These heavy and imposing vehicles were singled out again last month, after the death of a young cyclist crushed by an SUV in Paris. For the elected communist, it is urgent to restrict their presence in the city.
The death in Paris a month ago of Paul Varry, a 27-year-old young man run over by an SUV driver while he was on a bicycle, still provokes aftershocks. This tragedy has placed SUVs, these imposing vehicles which have been flooding the automobile market for several years, in the dock. After proposing their ban in Paris following the death of Paul Varry, the senator and councilor of Paris Ian Brossat now wishes to restrict their circulation at the national level.
The elected communist is in fact preparing to table a bill this week to “give local elected officials the means to regulate, or even ban, the presence of SUVs in town for environmental and safety reasons”. “In urban areas, where road sharing is sometimes difficult, banning SUVs in certain sectors seems necessary in order to protect other users”he writes in his legal text, consulted by Le Figaro. An editorial which is limited to the heaviest SUVs, i.e. those over “1.8 tonnes for thermal vehicles” and more than “2 tonnes for 100% electric vehicles in order to take into account their specific constraints”indicates his proposed law. Either “a minority of vehicles, those which are the most bulky and which pose the most problems”Ian Brossat said last Thursday on BFM Paris Île-de-France.
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“More accident-prone” and “high carbon footprint”
To justify this desire to reduce the place of SUVs in the city, Ian Brossat affirmed on the set of the local channel that these vehicles were “more accident-prone, heavier and therefore more dangerous ». In his bill, the former deputy mayor of Paris cites several foreign studies – statistics are rare in France – including one carried out in Switzerland by the insurer AXA, showing that “these vehicles, particularly those weighing more than 2.1 tonnes, cause 10% to 27% more accidents than other types of cars”. Or another, carried out by a Belgian institute specializing in road safety, ensuring that, for vulnerable users, “the risk of fatal injury increases by 50% when struck by a 1800 kg vehicle, compared to a 1200 kg vehicle”.
Alongside their supposed dangerousness, Ian Brossat also insists on the anti-ecological nature of these cars. “Large vehicles, in particular SUVs weighing more than 1.8 tonnes, whether thermal or electric, have a high carbon footprint”he writes in his bill. He cites the International Energy Agency, saying that “an electric SUV produces a 70% higher carbon footprint than a standard electric car”. “Thermal SUVs, for their part, consume on average 20% more fuel than a conventional vehicle”he adds. Other grievances are mentioned, such as “increase in vehicle prices, particularly on the second-hand market”, induced by the development of the SUV market, or the problem “the occupation and sharing of urban space” caused by these larger vehicles.
But this measure is not intended to ban SUVs throughout France. “There are undoubtedly areas where we need this type of car, particularly on country roads”pointed out Ian Brossat, interviewed by France 3 Paris Île-de-France. For the communist senator, it is a question of banning these vehicles “in urban areas which so wish, on the basis of a decision of the municipal council”he said on BFM Paris. However, the road to adoption of this bill is long and narrow. The text would first have to pass the obstacle of a Senate with a right-wing majority, then a fragmented National Assembly, where the left would need the support of other blocs to pass this law.
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