Latest news with #carspreading
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
London Assembly Members Tell Mayor To Oppose Car Bloat
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.'
Forbes
a day ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Oppose Car Bloat, London Assembly Members Tell Mayor
Old Mini next to new Mini. CarSized/montage 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 vote, 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 1cm every two years, with most 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 bonnet height. The Mayor is further urged to write to HM Treasury asking that they introduce a progressive tax on passenger vehicle weight into 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. 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 (180 centimeters) 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.' Paris voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in February last year.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
SUV drivers should pay more tax, Sadiq Khan told
Sir Sadiq Khan is under pressure to tackle 'car-spreading' by hitting bigger vehicles in London with even higher taxes and parking fees. In a motion passed by the London Assembly, the Mayor has been urged to write to the Government to demand higher vehicle excise duty for heavier vehicles and tighter restrictions on car sizes. Assembly members, 11 of 25 of whom are the Mayor's Labour allies, also urged him to write to councils across the capital to ask them to adopt higher parking fees for bigger cars – a policy some have embraced already. The motion blamed larger cars for clogging up London's streets, putting pedestrians at greater risk of injury or death and causing road surfaces to wear down more quickly. Elly Baker, the Labour assembly member who proposed it, said the capital's streets 'weren't designed for larger vehicles like SUVs'. She said: 'Their greater size, weight, and higher bonnets put vulnerable road users at greater risk, reduce available parking spaces, and cause more wear and tear on our roads. 'It's time we took sensible steps to manage the impact of oversized cars and ensure our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone.' A spokesman for the Mayor said on Friday: 'The Mayor, Transport for London and borough partners are working to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads, by expanding the cycle network, making road crossings and junctions safer, reducing speed limits on our roads, and making larger vehicles like HGVs and buses safer. 'This year the Mayor will be refreshing his Vision Zero Action Plan, to restate his commitment to reducing road danger and responding to new and emerging risks on our roads'. The assembly's call comes after several English local authorities have proposed higher charges for larger or heavier vehicles, amid complaints they occupy more space, produce higher levels of pollution and take a bigger toll on road surfaces. Such charges have been proposed in Haringey, Bath, Oxford and Bristol, among other places, with many councillors taking a lead from Paris, where Left-wing French politicians have launched their own crackdown on SUVs. Sir Sadiq currently lacks the formal powers to introduce such charges himself but has said he is watching developments in the French capital closely. 'SUVs take up more space and we know there's issues around road safety, we know there's issues around carbon emissions and so forth,' he said in February. 'We know some councils in London are taking bold policies in relation to parking fees, in relation to your tickets and so forth. It's really good to work with those councils.' SUVs have grown in popularity in recent years, with many drivers favouring their higher seating position. They accounted for a third of all new car registrations in the UK last year, compared with just 12pc a decade earlier. SUVs are generally taller, wider and heavier than traditional cars, and less fuel-efficient. The increase in the size of cars has been described as car-spreading. However, Edmund King, the president of the AA, said it should be 'up to Londoners to choose the type of vehicle that best fulfils their needs'. He said: 'It is not really the role of the London Assembly to dictate what cars individuals should drive. 'Some larger families may well need bigger vehicles with more passenger seats, whereas a driver conducting most trips alone may well choose a city car. 'London's streets were developed around the horse and cart, so of course our infrastructure needs modernising to keep up with change.' A recent study found that pedestrians and cyclists are 44pc more likely to die if they are hit by an SUV or similar-sized vehicle rather than a traditional car. The analysis produced by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London stated that the figure rises to 82pc for children. Meanwhile, research by the campaign group Transport & Environment has previously found the average width of cars in the UK was growing by about half a centimetre per year. A typical car was 180.3cm wide in 2023, up from 177.8cm just five years earlier. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
SUV drivers should pay more tax, Sadiq Khan told
Sir Sadiq Khan is under pressure to tackle 'car-spreading' by hitting bigger vehicles in London with even higher taxes and parking fees. In a motion passed by the London Assembly, the Mayor has been urged to write to the Government to demand higher vehicle excise duty for heavier vehicles and tighter restrictions on car sizes. Assembly members, 11 of 25 of whom are the Mayor's Labour allies, also urged him to write to councils across the capital to ask them to adopt higher parking fees for bigger cars – a policy some have embraced already. The motion blamed larger cars for clogging up London's streets, putting pedestrians at greater risk of injury or death and causing road surfaces to wear down more quickly. Elly Baker, the Labour assembly member who proposed it, said the capital's streets 'weren't designed for larger vehicles like SUVs'. She said: 'Their greater size, weight, and higher bonnets put vulnerable road users at greater risk, reduce available parking spaces, and cause more wear and tear on our roads. 'It's time we took sensible steps to manage the impact of oversized cars and ensure our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone.' A spokesman for the Mayor said on Friday: 'The Mayor, Transport for London and borough partners are working to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads, by expanding the cycle network, making road crossings and junctions safer, reducing speed limits on our roads, and making larger vehicles like HGVs and buses safer. 