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Nearly two-thirds - 66 per cent - of British driving licence holders don’t understand that sports utility vehicles pose a greater danger to pedestrians and cyclists than smaller cars, according to new research.
And the Swansea University team behind the study say this rises to 86 per cent among people who currently own SUVs.
Even after being told that SUVs pose increased risks to vulnerable road users, just 3.6 per cent of people who intended to buy or lease an SUV as their next car said they would change their mind.
As a result of this research, academics from the School of Psychology, want to see tougher restrictions such as higher taxes or design limits on SUVs and larger cars.
Working with campaign group Adfree Cities, the researchers analysed the results of a YouGov survey of 1,838 British adults conducted in April 2026. Respondents were also shown mocked-up marketing images for SUVs, either with or without prototype safety labels outlining the dangers posed to pedestrians and cyclists by larger, heavier cars.
Co-author PhD student Jimin Choi said: “Our study reveals a significant blindspot in current conversations about road safety. British drivers — and SUV drivers in particular — showed a lack of awareness about the well-documented hazards SUVs pose to pedestrians and cyclists. What’s more, raising awareness failed to persuade them to choose a smaller car in the future. Policymakers need to reckon with the fact that concerns about other people's safety might play only a negligible role in people's car purchase decisions."
Sales of SUVs and other larger cars such as pickup trucks have been rising rapidly around much of the world, and two in three cars sold in the UK is now an SUV.
As well as causing congestion and worsening the pothole crisis, the growing number of SUVs is increasing road danger. A recent meta-analysis found that pedestrians and cyclists have 44 per cent greater odds of being killed if struck by an SUV compared to a small car, rising to 82 per cent for child pedestrians and cyclists.
Campaigners have called for the government to act to reverse the trend towards ever-bigger, ever-heavier vehicles. Measures such as weight-based parking charges, higher taxes and advertising restrictions have all been recommended.
Environmental psychologist Professor Ian Walker, added: "Buying whatever vehicle we like, and driving it wherever and whenever we please without having to think about the consequences for other people, has become normalised and ingrained across our society over decades.
“As such, it’s not surprising there’s a growing body of evidence that says asking or encouraging people to drive differently doesn’t work, and that stronger interventions will be needed if governments want to get serious about the issue. This almost certainly includes having a more honest conversation about how driving, no matter how useful to the person doing it, imposes harms onto other people.
“Until we recognise this, and try to reduce those harms, it’s not clear how we’re going to take the steps needed to create a safer, healthier country."
A weight-based car registration tax with the top rate of €30 per kg has been in force in France since 2022. This amounts to more than €20,000 for a typical mid-range SUV. In October 2025, Cardiff became the first British city to approve plans for higher parking charges for heavier cars. Other British cities are now exploring similar policies to curb SUV use.
James Ward, Co-Director at Adfree Cities, said: “SUV marketing and advertising feed a public delusion that these are safe, family cars. It's easy to get the idea that choosing a large car over a small car is a harmless matter of personal preference, no different to choosing a white car over a blue car. Whilst SUVs may be, the cost of that popularity is measured in lives. Policymakers need to take the wheel and act in the interest of public safety.”
Read the research paper in full