I must preface this by the point that I personally live in probably the Urban SUV capital of Ireland (you can probably guess). Seemingly every 4th car is an SUV at this stage. I’ve often felt they are negative phenomenon in a urban area but have never really though deeply about why beyond they take up more space than is necessary in already cramped urban streets. Recently a wide SUV was parked in a roadside parking spot out into the lane such that when cycling I had to move out further into the road to avoid it. This caused a diver behind me to almost clip me hence the motivation for this post.

When I looked into the research on SUVs I am now convinced they should be significantly restricted in urban areas for safety as well as for improvement of air quality. While these studies are from the US the principles still apply to Ireland in many regards.

SUV are Significantly more likely to kill and severely injure in collisions with pedestrians than standard cars due to high leading edge [link](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33147075/). To those that say this doesn’t apply to ireland yes even SUVs in ireland do have higher leading edges than standard cars (looking at you land rover). Basically it means at the front leading edge of SUVs are higher and often cambered more flat such that in collisions pedestrians (especially children) are more likely to go under the car and are more likely to get pelvis and back trauma injuries than standard car-pedestrian collisions which more usually cause less lethal lower limb injuries. They are 8 times more likely to kill a child in a collision than an equivalent car! [link](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022437522000810). I think that alone should be enough to restrict them in urban areas.

On top of being more likely to kill in a collision, especially children, they are also statistically more likely to hit pedestrians and run children over [link1](https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/suvs-other-large-vehicles-often-hit-pedestrians-while-turning). This is attributed to bigger blind spots at the pillars and the front. I find it ironic that many buy SUVs to feel safe and drop their kids to school when the widespread ownership and use of SUVs puts children cycling or playing in the street at more danger.

SUVs are significantly more likely to Kill and injure other car drivers [Link](Monfort, Samuel S.; Nolan, Joseph M. (2019). Trends in aggressivity and driver risk for cars, SUVs, and pickups: Vehicle incompatibility from 1989 to 2016. Traffic Injury Prevention, 20(sup1), S92–S96. doi:10.1080/15389588.2019.1632442 ). This is sort of obvious physics but the added layer to it apart from the higher mass of the SUVs they are generally higher and so the physical shape results in more severe injures and deaths. So by having unnecessarily large and heavy vehicles they make collisions more damaging.

The gains in engine efficiency that reduces carbon emissions of cars in recent years has been cancelled out by the increase in SUVs [link](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/01/suv-conquered-america-climate-change-emissions). SUVs were the second largest contributor to the increase in carbon emissions.

There are other issues with them like road space and parking in cramped urban areas that I won’t get into but I feel that it is clear that 95% of SUVs in urban areas are not necessary (standard cars can carry 3 kids too) and have clear negative externalities of decrease in safety for children, pedestrian and other road user safety as well as pollution.

Urban areas are way safer and better without them.

36 comments

  1. SUVs get a lot of hate here. Sure tis only 3 days since the last [SUV hate thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/xrw5fc/can_someone_explain_the_benefits_on_an_suv_to_me/). And this is the ninth post on the topic in two months.

    I’ve been thinking about it over the weekend though and to me the fundamental problem is having motorised vehicles of any kind in urban areas. SUVs get a lot of the heat due to emotive reactions related to lifestyle choices and perceptions of wealth and entitlement but should we not be striving to remove hatchbacks, estates and saloons from urban areas too?

    Encouraging urban dwellers to buy smaller cars to suit their needs really misses the bigger picture of alternative transport in cities, ie. public transport, cycling infrastructure and proper city planning.

  2. There’s a massive difference between a Land Rover and a Quashi in fairness. Don’t drive a SUV but are looking at getting Hybird Quashi in the next few months. Basically we have two kids and two dogs and a Micra at the minute. It isn’t good.

  4. You also need to remember our population is living longer but tend to have a number orthopaedic issues. These cars are often essential and easier to get in and out of. I drive one even though I’m young due to health issues. Some people have multiple kids and also require a larger car. While I agree not everyone needs an SUV some people have very good reasons.

    I don’t think our issue here is even SUV’s but more so lack of transport and lack of accessible transport for those less abled.

  6. OP posts and comments exclusively on traffic and planning.
    This is a paid advertisment brought to you by one of Eamon Ryan’s advisors.
    Attempting to set a narrative shared by next to no one.

  7. When you researched the topic of SUVs you clearly did a poor job of research in general if you think the same logic applies here. They’re totally different markets in everything from size, weight, fuel consumption and environmental expectations.

    The Toyota RAV4 was the most popular SUV in the US last year, the Peugeot 2008 was the most popular one in Europe. Those cars have a **four hundred kilo** difference affecting everything from pedestrian safety, to emissions. Even your own bloody articles point to this.

