One in five Brits call for city centre SUV ban as 'carspreading' fears grow
Fri, 13 Mar 2026
‘Plus-sized’ SUVs are more dangerous to pedestrians than smaller vehicles, say one in three Brits – and a fifth believe they should be banned altogether from busy areas such as city centres.
A third of Brits would also support raising VED road tax on SUVs.
The survey of more than 1000 UK motorists by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found that many Brits believe SUVs are a greater risk to cyclists than smaller cars, too.
However, despite their perceived threat to other road users, drivers’ embrace of SUVs is understandable from a personal safety perspective. The research found that more than half think SUV occupants are safer than those in smaller vehicles.
Indeed, this is backed up by Euro NCAP crash safety testing, which rates SUVs as among the safest family cars on the road.
“Huge cars were once associated with the USA but car spreading is alive and well in the UK,” says IAM RoadSmart policy and standards director Nicholas Lyes.
“Despite the fact that these cars are growing, both in size and popularity, our roads and parking spaces are not significantly wider and something needs to give.”
While no council has yet banned SUVs, some have increased parking fees for them. Cardiff, for example, has recently approved the principle of additional charges for residential parking permits for vehicles weighing more than 2.4 tonnes.
The move would follow Paris which, in 2024, tripled parking charges for heavier cars. Mayor Anne Hidalgo argued that SUVs are both dangerous and bad for the environment.
2025 research by Imperial College London concluded that pedestrians or cyclists hit by an SUV are more likely to be killed or seriously injured than if they were hit by a smaller car.
The odds of being killed increase 44% for adults and 82% for children and cyclists.
IAM RoadSmart says it would like to see more considerate SUV design, including bumpers and bonnets that reduce injury severity plus advanced pedestrian automatic emergency braking.
The road safety charity also called for greater awareness from drivers “who should be in control and have a greater spatial understanding of their vehicle... particularly on rural roads and in busy urban environments.
“While cities may opt for charges or hiking parking feels to discourage use, our view is that safer vehicle design and enhanced driver education can make the biggest difference,” says Lyes.
SUV sales continue to increase despite the risks. In 2023, they comprised almost half of new car sales globally, compared to just 15% in 2010.
