Corporation's 1959 original, and is also taller and longer. Other famous car models—such as the VW Beetle and the Ford Fiesta—have also increased markedly in size and weight.
Modern cars are larger partly because of airbags, crumple zones and air conditioning units, but also because consumers prefer larger motor vehicles—hence the success of SUVs. The motor vehicle 'arms race' has led to calls from motorists for road lanes to be widened and parking spaces to be enlarged.
Roads in most British cities are becoming more and more choked as wider motor cars struggle to squeeze past each other. There's an epidemic of pedestrian-unfriendly 'pavement parking'—wheels half up on the sidewalk—and tempers fray when wing mirrors are bashed as porkier cars pass each other.
Research from Transport & Environment (T&E) in 2022 found that 'autobesity'—car bloat—is real, with many cars getting too big for British roads, exceeding the 180 centimeter minimum for on-street parking.
More than half of new cars sold in 2023 were too wide for the minimum specified on-street parking space in major U.K. cities. Off-street parking is now a tight squeeze even for the average new car, while large luxury SUVs often make it impossible.
Fatter cars are heavier cars. And heavier cars cause more highway damage.
Richard Hebditch, UK Director for T&E UK, said: 'The trend of cars getting wider has been progressing for decades and that trend will continue until the U.K. sets stricter limits. Currently we allow new cars to be as wide as trucks. This has meant our roads are now home to big SUVs and American style pick-up trucks that are parking on our footpaths, endangering pedestrians and cyclists and making everyone else on our roads less safe.'