Almost three in four drivers have expressed fury over larger vehicles blocking roads and creating huge safety risks to pedestrians.
A recent report found that 71 per cent of drivers agreed that SUVs will make parking more difficult, with urgent care needed to prevent the larger cars from taking over UK roads.
It comes after research revealed that the number of SUVs on UK roads has increased by 10 times in recent years, with larger vehicles being favoured by drivers.
Data published by Clean Cities warned that the rapid growth in larger vehicles across urban areas in England has increased from three per cent to 30 per cent of existing cars in the last two decades.
Worryingly, in London, the number of SUVs has increased by almost three-quarters of a million, from around 80,000 SUVs in 2002 to around 800,000 SUVs in 2023.
Experts have warned that the increase in SUVs now poses a serious danger for children and other road users in the case of a crash.
The latest research showed that SUVs on UK roads are 14 per cent more likely to kill a pedestrian or cyclist and 77 per cent more likely to kill a child, as compared to a traditional passenger car.
SUVs are three times more likely to kill a child pedestrian or cyclist aged zero to nine years than a traditional passenger car.
Clean Cities has called on local councils to introduce tougher parking rules for SUVS next year
|
SUV ALLIANCE/GETTYCalls for new vehicle restrictions follow a case of a 12-year-old girl from Kennington, South London, being nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver. No action was taken by the police.
The schoolgirl was walking home with her younger sister from school and turned around to go to football practice on Black Prince Road in Kennington.
Her mother shared: “A grey car came speeding around the corner and drove right into her. She was thrown to the ground sideways and hit her face on the bonnet as she fell.
“There was blood everywhere. She looked so scared. The surgery was traumatic, and my daughter was out of school for several weeks, falling behind in class. She had to have emergency dental surgery and now has a prosthetic tooth.
“She had 24 stitches in her gum and 22 in her chin. We have to do something to make our roads safer for our children. It made me so scared to let my daughters out again.”
Data from Solve the School Run revealed that an average of 443 children are injured on their way to and from London schools each year.
In total, 6,181 children suffered injuries on the road across London, with 1,006 killed or seriously injured in the past three years, with 1,328 of the casualties taking place during the school run.
Solve the School Run, alongside Clean Cities, has called on local councils to sign up to their Safer Streets for Kids manifesto ahead of next year’s election, which pledges to implement more school streets to restrict car traffic at pick-up and drop-off times.
London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, said: “Every death and injury on London’s roads is a tragedy, and especially when it involves a child. The Mayor, TfL and London Boroughs are committed to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on the roads.
“We are investing heavily to reduce road danger and to make it easier and safer for children to walk, cycle and scoot to school. London now has over 800 school streets, a cycle network of over 400km, and we are transforming dangerous junctions and pedestrian crossings across the capital.”
Parking rules were approved in Paris last year, after residents voted to introduce new tariffs for SUVs.
Under the plans, SUV drivers are now paying three times more than smaller passenger cars. The increase in parking rates affects cars weighing more than 1,600kg, or 2,000kg if the vehicle is an electric car.