Ministers should lead by example to curb the danger of super-size SUVs

Because new research shows that if a pedestrian or cyclist is hit by an off-road-style vehicle, they are 44 per cent more likely to die than if they are hit by a traditional car. If all SUVs were replaced by normal cars, road deaths in the UK would fall by eight per cent.

This is all the more worrying given that sales of such vehicles have seen a near threefold increase in recent years. Last year, SUVs accounted for a third of all new-car sales, compared to 12 per cent a decade ago. 

It forms part of a more general trend of cars getting larger, with many of today's supposed small hatchbacks being longer and wider than what were considered family-sized cars in the 1970s. In part this is due to the extra safety features they include, with sophisticated crumple zones, side bars and airbag sensors all affecting their design. But while these vehicles are unquestionably safer for their drivers and passengers, it is important that consideration is also given to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

Clearly, some people need to drive off-road vehicles, particularly those who live in the countryside, or work in the farming or construction industries. But it is also clear that many of these vehicles never venture further off-road than a muddy car park, and are bought as little more than fashion statements. The Institute for Advanced Motorists suggests that our potholed roads are another reason why people are turning to sturdier vehicles which are capable of handling rough terrain.

Some of the more militant organisations will seize on this latest data as evidence to support calls for an 'SUV tax', and there may be an argument for a review of the tax regime to incentivise the purchase of smaller, more environmentally friendly vehicles. But on the whole we would be reluctant to see ministers telling ordinary people what vehicles ordinary people should drive while being chauffeured around in Range Rovers. We would prefer to see the use of the carrot rather than the stick.

Maybe today's politicians could take a leaf out of their predecessors' book, and recall how Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher used to be driven around in mid-sized Rover saloons. Sadly, the Rover brand is no more, but there is no reason why junior ministers could not start using British-built Minis.

What better way to encourage people to drive smaller cars, than for our leaders to lead by example?