Subscribe to RSSParis May Ban SUVs in City
I don’t make any secret pf my hate of SUVs in the urban environment, something that has triggered in the past enormous hate mail.
In Paris, government officials are considering putting in effect a series of regulations that would heavily tax, or completely ban, S.U.Vs and high-polluting, old diesel vehicles from entering the city centre.(Hat tip Joust).
“I’m sorry, but having a sport utility vehicle in a city makes no sense,” said Denis Baupin, deputy mayor of Paris, “Sell it and buy a vehicle that’s compatible with city life.” Hear, hear.
NY Times Story here
9 Comments
It’s funny because factoring in manufacturing, transportation and running, a hybrid car actually releases the same amount of carbon emissions as a hummer. So really they shoud ban hybrids as well.
The point about SUV’s Eric is it’s more to do with their size and design than fuel consumption. They create a vision hazard for other road users. They are too large for car parks and dent adjacent vehicles doors.
The worst factor is their frontal design, particularly if “Bull Bars” are fitted. They get a guaranteed kill in a collision with a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist. They also cause unnecessary injury and damage to other small “city type” cars, which are used more in Europe.
I share Jon’s hate………….they are great on the farm though.
there was a report a whiel ago into suv accidents - they expected them to be high - but they weren’t. which is no surprise to suv drivers - the high seating promotes a laid back/cruise feel.
So while design may look hazardous, in fact its not - as they don’t have that many acccidents. Unless you’ve driven one it’s hard to explain - but I find I end up travelling at under 50km. Also they’re often used by older drivers as family vehicles - again more responsible drivers on the whole.
I have a 7 seater landrover - old - which will run for many years. with kids / renovations etc it’s very practical. often meaning only 1 car needs to tarnsport the kids to from sport etc. don’t need hardware delivery trucks etc.
In NZ we just don’t need a city car, but also a higway/country car for weekends away etc.
SUVs aren’t for everyone - but let peopel make their own choice.
Paris is very different to nz, the older parts of Paris are very narrow and the share size of suv’s 4×4′s don’t mix
The little car is king when it comes to Euro city driving - and parking for that matter
what a man - bravo
I was helping my parents choose a car a while back. We required: A large boot, comfortable seating for 4x 6 foot + people, 1.5 tonne + towing capacity.
Essentially a large station wagon/ or a mid-side SUV would have fulfilled our requirements.
I was very supplied that the fuel consumption of the (mid-size) SUV’s was far less than a similar size station wagon, we brought a misti outlander, quoted fuel consumption 8.4L/100km.
Don’t hate suv’s just because. Look deeper.
“In Paris, government officials are considering putting in effect a series of regulations that would heavily tax, or completely ban, S.U.Vs and high-polluting, old diesel vehicles from entering the city centre.(Hat tip Joust).”
Germany already bans polluting cars from dozens of city centres - cars are coded into “no plaque” (extremely old and stinky) “red plaque” “yellow plaque” and green plaque” (modern and low-emission) grades, and there’s signs at the entries to the zones showing which colours are allowed.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Umweltzonen_in_Deutschland.svg
“The worst factor is their frontal design, particularly if “Bull Bars” are fitted.”
Long since illegal in Europe. If you see them, they are actually fake, and form part of the crumple zones. An arthritic baby bull (if there was such a thing) could rip them off, they are just for show.
“Don’t hate suv’s just because. Look deeper.”
Fair enough - logical regulations would centre around fuel consumption/emissions, not simply a perceived set of characteristics. The important question should be whether one punishes “low efficiency per weight”, or also discourages heavy weight in itself. Because one could argue that indeed, most people do not need 2 tons of car. The downside is that one then either penalises people who DO need a larger car, or needs a complicated exemption system.
Eric
January 21, 2011 at 5:23 pm
It’s funny because factoring in manufacturing, transportation and running, a hybrid car actually releases the same amount of carbon emissions as a hummer. So really they shoud ban hybrids as well.
Do you have a source for that?
Here Nick:
http://www.impactlab.net/2007/03/14/prius-outdoes-hummer-in-environmental-damage/
Hope this helps.