Overview

• The Assembly passed a motion by 14 votes to 8 urging Sadiq Khan to ask the Treasury for a weight-based vehicle excise duty and to press London boroughs to raise parking charges on larger cars.
• SUVs made up a third of new UK car registrations last year, up from 12% a decade ago, driving concerns over increasing vehicle size in the capital.
• Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London finds pedestrians and cyclists are 44% more likely to die when struck by SUVs, with the risk rising to 82% for children.
• Members warn that heavier SUVs accelerate road surface damage, reduce available parking spaces and exacerbate congestion on London’s streets.
• The Mayor’s office says it is expanding cycle networks, improving crossings and updating its Vision Zero plan to eliminate serious road injuries, without committing to new SUV levies.