Edinburgh Council is considering a motion to ban SUVs or Sports Utility Vehicles in Edinburgh.
Green Councillor, Chas Booth, argued that the vehicles endager pedestrians, create potholes and are bad for the environment. Booth put forward the call to ban SUVs at a meeting of the transport and environment committee.
The Leith councillor argued the danger imposed on vulnerable road users and pedestrians:
“In the United States pedestrian deaths are at their highest level for the last 40 years – they have risen 80 per cent since 2009 and a lot of that is due to the heavier and larger vehicles. One analysis shows that the Abraham M1 tank has better visibility – fewer blindspots – than many of the gas-guzzlers currently on our roads.”
Additionally, according to Booth, due to the heaviness of the cars they create more potholes, which could have further road maintenance implications. Furthermore, due to the weight of SUVs, they require far more fuel and therefore emit more CO2.
Booth went on to express his concern for the increasing popularity of SUVs, adding:
“Now it may be appropriate for a farmer in Fife to have a Land Rover, but it’s not appropriate for a banker in Bruntsfield – if they don’t also own a farm up in the Highlands – it’s not appropriate for them to have a massive great gas guzzler,”
This motion comes after a Land Rover Defender crashed into a school in Wimbledon, killing one child and injuring 14 people
The crash sparked debate on the safety of these 4x4s, in retaliation an anti-SUV group ‘The Tyre Extinguishers’ has let the air out of around 100 SUVs in Morningside, Portobello and New Town.
They left leaflets behind stating their intent to make it impossible to own a SUV in Edinburgh.
The Tyre Extinguishers commented to The Student:
“We hope that by raising general awareness about these death machines, through striking in 20 countries, including thousands of SUVs hit in the UK, we have helped bring this [motion] about. But for now, this is just talk. Let’s see action.”
Conservative Councillor Munro defended the right to own a SUV, stating:
“I just wanted to put that on record if anybody’s listening from Bruntsfield. If you want to buy an SUV, crack on. It’s your money.”
This amendment also says that this ban could be enforced by parking permits and environmental orders.
Edinburgh’s parking permit system already charges vehicle owners more for cars which emit more CO2, as well as implementing a surcharge for diesel cars. The motion also called for the next safety report to “explore the feasibility of steps to discourage or restrict larger and heavier vehicles in the city.”
This report is set to be published in March 2024.
“Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, Sept 2013” by alljengi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.