'This year the Mayor will be refreshing his Vision Zero Action Plan, to restate his commitment to reducing road danger and responding to new and emerging risks on our roads'. The assembly's call comes after several English local authorities have proposed higher charges for larger or heavier vehicles, amid complaints they occupy more space, produce higher levels of pollution and take a bigger toll on road surfaces. Such charges have been proposed in Haringey, Bath, Oxford and Bristol, among other places, with many councillors taking a lead from Paris, where Left-wing French politicians have launched their own crackdown on SUVs. Sir Sadiq currently lacks the formal powers to introduce such charges himself but has said he is watching developments in the French capital closely. 'SUVs take up more space and we know there's issues around road safety, we know there's issues around carbon emissions and so forth,' he said in February. 'We know some councils in London are taking bold policies in relation to parking fees, in relation to your tickets and so forth. It's really good to work with those councils.' SUVs have grown in popularity in recent years, with many drivers favouring their higher seating position. They accounted for a third of all new car registrations in the UK last year, compared with just 12pc a decade earlier. SUVs are generally taller, wider and heavier than traditional cars, and less fuel-efficient. The increase in the size of cars has been described as car-spreading. However, Edmund King, the president of the AA, said it should be 'up to Londoners to choose the type of vehicle that best fulfils their needs'. He said: 'It is not really the role of the London Assembly to dictate what cars individuals should drive. 'Some larger families may well need bigger vehicles with more passenger seats, whereas a driver conducting most trips alone may well choose a city car. 'London's streets were developed around the horse and cart, so of course our infrastructure needs modernising to keep up with change.' A recent study found that pedestrians and cyclists are 44pc more likely to die if they are hit by an SUV or similar-sized vehicle rather than a traditional car. The analysis produced by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London stated that the figure rises to 82pc for children. Meanwhile, research by the campaign group Transport & Environment has previously found the average width of cars in the UK was growing by about half a centimetre per year. A typical car was 180.3cm wide in 2023, up from 177.8cm just five years earlier.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
SUV drivers should pay more tax, Sadiq Khan told
Sir Sadiq Khan is under pressure to tackle 'car-spreading' by hitting bigger vehicles in London with even higher taxes and parking fees. In a motion passed by the London Assembly, the Mayor has been urged to write to the Government to demand higher vehicle excise duty for heavier vehicles and tighter restrictions on car sizes. Assembly members, 11 of 25 of whom are the Mayor's Labour allies, also urged him to write to councils across the capital to ask them to adopt higher parking fees for bigger cars – a policy some have embraced already. The motion blamed larger cars for clogging up London's streets, putting pedestrians at greater risk of injury or death and causing road surfaces to wear down more quickly. Elly Baker, the Labour assembly member who proposed it, said the capital's streets 'weren't designed for larger vehicles like SUVs'. She said: 'Their greater size, weight, and higher bonnets put vulnerable road users at greater risk, reduce available parking spaces, and cause more wear and tear on our roads. 'It's time we took sensible steps to manage the impact of oversized cars and ensure our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone.' A spokesman for the Mayor said on Friday: 'The Mayor, Transport for London and borough partners are working to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads, by expanding the cycle network, making road crossings and junctions safer, reducing speed limits on our roads, and making larger vehicles like HGVs and buses safer. 'This year the Mayor will be refreshing his Vision Zero Action Plan, to restate his commitment to reducing road danger and responding to new and emerging risks on our roads'. The assembly's call comes after several English local authorities have proposed higher charges for larger or heavier vehicles, amid complaints they occupy more space, produce higher levels of pollution and take a bigger toll on road surfaces. Such charges have been proposed in Haringey, Bath, Oxford and Bristol, among other places, with many councillors taking a lead from Paris, where Left-wing French politicians have launched their own crackdown on SUVs. Sir Sadiq currently lacks the formal powers to introduce such charges himself but has said he is watching developments in the French capital closely. 'SUVs take up more space and we know there's issues around road safety, we know there's issues around carbon emissions and so forth,' he said in February. 'We know some councils in London are taking bold policies in relation to parking fees, in relation to your tickets and so forth. It's really good to work with those councils.' 'Car-spreading' SUVs have grown in popularity in recent years, with many drivers favouring their higher seating position. They accounted for a third of all new car registrations in the UK last year, compared with just 12pc a decade earlier. SUVs are generally taller, wider and heavier than traditional cars, and less fuel-efficient. The increase in the size of cars has been described as car-spreading. However, Edmund King, the president of the AA, said it should be 'up to Londoners to choose the type of vehicle that best fulfils their needs'. He said: 'It is not really the role of the London Assembly to dictate what cars individuals should drive. 'Some larger families may well need bigger vehicles with more passenger seats, whereas a driver conducting most trips alone may well choose a city car. 'London's streets were developed around the horse and cart, so of course our infrastructure needs modernising to keep up with change.' A recent study found that pedestrians and cyclists are 44pc more likely to die if they are hit by an SUV or similar-sized vehicle rather than a traditional car. The analysis produced by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London stated that the figure rises to 82pc for children. Meanwhile, research by the campaign group Transport & Environment has previously found the average width of cars in the UK was growing by about half a centimetre per year. A typical car was 180.3cm wide in 2023, up from 177.8cm just five years earlier.
