Mind the Big Boys: How Gargantuan Cars Burden Our Cities
Large Sports Utility Vehicles Contribute to Congested Traffic and Pose Greater Risks than Regular Cars
Ah, the mighty vehicles of today - they've never been bigger or heavier than they are now. Take the Ford F150, for instance; between 1991 and 2025, it expanded 75cm in length, 20cm in height, and weighed an additional 483kg. And it's not just the F150; the trend of 'supertanking' is prevalent everywhere in the automotive market. Mind you, we're not talking about your run-of-the-mill sedans here. Rather, sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and light truck vehicles (LTVs) are reigning supreme, and their popularity is booming like never before.
Eight out of the top 10 passenger cars sold in the US in 2025 were SUVs or LTVs, while nine of the top ten in New Zealand were SUVs or LTVs (often referred to as 'utes' locally). Globally, SUVs accounted for an astonishing 48% of new car sales in 2023 - that's up from a mere 15% in 2010.
But bigger ain't always better; those burly boys have some hidden downsides.
First things first: They're enemy number one when it comes to environmental destruction. Road transport is responsible for a whopping 15% of all global CO2 emissions, and SUVs and LTVs are right smack in the middle of the climate crisis. Do you remember what the BBC reported earlier this year? If ranked among countries, the global SUV fleet would be among the world's top five CO2 emitters, surpassing the emissions of Japan and other major economies. The International Energy Agency has also found that, due to their hefty forms, SUVs running on gasoline or diesel emit an extra 20% of CO2 compared to average to medium-sized cars, as they consume more fuel due to their size. Given that CO2 is the main driver behind global warming, building an SUV-horded traffic jam doesn't seem like the shortest country to reach our environmental goals.
Now, electric SUVs and LTVs aren't completely off the hook. Like any other road vehicles, they emit significant quantities of tiny tyre particles, known as tyre emissions. These particles, tiny fragments of rubber and other materials, can find their way into our waterways and even the air. Once they're airborne, they can wreak havoc on human health and environmental wellbeing. Surprise, surprise! - larger and heavier vehicles are the biggest culprits when it comes to tyre particulate pollution.
So, what about our urban landscapes? For starters, these supersized vehicles increase traffic congestion, making everything slower and more annoying for everyone. A new study published in the journal Transportmetrica A shows that an influx of large vehicles on urban roads is only making our traffic woes worse. Researchers looked at 25 years of traffic data from the Minneapolis-St. Paul freeway network and found that, despite improvements in road infrastructure and efficiency, the throughput (i.e., the maximum number of vehicles that can move through a lane in one hour) decreased as the number of SUVs and LTVs on the roads increased.
Additionally, these large vehicles pose a greater risk to pedestrians and cyclists, as their sheer size makes it harder for them to navigate safely. A new study from researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London found that in a crash, pedestrians or cyclists struck by an SUV or LTV suffer more severe injuries than those hit by a passenger car, and the risk of fatalities is significantly increased.
In short, the proliferation of large vehicles in our cities is causing more harm than good. So here's a question: Do we really want these juggernauts dominating our streets? Let's start focusing on solutions that promote smaller, more eco-friendly, and safer vehicles for our urban areas.
- SUVs and light truck vehicles (LTVs), the most popular vehicles in many markets, account for a significant portion of global carbon dioxide emissions, with the global SUV fleet almost rivaling the emissions of major economies.
- The trend of SUV and LTV dominance in urban areas contributes to increased traffic congestion, making commuting slower and more frustrating for everyone.
- Besides contributing to environmental degradation and traffic congestion, larger and heavier vehicles like SUVs and LTVs also pose a greater risk to pedestrians and cyclists, increasing the likelihood of severe injuries or fatalities in collisions.
- To achieve our environmental goals and ensure safer streets, we should focus on promoting smaller, more eco-friendly, and safer vehicles in urban areas, reducing the proliferation of heavy-duty vehicles.