    I’m not SUV fan but this subs vendetta against the SUVs infesting our roads is weird as fuck because most of them are pseudo-SUVs anyway, they are modestly larger than a damn hatchback and barely emit more than a shrews fart more in pollution as evidenced by OPs own article – and the Chelsea tractors that are closer to real SUVs are so numerically insignificant that they’re not even worth bothering your hole about in statistics from Ireland or Europe.

    This is another perfect example of taking an issue prevalent on another damn continent and somehow trying to making it a thing here.

  9. I live in the city but spend a lot of time driving into the countryside a “sensible” city car wouldn’t work for me so I drive a hybrid SUV as it’s a practical solution for my needs.

    If you try and start telling people what they can be can’t drive you end up with a communist state.

  10. SUVs aren’t the problem, it’s cars. Cars in general. SUVs are misunderstood and lazy journalists / thread starters think a RAV4 is the same as fuck off pick up, an actual SUV.

  11. My favourite thing about SUV drivers is they always bang on about the high driving position, but typically remain terrible, unobservant drivers.

  12. Most SUVs here in Ireland are nothing more than a hatchback on stilts. They are no bigger than a golf or focus on the inside just a higher seating position and their engines are small too. The one unnecessary thing for the city is those big Discoveries, XC90s, BMW X7s and so on when there is usually only 1 kid in the back. (But those cars are technically not SUVs).

  13. 7 seat SUVs are great if you have a large family, in particular uf you want to take them on holiday around Ireland or on the ferry to France.

  14. I hate SUV’s. I think they are ugly, obese, stupid vehicles.

    I do however understand why some people buy them and why some would need them, but then I see muppets who have absolutely no real need for such things.

    I class them as SUVs and SUV lites. The SUV lites are typically 1-1.6L engines and 2wd. Basically hatchbacks on stilts. They SUV lites are ideal for older drivers and families because they are higher stances which makes getting in and out much less of a chore. And that’s the only real pro I can see with these.

    The real SUVs are typically 1.7L +. These things are the go to for the school run to try and look more impressive than the next vehicle. I’m talking Hyundai Tucsons, BMW X5’s, Kia Sportage……that type of size. Usually only carrying 1-2 kids. Complete overkill for most people and an absolute plague.

    Then you have your pickups which I really think are the most pointless vehicles on the planet for anybody other than farmers or tree surgeons. Anybody else who needs a work vehicle would be better suited with a van.

    FYI: We have a Kia Rio and we can fit a baby seat and 2 boosters in it. Granted, not comfortable, but it’s ideal for pottering around and school runs. At the weekends we use the Passat and that is perfectly fine for 2 adults and 3 kids.

  17. Almost all research done on American SUVs does not apply to SUVs in Ireland, They are different vehicles.

    Be like researching Trucks and applying that research to a Work Van

  19. Ah yes, the weekly “I’m mad at people in Peugeot 2008s because they can be classified the same as Cadillac Escalades” post

  21. Theyre the comfortable and practical choice.

    However your data is based on the US and we have none of those lovely tanks here.

    most new purchases for the last few years here are crossovers. Actual SUV’s still only sell in small numbers here.

  25. Absolute garbage. My old Nissan pulsar was longer and wider than my kuga.

    People are projecting American style SUVs onto Ireland, it make no sense, I lived in the US for multiple years and the scale is completely different.

    I had a rav4 over there and I felt like I was driving a mini

  27. Love how OP thinks American SUVs with 2.3-liter to 6-liter engines and weighing over 2 tonnes are the same as 1.2 / 1.4 liter Nissan Qashqai

  28. Skoda Enyaq “SUV” Vs Volvo V90

    [https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/skoda-enyaq-iv-2021-suv-vs-volvo-v90-2016-estate-CC/](https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/skoda-enyaq-iv-2021-suv-vs-volvo-v90-2016-estate-CC/)

    ​

    Most cars people are giving out about are just fancy estates with, MAYBE, all wheel drive and are no bigger than regular cars.

    ​

    An XC90 or somthing similar, yeah, but people go on rants about cars that are no bigger than existing.

    Just see the shape and make assumptions

  29. I don’t even understand why is there so many cars on an island, and so little/inefficient public transportation systems. Let alone why SUVs

  30. There’s nothing much that can really be done about it. I don’t know how you’d really be able to single out SUVs without restricting people with actual needs.

    The problem isn’t really the car, I find it hard to blame the manufactures anymore.. The car is satisfying what the market is demanding. People want to buy SUVs so car makers make SUVs.

    At the end of the day it’s the consumer that’s behind all humanities problems, the consumer demands and funds all the negative impacts that happen in the world.

  32. Oh look, another post from someone who thinks a quasqi is basically a Ford f350 instead of a lifted megane.

  36. You would love my neighbour, he has one SUV and one Hilux , he can’t fit them on his driveway so he just park on the street/grass.

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