Episode Details

In the next 15 years an additional 400 pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists will be killed on European roads because of the increased average car size.

The figure is based on projections using data from Eurostat and the UK department of transport. Research by the Transport & Environment (T & E) think tank suggests that those road death figures could be significantly higher.

After 25 years of relentless growth, our roads are increasingly dominated by huge SUVs that pose a physical danger to everyone else.

And bigger cars means less space on the roads and in car parks. Big vehicles, such as SUVs and pick-up strucks, simply don’t fit parking spaces that were designed for a different, smaller car, age.

So why are SUVs so deadly for other road users? And why, even when they are made aware of the dangers their large vehicles pose for other road users, do drivers still choose them anyway?

Irish Times motoring contributor Neil Briscoe reports.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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