Communist senator Ian Brossat wants to allow municipalities that so wish to ban the circulation of SUVs on their streets.
We know that SUVs are criticized from all sides, accused of every possible and imaginable evil. It is not for nothing that the Paris town hall decided to introduce more expensive parking for these vehicles, accused of being more polluting and, above all, much more dangerous. But that’s not all, because some even want to go even further in order to remove these vehicles from our roads.
A measure against SUVs
Thus, the communist senator and councilor of Paris, Ian Brossatis preparing to table a bill aimed at allowing municipalities to restrict, or even prohibit, the circulation of SUVs in urban areas. This initiative comes after the tragic death of Paul Varry, a pedestrian run over by an SUV driver last October in Paris. The senator had already expressed his wish to see these vehicles banned from the capital, and he now wants to extend this possibility to all French municipalities. And this even if the type of car probably had nothing to do with this tragic event, the driver having deliberately hit the young man. The text of this bill, which the senator is preparing to submit, aims to give local elected officials “the means to regulate, or even ban the presence of SUVs in the city for environmental and safety reasons.” According to him , urban areas, where roads are often narrow and shared by various vulnerable users, need legislative tools to limit the use of vehicles that are too bulky and potentially dangerous in certain sectors.
A targeted ban
However, this ban would only concern a minority of vehicles, in particular those which are “the most bulky and which pose the most problems”, explained Ian Brossat on BFM Paris-Île-de-France. These include in particular the Thermal SUVs weighing over 1.8 tonnes and electric vehicles exceeding two tonnes, criteria chosen to take into account their considerable dimensions and weight. Brossat emphasizes the increased risks that these vehicles represent for road safety. According to a study by the Swiss insurer Axa, SUVs weighing more than 2.1 tonnes cause between 10% and 27% more accidents compared to light vehicles. Furthermore, the risk of fatal injury for a pedestrian increases by 50% when struck by a 1,800 kg vehicle, compared to a 1,200 kg vehicle. “These vehicles are more accident-prone, heavier and more dangerous,” underlines the senator, who wishes to highlight this data to support his proposal.
The senator proposes that this measure be applied according to the choice of each municipality. Urban councils could decide to ban these vehicles in areas of high urban density, where congestion and pollution are major concerns. However, Brossat recognizes that certain rural areas, particularly those where traffic conditions require robust vehicles, could continue to authorize SUVs.
Source: www.autoplus.fr
