Paris votes to crack down on SUVs | Non-Parisians will be charged almost $20 per hour to park large gas or hybrid vehicles within the city center in a bid to address pedestrian safety and air pollu…::Parisians have voted to increase parking charges for out-of-town SUV drivers as part of the city’s efforts to address road safety, air pollution, and climate change.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) study that found SUVs to be 20 percent more polluting and twice as likely to kill a pedestrian in a collision compared to smaller conventional cars.
Twice as likely to kill a pedestrian…if that number holds up this needs to happen in more cities. Driving an excessively deadly vehicle through crowded areas shouldn’t be free.
I don’t think some millionaire earned a 2x chance to kill a pedestrian by being able to pay. I’m not a fan of fees that only apply rules to poor people.
But outright bans are harder to get passed, so fees are better than nothing.
Funny thing about markets though, when you put fees on SUVs that just means the prices on used SUVs will go down, and so you’ll have fees being leveed on only the poorest who have no choice but to buy the cheapest car they can find and the richest who don’t care about the fee.
I fucking hate SUV’s, and I drive one (company car, had no say in the matter). Tax them all to hell and back.
It’s not free, at least not in Portugal. You pay an yearly tax per vehicle, the value depends on the vehicle model.
It’s time for Pedestrian crash avoidance mitigation (PCAM) to be enforced as standard feature. Much better solution. Large vehicles will still need to exist, even though I agree fewer of them should.
I think restrictions like these should also include SUV EVs. Safety is the bigger priority than incentivizing a few more EV sales and in the future, there may only be EVs anyway.
It includes electric vehicles over two tonnes, and hybrids/gas over 1.6 tonnes
Honestly, they should just ban all SUVs from entering altogether.
Not because of the environment or safety, just because I hate that everything is an SUV these days and they are boring af
That would mean lots of people would have to buy a new car, which is much worse for the environment than to keep driving an SUV
Or people could just take the train or walk.
Remember, we’re talking about Paris, not a third world country in North America.
They can, but will they?
You said “have to”. They don’t have to. You’re now talking about whether they “want to” - which is now a question of whether they want to keep money in their wallet.
Don’t be pedantic. I meant that they have to buy a new car if they want to keep driving, which most of them probably will, since they wouldn’t be driving in the first place if there was a better alternative
I said “want to”, and I meant “want to”. I don’t consider it pedantry - Everyone has a choice.
- People looking to buy their first car (or replace a junker) can either get an SUV, or a sedan. This legislation tips their decision.
- People who own a car (because they live in an area that needs it) that happens to be an SUV, and are then planning to go into Paris, can choose to instead drive to a local train station, and make the rest of their trip using local means.
- People who live inside of Paris can choose not to buy a car at all; or just stop using the SUV they bought earlier after deciding it was a bad fit for their area.
There’s perhaps a fringe case of people that can afford two cars, own one SUV, and still insist on driving into the city - whether that means stomaching the fee, or buying a second car. That is very much a “want”, one that increasingly dense cities cannot easily cater to. I’d even say there’s not a huge demographic of people who could decide to buy a second car purely for this situation.
Honestly, they should just ban all SUVs from entering altogether.
That’s not going to convince me to sell my SUV. It’d just cause me to buy a second car.
Cool. Let idiots put some more money into economy. Or they can ask for public transport.
Well they also exempt taxis and city residents so it’s not about safety or the environment it’s about the money.
Not being snarky: if it were about the money, would city residents NOT be exempt?
No good point, I appreciate discussions!
I think they know if it didn’t exempt city residents there would be enough backlash from eligible voters it wouldn’t pass. Seeing as it’s a fine and not a ban it can have secondary effects of improving safety and the environment but primarily it will raise money.
good. suvs are terrible in so many ways just for vanity
Only non-Parisians? :(
Well, it would not be fun if people suddenly voted against themselves just to do the right thing for everyone.
I hope that this becomes practice throuout Europe and the UK. UK ministers however will say almost anything for short term gain.
‘Paris votes’ but 5.6% of parisians made the effort. Laughable
So if I rent a 9 pax van and bring 8 friends to Paris, it will cost more money than if we all took separate smaller vehicles?
Just be careful that those cars are not too heavy. Since this law says 1.6t , a Toyota Camry qualifies as an SUV
Not a lot of Camrys in Europe, but I get your point. I think this law needs some revisions. Charging based on how many empty seats are in your vehicle upon entry and exit of the city, may be a better way.
But who checks that?
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Two pedestrians walk out into the street while looking at their phones. They bump into each other, and each says “Oof. Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Then they both continue on their way, and barely remember that each failed to follow the rules of travel on the roads of their town.
That interaction becomes VASTLY different when one or both of those people is driving an SUV.
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So a Toyota rav4 hybrid (3,800 pounds) would be treated like a big truck. RAV4 has better front viewing than a sedan. This is just feel good bullshit.
If it’s about safety just make Pedestrian crash avoidance mitigation (PCAM) standard by law going forward.
Still a 60% weight increase to a VW Up! A car much better suited for living in a European metropol.
What do you mean?
